His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – May 15, 2022

His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne, and expounded on “Scroll 20, ‘Immovable Tathagata Assembly’ (Chapter 6, Section 2, Part 6: Causes and Conditions of Rebirth)” of the Ratnakuta Sutra.

“Sutra: ‘Sariputra, with such causes and conditions, Bodhisattvas should be born in that world. Sariputra, for those Great Bodhisattvas who have made vows to be born in that land of a Buddha, they should give rise to efforts to increase their happiness and desires in their minds for the vows made.’

Here, Shakyamuni Buddha spoke to Sariputra again about this subject. In fact, the Buddha spoke of it to us. It was only that Sariputra represented all sentient beings to ask the Buddha for instructions. Hence, Shakyamuni Buddha said that because of causes and conditions mentioned previously, ‘Bodhisattvas should be born in that world.’

‘For those Great Bodhisattvas who have made vows to be born in that land of a Buddha, they should give rise to efforts to increase their happiness and desires in their minds for the vows made.’ What is the key point of this sentence? All Buddhist practitioners know that they need to make vows. However, the vows many people have made are different from what have been mentioned in sutras. Since the vows you have made are not what have been taught in sutras, your vows will be of no use. Such vows are just words spoken for the comfort of the mind. So, Shakyamuni Buddha still reminded us here that if Great Bodhisattvas want ‘to be born in that land of a Buddha, they should give rise to efforts to increase their happiness and desires in their minds for the vows made.’ Such aspirations are not casual talks. It is not that because vows have already been made or said, they will exist. Efforts are made to increase the aspirations continuously. This means the purposes of all the deeds acted by all Bodhisattvas are to increase and accumulate their roots of virtue completely and continuously. The phrase, ‘happiness and desires in their minds for the vows made,’ means in their hearts they are very certain that they want to ‘go’ to Abhirati. The reason for that is not to escape any pain they are suffering or to cling to some things with greed, or to enjoy them. Rather, they have a very strong desire joyfully, wishing to be born in that land of a Buddha, and to obtain personally the Dharma teachings of Immovable Tathagata.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, if good men and good women give rise to efforts to increase their happiness and desires in their minds for the vows made, to all these men and women, I will bestow assurance of their being born in that land of a Buddha.’

Even if people have not mastered the practices of the Bodhisattva Path, and if there are good men and good women who have given rise to ‘efforts to increase their happiness and desires in their minds for the vows made, to all these men and women, I will bestow assurance.’ This last part of the sentence refers to this: ‘I will bestow assurance to all of you to go to that land.’ It means you do not necessarily go there in this life after your death. It may be in next lifetime. There is certainly a lifetime that you will go there. The so-called bestowing-assurance is the help from Shakyamuni Buddha – He gives you an opportunity to go there. Shakyamuni Buddha very rarely spoke of these kinds of words. Even in the Amitabha Sutra, He did not speak of this: ‘give rise to efforts to increase their happiness and desires in their minds for the vows made, to all these men and women, I will bestow assurance.’

In this quote, the meaning of ‘….being born in that land of a Buddha,’ is letting you be born in Abhirati.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, for example, there is a city without pavilions, gardens, ponds, and pools, nor are there places in the city for elephants or horses to walk about.’

Shakyamuni Buddha started this section with an analogy. There is a city that has no houses, pavilions (being high-rise buildings or mansions in modern terms), gardens, ponds, and pools (the ‘ponds, and pools’ here could also be streams or rivers), nor are there elephants or horses walking about (being cars driving around in modern time.)

Sutra: ‘Although the king of that city has abilities to get people having places to settle in, and because there are no pavilions and merits, the city is not with solemnity.’

‘Although the king of that city has abilities to get people having places to settle in,’ and because there are no high-rise buildings or mansions in the city, all the merits are also not there. The city will not be with solemnity either.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, my land of a Buddha is also the same. Because the land is without those merits, it is not decorated with solemnity.’

Shakyamuni Buddha said, ‘My land of a Buddha is also the same.’ This means there is no such solemnity on the earth like what is shown in Abhirati. Thus, in the Amitabha Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha made a point of mentioning the phrase, ‘in this evil time of the Five Turbidities.’ What He spoke of was about Earth. Why did Shakyamuni Buddha not say ‘You are to remain here.’? It is because His land of a Buddha ‘is without those merits,’ and ‘it is not decorated with solemnity’ either.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, if there are such merits with solemnity in my land of a Buddha, it will be with solemnity and auspiciousness like the land of a Buddha for Immovable Tathagata.’

The quote means this: ‘Sariputra, if, in my land of a Buddha, there are such merits with solemnity, then it will be the same as the land of a Buddha for Immovable Tathagata.’

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, if those Great Bodhisattvas who have made vows that they should embrace the pure land of a Buddha, these Bodhisattvas should be like Immovable Tathagata who had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path before, and who had already been planting many fundamental merits to solemnify and purify the land of a Buddha. Additionally, these Bodhisattvas should do the same – to embrace the merits.’

Why did Shakyamuni Buddha go out of His way to say this? It was because He was concerned that some people, after having practiced for a while, would consider coming back to the earth to become some type of people, thinking ‘I will come back to this world by my vows and be a certain kind of a person.’ Shakyamuni Buddha said, ‘In my land of a Buddha, there is no solemnity. What do you want to come back here for? Even if I let you live here, there is no solemnity, and it means you cannot produce merits.’ The merits mentioned here do not mean the capabilities to liberate thousands or hundreds of people on Earth; this is not referred to as ‘solemnity.’ Rather, there are nothings that can be done to make us attain the fruition of a Buddha. Not to mention attaining such a fruition, even attaining a Bodhisattva’s Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) is unlikely to happen, unless it was in Tibetan Buddhism a little over 1,000 or 2,000 years ago. At that time, there were still opportunities to achieve that accomplishment. Nowadays, such an attainment is impossible to occur, absolutely.

Shakyamuni Buddha introduced continuously to us so many other Buddhas. This shows His great compassion. He made a point of coming to Earth to liberate humans because humans born on Earth do not have great good fortune to have the land of a Buddha with the land having merits with solemnity. No matter how history has changed in a little over a few thousand years, we are only given opportunities to live here on the earth, and it is just for a short time of a few decades too, unless it was in ancient times. It was like Guru Rinpoche; he lived for 800 years before leaving this world. In the past, in Tibet, there were people who lived for a little over 100 years, and then they left the earth. In the Drikung Kagyu Order, there was a Rinpoche who was a bhikkhuni. When I first met her, she was already 120 years old. She left this mundane world about four or five years after I had met her for the last time. Now, there are no such people anymore. Even if there are these people – the so-called centenarians – some of them muddle their ways through life and then leave the world; they are probably either in dementia or without merits.

Shakyamuni Buddha exhorted us not to attach to this mundane world because it is not in solemnity. Even if you come back and live here again, there is no solemnity here. This means it is very difficult for you to master your practices. Then, many great practitioners will gradually not come, in that they will not be reborn on Earth until the time that Bodhisattva Maitreya appears. According to what is described in sutras, Bodhisattva Maitreya will appear 56 trillion years later. In this period of 56 trillion years, as we cannot wait for this Bodhisattva, we will need to reincarnate in many lifetimes, and die and be born many times. In such numerous occasions, we do not know which realm of the Six Realms we will be in. Do not think that because you have already been learning Buddhism, you will not fall into the Hell Realm, unless you get help from your guru. Otherwise, the degree of opportunities of falling into hells is very high.

I have told you this story before. There was a temple’s abbot who received a donation for building a main hall for the temple, but he used the money from the donation to get the monastics’ huts built. As a result, he fell into hell after his death even though he did not take the money for himself. Hence, monastics need to be very careful on their conducts. Do not think that ‘I have received the money.’ What is it about then that you have gotten the money? You have not helped others solve their problems. This story has been heard of by all those who have been learning Exoteric Buddhism. This abbot was in much suffering too; he wore a burning shackle around his neck and could not take the shackle off. Thus, with great kindness and great compassion, Shakyamuni Buddha came here to help us sentient beings who have been lacking in good fortune and affinities. He continuously told us that the earth is not worthwhile for us to be attached to. We are here for a short time of a few decades. Even if you have lived to the age of 90 or 100, and if you cannot help sentient beings, what is such a long life for? This is not different from a tree, but at least a tree can still let sentient beings live inside and they can absorb the nutrients from the tree. We humans live on Earth. If we live to 100 years old and if we do not benefit sentient beings, we are harming the earth. Why? Because we eat and pollute Earth every day. Do not think what good people we are. All the things we excrete every day pollute the earth.

Why is there such a pandemic of coronavirus today? It is collective karma of all humans’ making, and all of us have a share of making it. Do not think that ‘I eat vegetarian now, so I am all right.’ Then, had you eaten meat before eating vegetarian? Except for those who have been vegetarians since the time of their being conceived in their mothers’ womb, all the rest of people have eaten meat. Is this collective karma or not? You will say, ‘I have repented!’ What is it about then that you have repented? You are still in this collective karma. If you have repented, then how many people have you exhorted to eat vegetarian? How many of them have you persuaded to do good deeds? How many people have you exhorted to refrain from killing? No, you have not made these exhortations to people! You are afraid that others will laugh at you for being superstitious. A woman does not dare to exhort a man to eat vegetarian, fearing that he might ignore her; then she will have one less Prince Charming to court her. Similarly, men who ask women to eat vegetarian will be afraid of not being able to get a wife. For businessmen, they are afraid of losing business relationships if they become vegetarians. These are examples of things that have been happening in the evil time of the Five Turbidities. As this pandemic has continuously been unsolved, it is collective karma for everyone.

I have exhorted you before that all of you need to do good deeds with efforts. Do not do nothings on good deeds. Do not think that by reciting the Buddha’s name or sutras or chanting mantras a few thousand times, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas will bless and protect you. Because you have not done good deeds that are pure or true, you are in collective karma. Even if you do not have pneumonia from COVID-19, you will at least be worried and be inconvenienced too. This is irrelevant to whether the Buddha and Bodhisattvas are effective or not. It is collective karma for everyone. How old were you when you started eating vegetarian? If you count the number of years back before you became a vegetarian, there would have been collective karma existing for a few decades. Do you need to repay it? Yes, you do. There will be effects of this pandemic to you unless you have mastered practices of the Bodhisattva Path and attained the fruition level of a Bodhisattva. If you have achieved these accomplishments, then there will be very few effects to you, but they are still there; it is because you are still in collective karma. So, do not think as you wear a ‘Tathagata robe’ – monastic’s robe – you can block anything.

In one of Shakyamuni Buddha’s lifetimes, the people of the village He lived in caught all the fish in a pond and killed them. In that occasion, there was a big fish, and the Buddha was still a child at that time. Because He did not know how to kill it, He used a stick to hit the fish’s head. Therefore, Shakyamuni Buddha had headaches all the time in His life. Do you, the monastics present, think that because you wear a ‘Tathagata robe,’ there will be nothing for you to worry about? Were you Shakyamuni Buddha? Do you consider that you will be all right by just practicing for a while? Some things will absolutely happen. It is just a matter of how you will repay your ‘debts’ that have become manifest. In that prior lifetime, Shakyamuni Buddha only took a stick and hit the big fish’s head, and then He had headaches constantly in His lifetime; His head was not broken though. In the end, this big fish had become a king, and led his soldiers to annihilate Shakya clan. This is a very famous story in sutras.

Shakyamuni Buddha exhorted us and introduced to us so many lands of Buddhas for just telling us not to be unwilling to leave the earth. In this life, if one has paid off all the ‘debts’ that have been needed to be repaid and one has also done what should have been done, and when the time comes that this person should leave this world, the person is to leave. Do not say that you want to look back; you cannot even think about it. So long as you just give it a thought, you will remain on Earth, and will reincarnate again. Venerable Milarepa once said, ‘So long as you cannot be liberated from birth and death, cannot ‘go’ to the Pure Land, or cannot come back to this world by your vows after this life, and even if you have been a practitioner through lifetime after lifetime, you will still risk reincarnating or risk falling into the Hell Realm.’ Falling into that realm is not complicated at all. It is too simple.

Today, here is what Shakyamuni Buddha did, making a point to talk about His own land of a Buddha. He did not mention it in other sutras, but here He went out of His way to give us an exhortation. Hence, there is this contradiction for Buddhist practitioners: ‘Since Shakyamuni Buddha had attained Buddhahood on the earth, why is it not a bodhimanda? Why did the Buddha not say that we are to remain here to continue practicing in our next lifetime, like being in the Land of Amitabha or that of Immovable Buddha?’ Here, the answer is given to you. Have monastics not been confused about this question for a long time? Although there is a saying of ‘a pure mind in a pure land’ in sutras, how can your mind be pure? That is impossible. Provided that there is a breath left, your mind cannot attain a state of purity. Then, how can a land be pure? If such a land is not pure, it is at the evil time of the Five Turbidities.

This section of the sutra is very interesting, in that it tells Buddhist practitioners not to be captivated by the earth. Shakyamuni Buddha said this very clearly that even if you are to stay here and if there are no high-rise buildings or modes of transportation, will this place be like a city? If, today in Taipei, there were no high-rise buildings, modes of transportation, sceneries, or gardens – there being nothing at all – what would Taipei be like? It would be like a desert. Can you live in a desert? No, it is impossible. Since that is impossible to happen, do not make bizarre, unaccountable, or self-righteous vows every day. Do not say again that ‘For my health to get better, I want to recite Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara’s name 10,000 times more.’ If you do not recite the name, the merits of Avalokiteshvara will not be reduced a bit; if you recite the name a few times more, such merits will not be increased either. What relevance does your recitation have to Avalokiteshvara? This is exactly threatening and intimidating Avalokiteshvara. If your health does not become better, will you not recite Avalokiteshvara’s name then? For those elderly people in particular who are not in good health, if you recite or chant one sentence wholeheartedly, it will be more useful compared with your reciting or chanting 10,000 sentences with a disturbed mind.

Here, Shakyamuni Buddha spoke of this part very distinctly, saying, ‘if those Great Bodhisattvas who have made vows that they should embrace the pure land of a Buddha…,’ and this means the land of a Buddha for Shakyamuni Buddha is not pure. If you want to go to the pure land of a Buddha, you ‘should be like Immovable Tathagata who had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path before, and who had already been planting many fundamental merits to solemnify and purify the land of a Buddha.’ Why is the land of a Buddha for Immovable Tathagata pure? It is because he had planted many sacred virtues and merits. His fundamental merits are pure with solemnity. Thus, his land of a Buddha is pure with solemnity too.

What kinds of deficiencies did Shakyamuni Buddha have? In the sutras, it has been mentioned that He and Amitabha came out to spread the Dharma in the same era. The Dharmas expounded by Amitabha were those that everyone could understand. It is like what happens nowadays that the Dharmas I have been speaking of to you are the ones that you can comprehend. On the other hand, the Dharmas expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha were very profound, like the subject of Emptiness, and so on. Then, Shakyamuni Buddha thought that what had been taught by Amitabha were not the end-all-be-all on the Dharma, and only His teachings were. So, it was for this reason – the cause – that Shakyamuni Buddha came to Earth in this life to attain Buddhahood. It was just because of a thought. That was all. How many negative thoughts do you have? After you have counted the numbers with your 10 fingers, there will still be more to be counted for those bad thoughts. Let us not talk about them which you usually have in conducting yourself and handling things. How many negative thoughts do you have about your guru that you can count the numbers out?

On this Ratnakuta Sutra Shakyamuni Buddha had spoken of, the more you listen to it expounded, you will be worried; I dare not say you will be in fear. Rather, you will be afraid, feeling that you are truly a scoundrel. Do not think you have been learning Buddhism. Now, before we have mastered the practices of the Bodhisattva Path or attained the fruition level of a Bodhisattva, we need to have correct thoughts. Do not make mistakes again; do not have distorted thoughts or walk on a distorted path of your practices. Do your things or practices correctly, and then one day you will certainly accomplish them. Shakyamuni Buddha had expounded this subject so plainly now and had already told us, His disciples, – strictly speaking, we are His disciples – this: ‘Do not be in here. I have continuously instructed or told you to go to other places. Do not stay here.’ You do not even listen to what your guru says, but you are still saying, ‘I want to come back to this world by my vows.’

Obviously, it has been mentioned very distinctly in sutras that only when Bodhisattva Maitreya appears, will there be 9.9 billion people, who have practiced meditation, following him to the land of a Buddha for Bodhisattva Maitreya. Other people cannot ‘go’ there. However, these 9.9 billion people do not appear continuously in this period of 56 trillion years; rather, they go to the land of Bodhisattva Maitreya when they pass away at the end of their lives at the time. We laity cannot go to the Tusita of Bodhisattva Maitreya. People who can go there must be monastics. Yet nowadays, many monastics are not different from laity because the thoughts of monastics are the same as those of ours. These monastics have an appearance of having being ordained, but their minds have not been ordained. They cannot go to the land of a Buddha for Bodhisattva Maitreya. When Bodhisattva Maitreya appears to attain Buddhahood, you cannot go to that land either. In this period of 56 trillion years, where will you go to? No one has expounded the sutra like this, right? (Rinpoche asked a monastic present the question.) (The monastic answered, ‘There are no ones who have spoken of the subject this way. All they have said is that by doing sitting in meditation or by practicing meditation, one will have opportunities to be in Tusita or the inner courtyard of the place of Bodhisattva Maitreya.’

Saying ‘have opportunities’ here is equivalent to that of ‘have no opportunities.’ This had been mentioned here very clearly by Shakyamuni Buddha. So, you need to think about this plainly. All of us call Shakyamuni Buddha as ‘Fundamental Teacher.’ Hence, you yourself are to be clear in your mind.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Sariputra, it is like now I have already attained Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhicitta (Supreme Enlightenment), and have subdued countless sentient beings, who have all obtained the accomplishment of fruition from the practices of the Paths of Two Vehicles. Additionally, for those Sravakas I have subdued, all of them have accumulated and gathered. Comparing the number of these Sravakas with those Sravakas who have been subdued by that Tathagata, the count of 100, 1,000, 100,000 or 10 trillion in the former is less than one in the latter. In terms of numbers, calculation, numbers in metaphor, or in Upanisad, the numbers in the former are also less than one, compared to those in the latter.’

Shakyamuni Buddha said very humbly that ‘now I have already attained…. Supreme Enlightenment, and have subdued countless sentient beings, who have all obtained the accomplishment of fruition from the practices of the Paths of Two Vehicles.’ This means He had made many sentient beings achieve attainment from the practices of the Paths of Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha.

‘Additionally, for those Sravakas I have subdued, all of them have accumulated and gathered.’ This means all the ‘Sravakas I have subdued …. have accumulated and gathered.’ The phrase, ‘Comparing the number of these Sravakas with those Sravakas who have been subdued by that Tathagata….,’ refers to the number of the Sravakas subdued by the Buddha, and it cannot be compared with that of Sravakas who have been subdued by Immovable Tathagata. The numbers mentioned in the later part of the quote are in Indian terms.

Sutra: ‘Why is that? It is because that the number of Sravakas is countless there. If “being liberated” is the mention, there are no differences in those Sravakas, and all things stay on this, in that “being liberated” is the only thing done.’

Why is that? It is because in the land of Immovable Tathagata, there are even more Sravakas, too many to count. ‘If “being liberated” is the mention, there are no differences in those Sravakas.’ This means if one goes to that land, one is to get liberated; there are no other things done there; one is to be liberated from birth and death. It is not that one says to oneself, when being there, ‘I will see if I like it here or not. If I do, I will stay; if not, I will run away.’ ‘All things stay on this, in that “being liberated” is the only thing done.’ It is the thing there for one to stay on.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, when that Maitreya Tathagata should be born in the world, there are Sravakas then and the remaining Sravakas he has subdued. If the number of these Sravakas is compared with that of Sravakas having been subdued by Immovable Tathagata, it is less in various modes of comparison as described above.’

When Bodhisattva Maitreya has attained Buddhahood, he will bring many Sravakas and subdue the remaining ones. However, if the number of these Sravakas is compared to that of Sravakas who have been subdued by Immovable Tathagata, the former is still not more than the latter.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, you should know that because once that Tathagata expounds the Dharma, he is very capable to subdue countless sentient beings. However, for the number of those who have been embraced by that World Honored One, no one can know it.’

These few sentences in the quote are very interesting. Every time when I chant the Great Six-Syllable Mantra and visualize sentient beings, I really do not know how many of them there are. I mentioned to you last week that only the Buddha knows how many of sentient beings there are in the universe, including those in the Six Realms. There is a population of several billion on Earth. You feel that there are already quite a lot of people. Yet, in fact, on many planets unknown to us, there are many humans there, not to mention animals. On those planets, there are hells and hungry ghosts too, and they cannot be counted because they are innumerable. Therefore, if I do not practice this way every day, I really cannot realize or feel what the concept is on the term ‘countless sentient beings.’ It still cannot be described as ‘covering fully the mountains and the valleys’ as you understand it. The sea is so vast but is not big enough to contain sentient beings, nor can the universe get them filled in even though it is enormously huge. Only Immovable Tathagata has such a capability because of his meritorious acts from his past practices and vows he had made. His merits can embrace countless sentient beings. If we can go to Abhirati, we will then be able to follow Immovable Tathagata doing such things.

Even if we cannot go there in this life, and because we do not have such merits and great roots of virtue, we will go to the Land of Amitabha first. If you have made this vow in this life, and even if you are in the Land of Amitabha, so long as you have achieved attainment of a Great Bodhisattva, you can go to Abhirati anytime you want. Simply speaking, after we leave the earth, if we wish to go to any land of a Buddha, we will not have capabilities to go there directly. Amitabha’s Pure Land is then a station of a relay for us. Even though Shakyamuni Buddha introduced Immovable Tathagata to us so clearly now, we cannot master our practices in the ways that Tathagata had done because we do not have enough time in this life to do them.

I dare not say that I have practiced well now. At least I have mastered the practices of Highest Yoga Tantra, which is relevant to Immovable Tathagata. I have realized that, truly, because a human’s life span is too short, there is not enough time, absolutely, to attain accomplishment in great roots of virtue, good fortune, and vows, as mentioned in sutras, so that one can go to the land of Immovable Tathagata immediately once one’s life ends. Hence, to be safe, we must make vows to be reborn in Amitabha’s Pure Land. Today, I have introduced to you the sections of the sutra about Immovable Tathagata, and have helped you plant roots of virtue, an affinity, and a seed. In these ways, in your future lifetimes, when you wish to go to Abhirati, you will be able to.

It is like what Shakyamuni Buddha said, ‘if good men and good women give rise to efforts to increase their happiness and desires in their minds for the vows made, to all these men and women, I will bestow assurance of….’ So long as good men and good women have made vows to go to the land of Immovable Tathagata, the Buddha ‘will bestow assurance of their being born in that land.’ No matter where you have gone to in the entire universe, once the time comes, Shakyamuni Buddha will help you go to Abhirati. It is because He has confirmed that you will go there. Currently, there is a population of a little over 20 million in Taiwan. Nevertheless, there are only a bit over 1,000 people – you – who can listen to the expounding on Immovable Tathagata, which has not been listened to by people outside of this Center. (Rinpoche asked a monastic, who has been ordained for decades, if he had ever heard of Immovable Tathagata being expounded. The monastic replied that he had not.) Why has no one spoken of it? There is the Buddhist Canon in a Buddhist center, and anyone can open and read it. Why has no one expounded on Immovable Tathagata? It is because many people do not have such good fortune to speak of him, and they do not have such an affinity with the Tathagata either.

Your guru has done many practices on Yoga Tantra and Highest Yoga Tantra, and both are relevant to Immovable Tathagata. It is like another Dharma method I have practiced on, the Black Water Jambhala; it is relevant to Immovable Tathagata too. Thus, I have come to this point in my teachings naturally. This is the affinity. You are my disciples so it is natural to me that I have also introduced Immovable Tathagata to you. Regarding whether you will let this affinity continue or not, it is for you to decide; it is not my decision. I have only spoken to you truthfully the facts that had been expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha in sutras. Whether you will follow these teachings or not, please yourself. If you want to resist them, it is as you please. If you do not accept them, it is also as you please. You will not be forced to do otherwise.

What Shakyamuni Buddha spoke of were very vernacular and clear. All of you need to contemplate what He expounded. After attending a puja and getting home every week, do not think that as you have been blessed by me on that day, you will then be lucky, get promoted, strike it rich, or live in a good house, and so forth. These are all full of nonsense. Here, Shakyamuni Buddha mentioned this very plainly: Immovable Tathagata has achieved accomplishment of being ‘very capable to subdue countless sentient beings.’

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, for the Sravakas I have subdued, the Sravakas who have been subdued by Maitreya Tathagata, even all the Sravakas who have been subdued by World-Honored-One Buddhas in bhadrakalpa, and the remaining Sravakas whom the Sravakas just mentioned should subdue, all of them have accumulated and gathered. Comparing the number of these Sravakas with those Sravakas who have been subdued by Immovable Tathagata, the count of 100 in the former is less than one in the latter. Even in term of Upanisad, the number in the former is also less than one, compared to that in the latter.’

Shakyamuni Buddha enhanced our memory again. The bhadrakalpa will end on Earth when the seventh Buddha appears on it. Even if the number of Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas, who have been embraced by Buddhas in bhadrakalpa, and the number of sentient beings, who have been subdued by those Buddhas, are added together, the total is not comparable to the number of those who have been embraced and subdued by Immovable Tathagata.

Sutra: ‘Why is that? Because the number of those Sravakas is great, and because there are no differences in their getting liberated. At that time, Sariputra said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, as I understand the Buddha’s meaning, I should know that land is a land of arhats, not a land of foolish people. Why is that? It is because in that land of a Buddha, there are many arhats.” The Buddha spoke to Sariputra, “This is right. This is right. As you say, it is because in that land of a Buddha, there are many arhats who have obtained the state of the eradication of afflictions.”’

Here, it shows that Sariputra had practiced and was wise too, therefore, he helped sentient beings ask the Buddha for instructions about this: “‘As I understand the Buddha’s meaning, I should know’ the land of Immovable Tathagata ‘is a land of arhats, not a land of’ ordinary, ‘foolish people.’” This means ‘that land is a land of arhats,’ not a land of ordinary, foolish people. Why? ‘It is because in that land of a Buddha, there are many arhats.’ Now, there are no arhats anymore on Earth. This was in the past. I am not sure whether there are arhats or not nowadays. However, in accordance with all that have been mentioned in sutras, arhats will not appear in the Age of Dharma Decline. Nevertheless, there are more arhats in the land of Immovable Tathagata. So, there are no fools there. For humans on Earth, even if there are people who have some wits or capabilities, they are foolish people, compared with arhats in that land. I am not scolding people. The Buddha said, ‘This is right. This is right. As you say….’

‘It is because in that land of a Buddha, there are many arhats who have obtained the state of the eradication of afflictions.’ This means these Great Arhats have already mastered their practices to the level of ‘there are no arising and no ceasing to exist in all phenomena.’ All the afflictions of these arhats have been eradicated.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Sariputra, the number of constellations in this trichiliocosm is less than that of Sravakas in that land of a Buddha. It is because once that Tathagata expounds the Dharma, countless sentient beings will obtain the attainment of an arhat. Sariputra, there is still the number of constellations in this trichiliocosm. Because at each of those gatherings when that Tathagata expounds the Dharma, countless sentient beings will obtain the attainment of an arhat. For this reason, in those gatherings, there are innumerable Sravakas.’

The Buddha emphasized again that there are many stars in the trichiliocosm, but the number of stars is not large compared to that of Sravakas in the land of Immovable Tathagata. Once the ‘Tathagata expounds the Dharma, countless sentient beings will obtain the attainment of an arhat.’ In that land, there are numbers on constellations in the trichiliocosm. Shakyamuni Buddha was able to speak of those numbers, but we do not know about them.

With His Buddha’s eye, Shakyamuni Buddha perceived how many stars there are in the trichiliocosm. The astronomy has much advanced now. Although telescopes are already very amazing nowadays that they can be used to look at things very far away, yet, just how many constellations there are is something that still cannot be counted. Even the stars in the Milky Way Galaxies cannot be counted clearly, let alone stars in the entire universe. However, for the number of constellations in the trichiliocosm, Shakyamuni Buddha not only knew about it but also spoke of it very assuredly. There is such a number; it is not nonexistent. Nevertheless, even though there is the number, at every puja when Immovable Tathagata ‘expounds the Dharma, countless sentient beings will obtain the attainment of an arhat.’ Also, ‘in those gatherings, there are innumerable Sravakas.’

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Sariputra, in that land of a Buddha, heavenly beings have planted foundations of virtue. In other realms, for humans and those in heavens, even though they use a “heavenly eye,” they also cannot see such deeds. Sariputra, for the heavenly beings and humans of other realms, if they go to the places of good men and good women in that land of a Buddha, and even when they use a “heavenly eye” to its utmost, they cannot see those men, women, and their places either. If people listen to this Dharma method of praising the merits, and after having listened to it, they will accept, hold, and recite it understandingly and smoothly. All those good men had already seen and listened to Immovable Tathagata when he had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path before. Thus, when they have listened to this Dharma method, they have immediately obtained the purity in their faith.’

Shakyamuni Buddha spoke to Sariputra again about the land of Immovable Tathagata. ‘In that land of a Buddha, heavenly beings have planted foundations of virtue. In other realms, for humans and those in heavens, even though they use a “heavenly eye,” they also cannot see such deeds.’ Even if heavenly beings and humans of other realms (like the Heaven of Desires, the Heaven of Forms, the Heaven of Formlessness, et cetera) ‘go to the places of good men and good women in that land of a Buddha, and even when they use a “heavenly eye,”’ ‘they cannot see those men, women, and their places either.’ If there are people who listen to the merits of Immovable Tathagata, and praise this Dharma method, and ‘after having listened to it, they will accept, hold, and recite it understandingly and smoothly.’ The phrase, ‘understandingly and smoothly’ means using the meanings and connotations in sutras to smoothly connect the understanding in one’s wisdom, and with that wisdom, one is to do ‘benefiting others by benefiting oneself.’ When Immovable Tathagata had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path before, these good men had already seen him.

The reason that I can expound this section of the sutra today is, perhaps, because I had seen him in my past lifetimes or a very, very long time ago. Otherwise, it will be impossible for me to expound it. There are two volumes on the Ratnakuta Sutra. This Volume One I have here is such a large volume, and there is also Volume Two. Why, contrarily, have I expounded this section? There must be causes and conditions in this; it is like what Shakyamuni Buddha had spoken of. If there are no reasons, it will be impossible for me to expound this section. This is because the way I read sutras is different from that of other people. I will not specifically look for a certain part to read; rather, I will expound the part wherever I happen to turn the pages to read.

It is mentioned very clearly in the sutra that if a good man, in his past lifetimes, had not ‘seen and listened to Immovable Tathagata,’ it will be impossible for him in this life to listen to this Dharma method again, and obtain a strong purity in his faith. If you do not obtain such purity on this Dharma method, then the indication is that you did not have an affinity with Immovable Tathagata in your past lifetimes so that you can be helped open this affinity up in this life. If you have given rise to a pure mind after listening to the Dharma method, you will think that, one day, you will master the practices of it and go to the land of Immovable Tathagata. In this kind of situation, it is the so-called pure faith.

In other words, you are to accept completely what Shakyamuni Buddha spoke of in sutras, and not to think about them clearly again, ask if they are so, consider that you cannot achieve accomplishment on them, or wonder how to master the practices. These thoughts are not pure. You are a bunch of verbose people. This also demonstrates that you did not have an affinity with Immovable Tathagata before, and are only beginning to form it in this life. However, this term, ‘beginning,’ here does not represent that this affinity will continue to exist because its continuation will be decided by you; it is not for Immovable Tathagata and me to help you decide.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, in the lands of Buddhas in all the worlds of the East, if there are people who have been practicing Mahayana or Vehicle of Sravaka, many of them have recited this Dharma method understandingly and smoothly. For those Bodhisattvas and Sravakas, because of vows they have made, they have already been born, or are being born now, or should be born in the land of a Buddha for Immovable Tathagata, excluding the Bodhisattvas of non-retrogression. This is because these Bodhisattvas should achieve attainment in Supreme Enlightenment in the lands of Buddhas.’

Here, Shakyamuni Buddha mentioned this very clearly: ‘In the lands of Buddhas in all the worlds of the East, if there are people who have been practicing Mahayana or Vehicle of Sravaka, many of them have recited this Dharma method understandingly and smoothly.’ For these Bodhisattvas and Sravakas, ‘because of vows they have made, they have already been born, or are being born now, or should be born in the land of a Buddha for Immovable Tathagata’, meaning they will be in that land in their future lives, ‘excluding the Bodhisattvas of non-retrogression.’ This is because some Bodhisattvas who have been born there will not retrogress. They will not leave Abhirati and will continuously practice in there until they have attained Buddhahood. ‘This is because these Bodhisattvas should achieve attainment in Supreme Enlightenment in the lands of Buddhas.’ Today, if we can go to that land, so long as we can be born there, and accept and recite ‘this Dharma method understandingly and smoothly,’ we will attain Supreme Enlightenment.

Sutra: ‘In the South, West, North and intermediate directions including the zenith and nadir, it will also be the same. Sariputra, in the World of Abhirati and other lands of Buddhas, among Mahayana and other Vehicles in Buddhism, that Immovable Tathagata is in the seat of honor.’

It is described very clearly here that in Abhirati and other lands of Buddhas ‘in the South, West, North and intermediate directions including the zenith and nadir,’ and ‘among Mahayana and other Vehicles in Buddhism, that Immovable Tathagata is in the seat of honor.’ That is to say that in a gathering, regardless of who are there, and whether they are Great Bodhisattvas or are in Bodhisattva’s Dharmakaya (Dharma-body), once Immovable Tathagata sits, he sits in the seat of honor. This is equivalent to view him as a guru who teaches Bodhisattvas. Hence, if you are not prepared to practice the Bodhisattva Path, and if you practice for yourself all the time, he is not your guru.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, if there are good men and good women who have listened to the Dharma method of the merits of Immovable Tathagata, are very capable, with a mind of goodness, to accept, hold, and recite this method understandingly and smoothly, and have made vows to be born in that land of a Buddha even to the end of their lives, Immovable Tathagata will often protect, and be mindful of, them. He will not let demons and demons’ family members retrogress the minds of those good men and good women.’

The sentences in the first part of this quote mean when you listen to ‘the Dharma method of the merits of Immovable Tathagata,’ you can use ‘a mind of goodness to accept, hold, and recite this method understandingly and smoothly.’ The term, ‘a mind of goodness,’ refers to a mind with the Five Precepts and the Ten Meritorious Acts. Moreover, the term means wishing that after having learned this Dharma method, one can benefit even more vast number of sentient beings. It is not a concept that you are to learn the method very delightfully with your mind filling with Dharma joy, will be enlightened, or will be helped so that your doubts get resolved. None of these means ‘a mind of goodness.’ Thus, one word – goodness – can reveal your true colors about your practices. The phrase, ‘are very capable, with a mind of goodness, to accept, hold, and recite this method understandingly and smoothly,’ refers to the state that one can recite, read, or understand thoroughly the meanings and connotations of the method. One is to benefit oneself and sentient beings with this one word – goodness. Without such a word in the mind, one’s practices on this method are irrelevant to it.

The phrase, ‘…. and have made vows to be born in that land of a Buddha even to the end of their lives, Immovable Tathagata will often protect, and be mindful of, them,’ means Immovable Tathagata will protect these people in his thoughts. ‘He will not let demons and demons’ family members retrogress the minds of those good men and good women.’ This is very important. It is mentioned very clearly in sutras that before we have attained accomplishment of the state of Bodhisattvas of the Eighth Ground, there are still opportunities for us to get bodhicitta retrogressed in our minds. So, some people have practiced further in later stages, and have become practitioners who practice only for themselves, not for others. These practitioners do not practice the Bodhisattva Path. All these occurrences have been caused by demons’ family members who have come to obstruct people’s practices.

For practitioners who practice only for themselves, if they are not careful in their practices, and if they have a little good fortune, at most, they will master their practices to the state of the Heaven of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception. If they have a little less good fortune, they will be born in one of the Four Heavens, like Mahesvara. If their good fortune is even much less, they will fall into the Mara Realm. Therefore, one needs to be very careful in one’s practices. If Immovable Tathagata has thought of us and protected us frequently, demons and demons’ family members cannot retrogress our minds. Sometimes they have a form or an image to let you see them. Sometimes there are no such forms or images from them at all, and then they will influence your mind and get it changed.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra should know that these good men or good women who have even attained supreme bodhicitta do not have the fear of retrogression.’

Shakyamuni Buddha mentioned that ‘Sariputra should know that these good men or good women’ who have practiced this Dharma method and ‘have even attained supreme bodhicitta do not have the fear of retrogression.’ This is because many practitioners have worried that they will retrogress. Why? Because of the demons that have just been mentioned earlier. They have been called forth through your own karmic hindrances. Hence, people like us who have been practicing Vajrayana must practice the Dharma methods of Vajrasattva. Many people think that practicing these methods of Vajrasattva is to help eliminate their karmic hindrances, get them a better health, make things not occur, or make their practices even easier. These are wrong thoughts. Practicing the methods of this yidam is mainly eliminating and purifying the experiences you had in past lifetimes for having being descendants of demons or having the thoughts of demons. Those practices are to help you eliminate and purify your encounters on things about demons. Only in these ways, will you be in the state of non-retrogression.

That is why some of my former disciples disappeared from this Center unaccountably, and did not want to learn the Dharma. It is because there had been these types of things happening to them in their past lifetimes, and, naturally, they have not made vows in this life either. Thus, as a matter of course, demons take the advantage of the situations and come to ‘get’ these former disciples. They have many reasons for leaving here, and think these reasons are correct. In terms of human senses and reasons, such reasons are correct. However, in accordance with the Dharma principles, the reasons are incorrect because they are nonsense. We want to get liberated from birth and death but why do we still have a bunch of such things happening?

For example, there are some believers who were my disciples before, and they will rather not attend pujas here as they are unwilling to take COVID vaccine. Getting vaccinated is not a regulation I set up. It is one required by the whole world. Also, there are related regulations by governments here that if one is not vaccinated, one cannot go to gatherings, like attending our pujas. However, these people are afraid of having a side-effect if they get vaccinated. They give up the Dharma then. Will you say that people of this kind are the ones learning Buddhism? Even if they are unlucky to get a side-effect, there is still me, an old person, who will help them to get liberated. Nevertheless, they just do not want to take the vaccine even if they are put in a situation to be beaten to death. (Translator’s note: This is an analogy.) They will not take even one dose of the vaccine, and such group of people includes the elderly who are also afraid of getting a side-effect. If these people do not take COVID vaccine, they cannot come here to meet with me. They absolutely cannot do that in this life.

This pandemic will not be gone as quickly as you imagine. It will come like a wave, one at a time, say, one in a year or one in half of a year. Now, there is a start of talk about taking the fourth dose of the vaccine. This fourth dose is not mandatory, but the third one is. This is because the rules and regulations have been announced very clearly that without taking a third dose, people are not allowed to attend gatherings. These few people in question have not been vaccinated because they are afraid of getting a side-effect and then they will die from it. If they do not take vaccination, they cannot come here. It is not that I will not allow them to come. Instead, it is they who let themselves not come because they are willing to forsake the Dharma rather than giving up their own lives.

By the way, sentient beings are sorrowful in the Age of Dharma Decline because they have too many of their own thoughts. It is like this example. There was a disciple who came here for an audience with me and told me that his mother had not gotten vaccinated. I said to him. ‘What does it have to do with me? This is your family affair.’ If the rules and regulations have continuously advised the elderly to get vaccinated, then his mother is to take the vaccine! If he is afraid that his mother, being an old person, will die sooner from the vaccination, then she is not to get vaccinated! However, if, and when, the need to get her liberated arises, there will be problems. It is because I will certainly instruct him to do grand prostrations, completing the number of times required. Only then will I help get his mother liberated.

There are reasons that in sutras, it is mentioned that learning Buddhism is a behavior of a ‘real man.’ No matter how much I have said it you have not gotten that through your head. I conducted a retreat in 2007 at the Lapchi Snow Mountain in Nepal for a little over three months. Can you conduct such a retreat? Before I went, I had not attended many things I had in Taiwan, business or private. I dropped them and went to the retreat. I am the same as you are for being non-ordained. Then, why can you not let go of things? Because you do not want to die yet. When you die, you will not have any things! In the Dharma, there are no mentions to exhort us committing suicide, which is not allowed, absolutely. The Dharma principles only inform us that our death is something that is certain to happen. What have we been practicing on now? It is the preparation for our death when the time comes!

You need to help yourself do a good preparation. Do not think that I will not die in, say, 10,000 years. If I am alive in those 10,000 years, I am a zombie then. Guru Rinpoche can be ‘non-arising and non-ceasing-to-exist.’ Yet, he lived for 800 years before leaving this world too lest people would say that he was a living dead. Guru Rinpoche did not need to die, not his physical body assuredly. Speaking of this subject, I have many feelings about it. How have these demons come about? It is you who have found them – you have called them forth to you.

Every one of you is selfish and self-serving, thinking only for yourself. Of course, there is nothing to say against it because each of you has learned Buddhism for getting yourself better. However, after listening to my teachings of the Dharma for these many years, have you still not changed? It is like this situation. There was a disciple who came yesterday to seek an audience with me. He told me that his parents, the two people whom he had believed in the most, had both died. After hearing that, I asked him, ‘Then, do you not believe in the Buddha and Bodhisattvas? Do you not believe in me?’ He has taken refuge in me for almost 10 years now, and said he believed in his parents. It is not that you are not to believe in your parents; rather, after they have died, they are gone. Did he mean he wanted me to bring his parents back alive?

There is a bunch of such disciples who are scoundrels. All of them have come here imploring me for blessings and protection. When their family members have passed away, these disciples will be here and implore me – in a manner of treating the liberating procedure being very cheap or being free of charge – for getting those family members liberated. It is just like what that disciple had said today before the puja started. There were lots of medical expenses that his family had saved because of my help in getting his deceased family member liberated. Nevertheless, although money was saved, there was not an increase in the donation from him for supporting the monastery construction project. Do not use the Dharma or to abuse me in this way. If you are willing to learn Buddhism, I will help you with disregard for my life. It is mentioned very clearly in the sutra that there are certain conditions you need to meet, and only then can Immovable Tathagata remember you.

Now, what is your thinking based on that I will remember you? It is like this occasion that when my attendants mentioned some person’s name to me, I said to them, ‘Who is the person?’ It did not mean whether he had helped do things for this Center or not; rather, I really did not remember him. It seems that this person has not come here to learn Buddhism. He is just a civil servant, and has come to attend pujas on Sundays. On Saturdays, if he is interested, he will come here to see me. On a Mother’s Day, he made an offering to me as if I were his mother. This kind of a person has not been learning Buddhism. You, the monastics present, have listened to what I have said so far today, and should make repentance. Among you, there is one who should make a special effort to repent. Just now, her mind had wandered to places that no one knew where.

Why will one’s mind wander? Because the person does not have good fortune. As the person lacks good fortune, he or she will appear this way naturally. Why have I wanted to expound this chapter of the sutra? It is because when I read it, it turned out that the subject of Immovable Tathagata has been so important. On behalf of Shakyamuni Buddha, I have a responsibility to introduce Immovable Tathagata to you. In this lifetime, whether you will get what I have expounded about him through your head is for you to decide. However, this is a very important yidam. In fact, there are many important yidams in Tantra, and their Dharma methods are relevant to Immovable Tathagata. It is not for me to say more about this here because you have not learned Tantra.

Sutra: ‘There are also no damages or harms from water, fire, swords, clubs, evil beasts, or poisonous insects.’

In the later part of this section, it is also mentioned that if you have mastered your practices to this level, besides your having attained supreme bodhicitta and not having the fear of retrogression, ‘there are also no damages or harms from water, fire, swords, clubs, evil beasts, or poisonous insects’ – you will not be harmed by them. The quote refers to these types of situations: you will not be drowned by water; fire will not burn you to death; you will not encounter calamities of swords and army, meaning you will not die in a war; you will not die in a car accident either; there will be no one to beat you with a club, no evil beasts to bite you to death, or no poisonous insects to bite you. If there is a poisonous insect biting you, what does it mean? (A monastic answered that ‘it is because my karmic hindrances have been heavy.’) Here it is mentioned very clearly that one does not need to implore for any things, and they will appear when you want them. It is just like what is mentioned in the Universal Gate Chapter. Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara said that as described in the Chapter, there will be no disasters of water or fire, and when evil beasts or poisonous insects see you, they will turn round and go away. Have you mastered your practices yet? If you have, you will have the things you wish to have. Do you still need to implore for them?

For example, now I have a monastery being constructed. So far, there is not even a snake having been seen to appear. It is reasonable to say that in a mountain area, as there are many forests around it, it is impossible that there are no poisonous snakes. Another example is about leopard cats, the most famous mountain animal in Miaoli. The infrared has been used 24 hours a day for two years to monitor such cats’ appearances. There is not one that has been seen passing through the construction site of the monastery. What does this indicate? Take a guess then! If you guess it right, you will be given a prize. If not, just wait to get ‘fixed’ by me.”

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Updated on November 21, 2023