Universal Worthy's Conduct and Vows

Chapter Forty

 

 

Sutra:

As the lotus does not touch the water,
As sun and moon do not stop in space.
Ending suffering of the paths of evil,
And to everyone equally bringing joy,
May I for aeons like the motes of dust in lands
Ever benefit all in the ten directions.

Always in accord with living beings,
Cultivating through all future aeons
The vast conduct of Universal Worthy
The Unsurpassed Great Bodhi will I perfect.

May all who cultivate with me
Assemble together with me in one place,
Our karmas of body, mouth, and mind the same,
As we cultivate and study all practices and vows.  

With all advisors good and wise who aid me
By explaining Samantabhadra’s deeds,
I vow to always congregate together:
May they never be displeased with me.  

Commentary:

As the lotus does not touch the water. What does it mean not to be attached? The lotus comes forth from the mud, but after it grows tall and blossoms, the flower is not defiled by the mud. Although an unattached person is in the world, his mind transcends the world of dust, like a flower planted in a well which cannot be defiled by dust because no dust can reach it. This person is like a lotus flower which does not touch the water. Its roots are in the mud, its stem is in the water, but the flower is above the water. This is called, "coming from the mud and yet undefiled." Those who are not attached to any of the dharmas of world are like the lotus flower which is not defiled by the dust.

As sun and moon do not stop in space. The sun and moon do not stop in space. Although the sun and moon travel through space, they are not attached to any part of it and do not stop anywhere. They are without attachments.

Ending suffering of the paths of evil: To "end" means to completely wipe out all the suffering of all the evil paths. The three evil paths are the path of the hells, the path of the hungry ghosts, and the path of animals. And to everyone equally bringing joy: By being equally compassionate to all living beings, I cause them all to be happy. May I for aeons like the motes of dust in lands: I will act this way throughout kalpas as numerous as dust motes in all lands to ever benefit all in the ten directions. I wish to benefit all living beings throughout the ten directions without cease.

Always in accord with living beings. I want to be forever in accord with living beings and to cultivate and study the Ten Great Kings of Vows of Universal Worthy. Cultivating through all future aeons: during all kalpas until the limits of the kalpas of the future, I wish to ceaselessly cultivate these kinds of vows and the vast conduct of Universal Worthy. I constantly cultivate and study the vast and great doors of practice of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. The unsurpassed great Bodhi will I then perfect. Because of this, I will perfect the good roots of unsurpassed great Bodhi.

May all who cultivate with me--all those who cultivate the door of the Ten Great Vows of Universal Worthy--assemble together with me in one place. May we always live together, and may our karmas of body, mouth, and mind be the same, as we cultivate and study all practices and vows. May the vows and practices we cultivate be the same as we cultivate and study together.

With all advisors good and wise who aid me--all those wise ones who aid me by explaining Samantabhadra's deeds, who teach me the doors of practice of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva--I vow to always congregate together Those with conditions can congregate together, but those without conditions cannot, even if they wanted to. Because of the power of their vows, those who are together life after life, can always come together. They assemble to cultivate the Way, to work hard in one Dharma Assembly. May they never be displeased with me. We will always like each other. You may be good to someone, but if you and that person do not have affinities, he still will not feel that he is being treated well. But if you have affinities with someone, he will like it even if you scold him or hit him. Why? Because there is a strong affinity which exists. So there are subtle and wonderful conditions involved in relationships among people.

Sutra:

I vow to always meet Thus Come Ones face to face
And the hosts of disciples that circulate around them.
I’ll raise offerings which are vast and great
Untiring to the end of future aeons.  

Commentary:

I vow to always meet Thus Come Ones face to face. I vow to always see, draw near to, and serve all Buddhas, and I vow to go to the lands throughout the ten directions to be with them and with the hosts of disciples that circulate around them. I will be together with the great assembly of all the Buddhas' disciples who circumambulate, praise and make offerings to the Buddhas. I'll raise offerings which are vast and great. I will bring forth thoughts of vast and great offerings for the sake of all living beings, and make offerings to all Buddhas and their disciples. I'll be untiring to the end of future aeons. Even after the kalpas of the future have been exhausted, there will never be a time when I will grow tired of bringing forth the thought of making vast and great offerings.

Sutra:

I will hold on high the subtly wondrous Buddhadharma
And illuminate the practices of Bodhi;
I will be ultimately pure in Samantabhadra’s Way,
Practicing until the end of time.  

Inexhaustible blessings and wisdom
I cultivate throughout all existences;
By concentration, wisdom, skillful means, and liberation,
I will gain an endless store of merit and virtue.

Commentary:

I further vow to receive and uphold the subtle and wonderful, extremely profound Dharma of the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three periods of time. So it is said,

The unsurpassed, profound, subtle and wonderful Dharma
Is difficult to meet in billions of kalpas.
I now see and hear it, receive it all and maintain it.
I vow to understand the Thus Come One's true and actual meaning.

Do not think that it is easy to understand the Buddhadharma. Not only is understanding it difficult, simply encountering it is difficult. Therefore it is said,

A human body is difficult to obtain,
The Buddhadharma is difficult to hear,
And it's hard to meet a wise teacher.

It is difficult to be able to hear the Buddhadharma, but now we are hearing it. A human body is difficult to obtain, but now we have human bodies. It is difficult to meet a wise teacher, and so we should look for a wise teacher.

I will hold on high the subtly wondrous Buddhadharma. I wish to cultivate according to the subtle and wonderful Dharma doors of all Buddhas, and illuminate the practices of Bodhi. I wish to spread the Buddha's teaching and cause the Way of enlightenment to emit a light which appears throughout the universe. This is called illuminating the practices of Bodhi, all the practices of the Way of enlightenment.

I will be ultimately pure in Samantabhadra's Way. I will obtain the ultimate purity, the state of Nirvana, and perfect the Bodhi Way of enlightenment of Universal Worthy, practicing until the end of time. I always wish to cultivate the practices of Universal Worthy, to the exhaustion of the bounds of the future.

Inexhaustible blessings and wisdom I cultivate throughout all existences. Throughout the Three Realms and all existences I shall cultivate inexhaustible blessings and wisdom. The blessings and wisdom which I cultivate can never be exhausted.

If you wish to cultivate blessings, you should do good deeds.
If you wish to cultivate wisdom, you should deeply study the Buddhadharma.

If you do many good acts of merit and virtue, you will have blessings. If you propagate the Buddhadharma widely, turning the great Dharma wheel, to teach and transform living beings, your wisdom will open up. Then you will have blessings and wisdom which are inexhaustible.

By concentration, wisdom, skillful means, and liberation. Your power of concentration will be perfected and your power of wisdom will be perfected, so that your concentration and wisdom are totally bright. You will be able to use clever expedient means and also the Dharma doors of liberation. That way, I will gain an endless store of merit and virtue. I will obtain an inexhaustible and endless store of merit and virtue that is boundless and as great as empty space, equal in volume to the Dharma Realm. This store of merit and virtue will not be used up even when all the kalpas of the future have been exhausted.

Sutra:

In one mote of dust are lands as numerous as motes of dust.
In each land are incalculable numbers of Buddhas.
In every place where Buddhas dwell I see the host assembled,
Endlessly proclaiming all the practices of Bodhi.  

In ten directions everywhere, throughout the sea of lands,
On the tip of every hair in oceans of all time,
So too there is a sea of Buddhas, a sea of Buddhalands;
Pervading them all I cultivate for seas of endless time.  

The speech of all Tathagatas is pure;
Each word contains an ocean of all sounds.
According with what beings like to hear,
The Buddhas’ sea of eloquence flows forth.  

Commentary:

In one mote of dust are lands as numerous as motes of dust. In the Buddhadharma, the small manifests within the great, and the great also appears in the small. One dust mote is the smallest, but in one dust mote all the measureless and boundless Buddha lands can appear. Further, each dust mote in a world system is a Buddha land, and in each of these Buddhalands are measureless and boundless numbers of dust motes as numerous as all the Buddha lands. In each land are incalculable numbers of Buddhas. In each of the Buddha lands are further inconceivable numbers of Buddhas. There is no way you can know their numbers.

In every place where Buddhas dwell I see the host assembled. Each one of those Buddhas has a Dharma assembly where all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Sound Hearers, and Arhats show their respect by circumambulating and praising those Buddhas. They are endlessly proclaiming all the practices of Bodhi. I see the sea-like assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas cultivating the practices of Bodhi of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva.

In the ten directions everywhere, throughout the sea of lands. "Everywhere throughout," means that one goes to the sea of lands of the ten directions. It is called a "sea of lands" because the "sea" is a symbol of vastness; it means that the lands are measureless and boundless. There is no way you can know their number, and so they are called "the sea of lands."

On the tip of every hair in oceans of all time, so too there is a sea of Buddhas, a sea of Buddha lands. On the tip of each hair appear all the Buddhas and all Buddha lands of the ten directions and three periods of time. The number of all these Buddhas is like a great sea, and the seas of their lands are so numerous that their number cannot be calculated. Pervading them all I cultivate for seas of endless time. The time I pass through while cultivating is also measureless, boundless, and unobstructed, just like a great sea which is so deep that no one can know its depth. I have cultivated for that long a time.

The speech of all Tathagatas is pure. I hear the pure sound of the Dharma proclaimed by all the Buddhas, Thus Come Ones. Each word contains an ocean of all sounds. Every sentence of Dharma spoken by all Buddhas i replete with an ocean of all sounds, boundless, and measureless. This is like what is explained in the Earth Store Sutra: "the Thunder Sound and the Great Thunder Sound, the Lion's Roar Sound and the Great Lion's Roar Sound," the ocean of all sounds. According with what beings like to hear, the Buddhas' sea of eloquence flows forth. The ocean of sounds of all Buddhas accords with the wishes and delights of all living beings. All Buddhas possess this kind of eloquence. Each sounds flows forth with the great sea of eloquence of the Buddhas' immeasurable samadhi, and so it is called a "sea of eloquence." There is a short verse about this:

The Buddhas proclaim the Dharma with one sound,
And each living being obtains understanding according to its kind.

When the Buddha speaks the Dharma, he does so in one language, but all the different species of living beings understand without requiring translation. All of the many different classes of living beings hear and understand, each according to its kind When the Buddhas speak the Dharma, their eloquence is inconceivable, and so it is called an "ocean of all sounds."

Sutra:

All Tathagatas of the three periods of time
Forever turn the wonderful Dharma Wheel of noumenon and phenomena.
Into the inexhaustible seas of words and languages,
I enter everywhere with the power of deep wisdom.

I can penetrate the future
And exhaust all kalpas in a single thought.
In a single thought I completely enter
All kalpas of the three periods of time.  

Commentary:

All Tathagatas of the three periods of time. From the point of view of phenomena, there are three periods of time--past, present, and future--but from the point of view of the noumenon, there is one period of time. There is no past, no present, and no future.

How is this explained? If you say something is in the past, it has already gone by and no longer exists. You may say something is in the present, but it has already become past by the time you have said it. You may say something is future, but it has not yet come, so how can you discuss it? So the Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra says,

Past thought cannot be obtained,
Present thought cannot be obtained,
And future thought cannot be obtained.

If you understand that the three periods of time cannot be obtained, then the Buddhas of the three periods of time are just one noumenon.

The Thus Come Ones of the three periods of time include Buddhas of all times. If you just talk about the past, then present and future are not included. If you only mention the future, then past and present are not included. If you speak of the three periods of time, however, then the past, present, and future are all included. It is a general way of speaking to represent the entirety of all the Thus Come Ones, who are measureless and boundless in number. It also refers to whichever Thus Come One you wish to speak about.

The Buddhas forever turn the wonderful Dharma wheel of noumenon and phenomena. Buddhas constantly turn the Dharma wheel of noumenon and phenomena. "Noumenon" is the opposite of "phenomena." The noumenon refers to reality; reality is the principle which the noumenon represents. For example, we explain the Dharma of the Sutras by explaining their principles. Explaining the Dharma of the Sutras is explaining the noumenon. The noumenon includes both the superficial and the profound; it is both broad and narrow. "Broad" means far-reaching and great; "narrow" means not wide and expansive, but minute.

Into the inexhaustible seas of words and languages. All the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three periods of time speak inexhaustible numbers of languages which are measureless and boundless, like a great sea. I enter everywhere with the power of the deep wisdom. By means of the profound Prajna wisdom which comes from cultivating Prajna, I can universally enter the seas of all sounds of all Thus Come Ones.

I can penetrate the future. Not only am I able to enter into the seas of all sounds, but I can also penetrate the seas of all sounds of the future, and exhaust all kalpas in a single thought. What does it mean to exhaust all kalpas in a single thought?

Ten thousand kalpas can be contained in one thought,
And one thought can become ten thousand kalpas.

It can also be said that all kalpas are just one thought, and one thought is just all kalpas. This principle is not easily understood, so I will relate a matter of public record to illustrate this point.

In Hangchow, China, there is a mountain peak called Inverted Lotus Flower located in Western Heavenly Eye, a division of the Five Heavenly Eyes mountain range. These Five Heavenly Eyes are called Eastern Heavenly Eye,. Western Heavenly Eye, Northern Heavenly Eye, Southern Heavenly Eye, and Middle Heavenly Eye. They are called Heavenly Eyes because on the mountain peaks are pairs of springs which are like two eyes. Many people cultivate the Way there.

One of those who cultivated there was Ch'an Master Kao Feng Miao. Every time he sat down to meditate, he would fall asleep. He was obstructed in his cultivation by a kind of heavy torpor. Torpor is one of the twenty-six afflictions. When you cultivate the Way, you cannot enter samadhi if you are best by torpor, and if you cannot enter samadhi, your mind becomes scattered.

Why did Ch'an Master Kao Feng Miao go to the Heavenly Eye Mountains to cultivate? He wanted to find a way to cure himself of torpor. He knew that if he fell asleep while meditating on Inverted Lotus Flower Peak, he would fall off a cliff thousands of feet high and splatter on the ground below. He decided to put his life on the line and go to that peak to cultivate the Way, sitting on the edge of that ten-thousand-foot cliff. If he fell asleep there, it would be the end.

He meditated for one day and did not sleep. Then for another day he did not sleep. Three days went by, and still no sleep. But on the fourth day he finally dozed off. As soon as he fell asleep, he rocked forward and lurched off the cliff. He had fallen about nine thousand feet when he finally woke up, but suddenly, before he hit the ground, someone saved him.

After this miraculous rescue he asked, "Who has saved me?"

His rescuer answered, "It is the Dharma Protector Wei T'ou.

When he heard that the Dharma Protector Wei T'ou Bodhisattva had saved him, he was very happy, and he began having arrogant thoughts of his own superiority. He asked, "Elder Wei, how many people in the would can cultivate like me?"

The Bodhisattva Wei T'ou replied, "Cultivators like you are as numerous as the hairs on an ox. You are really shameless. I will not protect your dharma for eighty thousand great kalpas." The Bodhisattva Wei T'ou vowed not to protect his dharma work for eighty thousand great kalpas!

After Wei T'ou Bodhisattva left, Kao Feng Miao cried profusely with great remorse and thought, "This is terrible. I am certainly not a cultivator of the Way. When the Bodhisattva Wei T'ou came to protect my dharma, how could I have had such arrogant thoughts?"

His shame and remorse kept him in tears for a long time and then suddenly he thought, "Hey! Before, when I cultivated the Way at the edge of the cliff, I didn't know that the Bodhisattva Wei T'ou was protecting my dharma, but I cultivated nonetheless. I didn't think that I could only cultivate the Way by relying on Wei T'ou Bodhisattva. Now that he is not protecting my dharma, should I quit? Certainly not! I should still cultivate the Way!"

He decided to go back up the mountain to meditate. This time he was even more vigorous and vowed, "Even if I die, I will cultivate the Way. I will meditate. My life is not important. I want to accomplish my karma in the Way."

He sat for a few days, fell asleep, and rolled off the cliff. When he had fallen about halfway, someone saved him again. After he was rescued, he asked, "Who is protecting my dharma?"

His protector answered, "Wei T'ou."

Chan Master Kao Feng Miao got angry. "Elder Wei, so you lie too, huh? You said you would not protect my dharma for eighty thousand great kalpas, but you have saved me again. Haven't you told a lie?"

The Bodhisattva Wei T'ou said, "No, I haven't lied. I'll explain it to you. Because of your arrogance, I said I would not protect your dharma, but afterwards, you repented and reformed, and your shame and remorse surpassed the offenses of eighty thousand great kalpas. Since your shame surpassed your offenses of eighty thousand great kalpas, I protected your dharma."

This public account explains that kalpas are but one thought. In one thought, the Ch'an Master Kao Feng Miao went beyond eighty thousand great kalpas. The principle in this story is the same as the one in the text: "I can penetrate the future and exhaust all kalpas in a single thought."

Therefore, the text says, in a single thought I completely enter all kalpas of the three periods of time. In one thought I can enter all the kalpas of the ten directions and the three periods of time.

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