Practices and Vows of
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva

Chapter Forty, New Edition

 

To Follow and Rejoice in Merit and Virtue

 

SUTRA: 

Moreover, Good Man, to follow and rejoice in merit and virtue is explained like this. All the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, are as numerous as the smallest atomic particles in all the Buddha kshetra-lands of the ten directions and the three periods of time, throughout the dharma- realm and the reaches of space. From the time they first brought forth the Bodhi-mind for the sake of All-wisdom, they diligently cultivated and amassed blessings without regard for their bodies and lives.

They did this throughout kalpas as many as the smallest atomic particles in ineffably ineffable numbers of Buddha kshetra-lands. During each kalpa they gave up their heads, eyes, hands, and feet, as many times as there are the smallest atomic particles in ineffably ineffable Buddha kshetra-lands.

In this way, they cultivated all the difficult ascetic practices, perfected the various paramitas, entered and realized each of the Bodhisattva grounds of wisdom, and accomplished the unsurpassed Bodhi of all Buddhas. Upon their Parinirvana, their sharira were divided and distributed. I follow and rejoice in all of their roots of goodness.

Moreover, I follow and rejoice in the merit and virtue of all the different types of beings in the six paths of existence and the four kinds of birth in all the worlds of the ten directions, even if it is as small as a single particle.

I follow and rejoice in all the merit and virtue of all the Shravakas, Pratyeka-Buddhas, Learners, and Those Beyond Learning in the ten directions and the three periods of time. 

I follow and rejoice in the vast, great merit and virtue of all the Bodhisattvas, who in their quest for Unsurpassed, Right and Equal Bodhi, cultivate measureless difficult ascetic practices.

So it is that even if the reaches of space, the realms of living beings, the karma of living beings, and the afflictions of living beings come to an end, still my following and rejoicing in merit and virtue are without end. It continues in thought after thought without cease. I never tire of this karma in body, speech, and thought.

COMMENTARY: 

This is the fifth of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s vows, which is to follow and rejoice in merit and virtue. When talking about “following and rejoicing in,” there are those who follow, but not rejoice in. There are those that rejoice in, but do not follow. There are also those that both follow and rejoice in. And finally, there are those that neither follow nor rejoice in. To follow but not rejoice in means that they reluctantly do acts of merit and virtue. To rejoice in but not follow means they take delight in merit, but they do not do acts of merit and virtue. So there are those who do acts of merit and virtue reluctantly and those who don’t do anything at all, even though they rejoice in other’s merit and virtue.

Although a deed may be good, they don’t do it themselves. However, they tell or encourage others to do it. They say, “Oh, do more meritorious deeds. That would be the best.” So this is rejoicing but not following. Further, there are some people who both follow and rejoice in, which means that they do acts of merit and virtue, and they also rejoice in it. This is to both follow and rejoice in merit and virtue. Still others do not follow nor rejoice in merit and virtue, which means they do no acts of merit and virtue nor rejoice in it at all. These are the four ways to follow and rejoice in merit and virtue.

“Merit” can be created and is quite visible for all to see. Virtue refers to virtuous conduct. It is hidden and not always visible to others.

Moreover, Samantabhadra said to the Youth Sudhana, “I will again explain this for you, Good Man.” The vow to follow and rejoice in merit and virtue is explained like this. Now I will tell you. All the Buddhas, Tathagatas, are as numerous as the smallest atomic particles in all the Buddha kshetra-lands of the ten directions and the three periods of time: all the Buddhas, Tathagatas, are as numerous as atomic particles, throughout the dharma-realm and the reaches of space, to the exhaustion of space.

From the time they first brought forth the Bodhi-mind for the sake of All-wisdom, from the very first time they brought forth the Bodhi-mind wishing to cultivate All-wisdom, they diligently cultivated and amassed blessings. They were very diligent and never lazy in their cultivation of blessings and wisdom. How does one accumulate blessings? It is done from a various number of aspects, and not just one. There is a saying, “Don’t skip doing a good deed just because it is small, and don’t do a bad deed just because you think it is insignificant.” Do not decline to do something just because you think the merit of the action is small, because great merit and virtue is made up of an accumulation of small acts of merit and virtue.

Moreover, you should not think that an evil deed is too small to matter. For example, you should not think that a little lie is of no major importance. If you tell a lot of little lies, they become a big lie. In the same way, you should not think that killing an ant is a small and unimportant matter, because if one day you kill a person, it will have begun with your killing this ant. You should pay attention to little things and not follow your whims and wishes.

To “diligently cultivate and accumulate blessings” is something that you should pay attention to. You ought to do even small acts of merit and virtue. They will accumulate bit by bit and become great merit and virtue. Mount Tai is made up of individual particles of dirt. Even though these particles are small, many of them gathered together make up a mountain. Creating blessings is the same.

Without regard for their bodies and lives. All Buddhas, Tathagatas, sacrificed their most precious lives to teach, transform, and rescue living beings. For example, Shakyamuni Buddha, during one of his past lives, cut off his flesh to feed an eagle.

At that time the eagle was preying on a small bird. The bird knew that a certain old cultivator was compassionate, so it flew under the cultivator’s arm to escape from the eagle. The eagle tried to snatch the bird to eat it, but Shakyamuni, who was cultivating during the stage in which he was planting causes in past lives, wished to protect it.

However, the eagle said, “You can protect the bird, but if it lives, then I will die. If I don’t have something to eat, I will starve to death. If you save the bird but don’t save me, you are being unfair and without compassion. If you can’t save me, you shouldn’t save the bird either.”

Shakyamuni Buddha said, “Since you eat meat, it will suffice if I give you some meat to eat.”

The eagle replied, “Yes. Go find some meat to eat.”

The Buddha then said, “I’ll give you my own flesh to eat,” and he cut a piece from his body and gave it to the eagle.

After eating it, the eagle said, “I’m still not full. Give me another piece.”

And again, Shakyamuni Buddha cut some flesh from his body and gave it to the eagle to eat. After the eagle had eaten all his flesh, he still wasn’t full.

Shakyamuni Buddha said, “If you aren’t satisfied after eating all my flesh, then you can eat my bones. You can eat whatever you find left to eat.”

The eagle replied, “You really are a cultivator of the Way. In the future you will certainly become a Buddha.” After he said this he flew up into the sky. Originally, he was a god who had come to test Shakyamuni Buddha.

It is not known how many times Shakyamuni Buddha gave up his life to teach and transform living beings. Therefore, it is said that there is no place in the entire world, even one as small as an atomic particle, where all the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three periods of time have not given up their bodies and lives. In the past Shakyamuni Buddha made vows to give away 1,000 bodies to rescue living beings. Are we of the present time capable of making vows of this magnitude? Can we give up our bodies and lives to teach and transform living beings? If you can, then you are one who follows and rejoices in the merit and virtue of the Buddhas.

If you cannot, then even though you may feel that Buddhas of the past are very special and even though you may respect them, because you cannot give up your body and life, you only rejoice but do not follow. On the other hand, if you can think, “The Buddha was a living being, and he renounced his body; I too am a living being, so I too can make a vow to give up my body for the sake of rescuing living beings.” If you renounce your body, you need to do it in a way that really solves the problem of birth and death for living beings or saves the wisdom life of living beings’ Dharma-body. You do not want to give up your life in a stupid senseless way. When you renounce your life, there should be some value in it. This is to follow and rejoice.

When we hear about renouncing our body and life, we say, “It’s too difficult! I can’t do that! I won’t accept this kind of dharma. How can one disregard their body and life by giving it up? I won’t practice this kind of ascetic practice.” A person who thinks like this is called one who neither follows nor rejoices. If originally you were not going to sacrifice your life, but you do it because of special circumstances, or you do it for fame or to gain profit, or other various reasons, then you are following without rejoicing. For example, in a certain country there were monks who burned their bodies for political reasons. They renounced their bodies, but they were not happy about it. They were angry and wished to fight. This is called following without rejoicing.

They did this throughout kalpas as many as the smallest atomic particles in ineffably ineffable numbers of Buddha kshetra-lands. In life after life they gave up their bodies and lives, passing through great eons the number of which cannot be known, including through eons as numerous as the smallest atomic particles in Buddha-lands. During each kalpa they gave up their heads, eyes, hands, and feet, as many times as there are smallest atomic particles in ineffably ineffable numbers of Buddha kshetra-lands. And they did this throughout eons in numbers that cannot be expressed or explained which are as numerous as there are atomic particles that are just barely bigger than nothingness. They gave that many heads and eyes; they renounced their hands, feet, brains, and marrow that many times. They gave their heads, hands, feet, brains, marrow, their bodies, and their lives.

In this way, they cultivated all the difficult ascetic practices. They cultivated ascetic practices that people find impossible to cultivate. For example, at present there are those who wish to give their eyes to the world after they die to be used in eye transplants so that others may see. Some people donate their hearts, and others donate their lungs, kidneys,

livers, and stomachs. They give away their organs to others. We look at these people and on the surface they appear as people, but in actuality they are Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who have vowed to become people to do these things. So even now in this world you can see all these Buddhas who practice giving like this. They have this kind of magnanimous spirit of giving which is especially great. The kind of ascetic practice discussed here is not just vowing to limit one’s food intake. Here we are talking about the ascetic practices involved in giving one’s body and life to all living beings in order to rescue and aid them. These are ascetic practices that are really difficult to practice.

Perfected the various paramitas...Those cultivating the Buddha’s Path are able to cultivate all the paramitas, all those methods which “lead to the other shore,” to perfection. They do not just cultivate one kind, but cultivate various paramitas: giving, holding the moral precepts, patience, vigor, dhyana-samadhi, prajna-wisdom. They cultivate these Six Paramitas as well as the other myriad practices.

They entered and realized each of the Bodhisattva grounds of wisdom. They obtained all the different kinds of Bodhisattva wisdom—they reached this level of attainment, and accomplished the unsurpassed Bodhi of all Buddhas. Those people in the future will certainly become Buddhas. They will certainly accomplish the unsurpassed Bodhi of all Buddhas and obtain the Buddha fruition.

Upon their Parinirvana, called the ‘great cessation,’ which is when they obtained Nirvana’s fruit of happiness, their sharira were divided and distributed. After their cremation what is left are Sharira , which are the Buddhas’ adamantine relics that come from cultivating morality, samadhi, wisdom and the many other methods of practice.

I follow and rejoice in all of their roots of goodness. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva made a great vow. He said, “I will follow and rejoice in the merit and virtue created by all the Buddhas who gave their heads, eyes, brains, and marrow. I will also do the same.”

Moreover, I follow and rejoice in the merit and virtue of all the different types of beings in the six paths of existence and the four kinds of birth in all the worlds of the ten directions. It does not matter whether their merit and virtue is great or small, or whether they are beings who come from any of the six paths of existence or born from any of the four kinds of birth, I will follow and rejoice in whatever merit and virtue they create. The six paths of existence are the realms of gods, humans, asuras, animals, hungry ghosts, and beings in the hells. These are the six paths of the revolving wheel of birth and death. The four kinds of birth are birth from a womb, from an egg, from moisture, and by transformation.

I follow and rejoice in their merit and virtue, even if it is as small as a single particle. Even if they are unable to accomplish great deeds and their acts of merit and virtue are as small as tiny atomic particles, I will still follow and rejoice in, that is, delight in learning from them while doing these deeds.

I follow and rejoice in all the merit and virtue of all the Shravakas, Pratyeka-Buddhas, that is all the living beings of the ten directions and the three periods of time who belong to the vehicle of the Hearers and the vehicle of the Pratyeka-Buddhas, that is those ‘enlightened to conditions,’ as well as Learners and Those Beyond Learning in the ten directions and the three periods of time. “Learners are those of the first, second, and third fruition of an Arhat who are on the stage of Learners. One who has reached the fourth fruition of an Arhat is called one at the stage “beyond learning.”

I follow and rejoice in the vast, great merit and virtue, and will myself perform the meritorious deeds of all the Bodhisattvas, who in their quest for Unsurpassed, Right and Equal Bodhi, cultivate measureless difficult ascetic practices. Their aspiration is to attain the Unsurpassed, Right and Equal, Right Enlightenment, and they cultivate the most difficult ascetic practices. The merit and virtue created by all Buddhas’ and Bodhisattvas’ vows and deeds are vast and great.

So it is that even if the reaches of space, the realms of living beings, the karma of living beings, and the afflictions of living beings come to an end, still my following and rejoicing in merit and virtue are without end. My vow to follow and rejoice will be without end. It continues in thought after thought without cease. In each thought I will unceasingly bring forth this vow. It can never be cut off. I never tire of this karma in body, speech, and thought. I make this vow with my body, with my mouth, and with my mind; with the three karmas of body, mouth, and mind, I make this vow and there will never come a time when I become tired, nor will there ever be a time when I feel I have done enough. I will carry on this vow forever and never get lazy. You want to be vigorous. The more difficult it is, the more I to wish to do it.

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