GROUNDS OF HAPPINESS

In studying the Buddhadharma and listening to Sutras, it is not the case that after one has listened to the Sutra that is all there is to it. It is necessary to base oneself upon the teachings and cultivate. If you listen and then fail to put what you have heard into actual practice, then that is equivalent to talking about food or counting other people's money. You can talk all you want about how good this or that food is to eat, and about what a fine flavor it has. However, if you never get around to eating it, but only talk about it, you still will not actually know what it tastes like. Day after day in the bank you may count out money for others, counting out as much as a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, or even ten million. Yet when the bank closes, you yourself haven't a penny—none of it was yours. Therefore, when we hear the Buddhadharma, we must put the Dharma into practice. If the Bodhisattva cultivates the Six Paramitas and the ten thousand practices, should we be unable to cultivate so many, we should at least cultivate three Paramitas, two Paramitas, or one Paramita. We should cultivate either giving, or holding precepts, or patience, or vigor, or dhyana-samadhi, or Prajna, or expedients, or making vows, or using one's own strength to do all kinds of good deeds, or using one's own wisdom to perform various kinds of fine acts. For it to count, one must at all times and very actually practice. If you do not put it into practice, no matter how much you hear, it will all be useless.

SUTRA:

ALL OF THE BUDDHAS’ KSHETRA LANDS

DISCIPLES OF THE BUDDHA FULLY FILL.

IMPARTIAL, OF ONE SINGLE, EVEN MIND,

NOTHING THAT THEY DO IS DONE IN VAIN.

THEY ON THE TIP OF EVERY SINGLE HAIR

AT ONE TIME ACCOMPLISH RIGHT ENLIGHTENMENT.

VOWS LIKE THOSE OF THEIRS, WHICH ARE SO GREAT,

ARE LIMITLESS, AND THEY HAVE NO BOUNDS:

"EMPTY SPACE ALONG WITH LIVING BEINGS,

THE DHARMA REALM TOGETHER WITH NIRVANA,

APPEARANCES OF BUDDHAS IN THE WORLD,

BUDDHA'S WISDOM AND HIS STATES OF MIND,

WHAT THE WISDOM OF THUS COME ONES ENTERS,

AND THE EXHAUSTION OF THE TURNINGS THREE--

IF ALL OF THOSE SHOULD HAVE AN END,

THEN ALL OF MY VOWS WOULD HAVE AN END.

JUST AS ALL OF THOSE CAN HAVE NO END,

SO, TOO, ARE MY VOWS JUST THAT WAY."

HAVING THUS MADE VOWS SO GREAT AS THOSE,

THEIR MINDS BECOME COMPLIANT AND SUBDUED.

Commentary:

ALL OF THE BUDDHAS' KSHETRA LANDS/There is not just one world; there are limitless and boundlessly many worlds. All the Buddhalands are also limitless and boundless. DISCIPLES OF THE BUDDHA FULLY FILL/Disciples of the Buddha fill up all of the worlds, all of the Buddhakshetras. IMPARTIAL, OF ONE SINGLE, EVEN MIND/These disciples of the Buddha are all the Bodhisattvas. Everything those Bodhisattvas cultivate is impartial and equal, and they all with one even mind benefit living beings. NOTHING THAT THEY DO IS DONE IN VAIN/All of what they do and cultivate is not done in vain. It is impossible for them to do something that does not result in the slightest bit of merit and virtue. In whatever they do there is certain to be some merit and virtue present. THEY ON THE TIP OF EVERY SINGLE HAIR/Those Bodhisattvas make the vow that on the tip of every single hair they will cultivate, and AT ONE TIME ACCOMPLISH RIGHT ENLIGHTENMENT/They will become Buddhas at one and the same time. On a single hair-tip all Buddhas become Buddhas, and on all hair-tips, too, all Buddhas simultaneously become Buddhas.

VOWS LIKE THOSE OF THEIRS, WHICH ARE SO GREAT/The vows such as those that they make are inconceivably great vows. They ARE LIMITLESS, AND THEY HAVE NO BOUNDS/There is no way you could measure the extent of those kinds of vows, nor do they have any bounds. "EMPTY SPACE ALONG WITH LIVING BEINGS/ Empty space and living beings are both infinite. THE DHARMA REALM TOGETHER WITH NIRVANA/The Dharma Realm and Nirvana are infinite as well--but suppose they could come to an end. APPEARANCES OF BUDDHAS IN THE WORLD, BUDDHA'S WISDOM AND HIS STATES OF MIND/All of the appearances of Buddhas in the world, the Buddha's wisdom, and the state of a Buddha. WHAT THE WISDOM OF THUS COME ONES ENTERS/The kinds of states into which the wisdom of a Thus Come One is able to enter, AND THE EXHAUSTION OF THE TURNINGS THREE/Should the realm of living beings come to an end, the realm of empty space come to an end, and the realm of the Dharma Realm come to an end, then the vows made by the Bodhisattva would come to an end If the Dharma Realm, the realm of empty space, along with the Buddha's realm—all of those—have no time when they come to an end, then the vows of the Bodhisattva will have no exhaustion or end. That means that if all that was listed above should come to an end, then the vows made by the Bodhisattva would be over and done with. Should they have no end, then the Bodhisattva's vows also will never end.

IF ALL OF THOSE SHOULD HAVE AN END/All the previously described—empty space, living beings, afflictions, the realm of Buddhas and the Dharma Realms—if all of those have a time when they come to an end, THEN MY VOWS WOULD HAVE AN END/Then my vows will disappear. If it turns out not to be that way, JUST AS THEY CAN HAVE NO END/Should it be that all the previously described have no exhaustion or end, MY VOWS ALSO ARE THAT WAY/My vows, too, can never come to an end." HAVING THUS MADE VOWS SO GREAT/Having in that way made such inconceivable, vast, great, limitless, boundless, inexhaustible and infinite kinds of vows, THEIR MINDS BECOME COMPLIANT AND SUBDUED/Their minds are at all times subtle and compliant, constantly tamed and subdued. Because the minds of Bodhisattvas have no greed, hatred or stupidity within them, as a result they are always compliant and subdued.

SUTRA:

THEY CAN BELIEVE THE BUDDHA'S MERIT AND VIRTUE,

AND CONTEMPLATE REGARDING LIVING BEINGS.

KNOWING THEY ARISE FROM CAUSES AND CONDITIONS,

THEY THEN GIVE RISE TO KINDLY MINDFULNESS!

"SUCH SUFFERING LIVING BEINGS SUCH AS THESE

I NOW SHOULD LIBERATE AND SAVE.

FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE LIVING BEINGS

I SHOULD CULTIVATE THE VARIOUS KINDS OF GIVING.

POSITIONS AS A KING, ALL GEMS AND JEWELS,

UP TO ELEPHANTS, HORSES AND CONVEYANCES,

HEAD, EYES, HANDS AS WELL AS FEET,

UP TO EVEN BODY, BLOOD AND FLESH--

EACH AND EVERY THING I CAN RENOUNCE."

THEIR MINDS HAVE NO WORRIES OR REGRETS.

SEEKING ALL THE VARIOUS SUTRA BOOKS,

THEIR MINDS ARE NEVER WEARY OR FATIGUED.

WELL CAN THEY UNDERSTAND THEIR DRIFT AND MEANING,

ADAPTING THEM TO PRACTICES OF WORLDS.

REPENTANCE AND REFORM THEIR OWN ADORNMENT,

THEIR CULTIVATION IS PROGRESSIVELY MORE SOLID.

Commentary:

THEY CAN BELIEVE THE BUDDHA'S MERIT AND VIRTUE/We who study the Buddhadharma should first clearly recognize our tenets and convictions. We should first ask ourselves, "Do I truly believe in the Buddha? Do I believe that the Buddha has limitless merit and virtue? Why is it that the Buddha has limitless merit and virtue? It is because the Buddha in the past practiced giving on a large scale, and was able to give away all of his wealth. He was able to take all of his inner wealth--his head, eyes, brains and marrow—and his outer wealth--countries, cities, wives and children--and give it away, without any attachment." THEY CONTEMPLATE REGARDING LIVING BEINGS/Since we believe that the Buddha has limitless merit and virtue, we should constantly follow the Buddha in study, and should also practice all kinds of giving. Therefore, we should contemplate all living beings' causes and conditions, KNOWING THEY ARISE FROM CAUSES AND CONDITIONS/All living beings are produced from the coming together of causes and conditions, and all have very deep relationships with us. They may have been our parents from beginningless kalpas to the present, or they may have been our elder or younger brothers, sisters, wives or friends from beginningless kalpas to the present, so that they have the relationship of an intricate network of karma and turnings on the revolving wheel with us. Because they are aware of that relationship, THEY THEN GIVE RISE TO KINDLY MINDFULNESS/"I should bring forth a mind of kindness and compassion, and save and rescue all of those living beings who have relationships with me, so that they leave suffering and attain to bliss. I should cause them all to be happy I SUCH SUFFERING LIVING BEINGS SUCH AS THESE/If I do not save and rescue them, then there is no way to know when their suffering can come to an end. And so, those beings who are turning on the wheel of the six destinies, being born and then dying, being reborn and then dying again, I NOW SHOULD LIBERATE AND SAVE/Now that I know, I should save them and cause them to attain to liberation.

FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE LIVING BEINGS/For the sake of those living beings, I SHOULD CULTIVATE THE VARIOUS KINDS OF GIVING/I therefore should cultivate all the various kinds of giving. POSITIONS AS A KING, ALL GEMS AND JEWELS/I can give away all of my royal positions to other people, and all my gems and jewels: my gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, mother of pearl, red pearls and carnelian--all of those seven precious things I can give away as well, UP TO ELEPHANTS, HORSES AND CONVEYANCES/Up to and including my most cherished great elephant, or my most beautiful horse, or my finest conveyances, whether it be my car, my train, my bus, or even the airplane I own--all of that I can give away to other living beings. Those are possessions external to the body. In addition, if someone requires my HEAD, then I will give it to him. If someone needs my EYES, I'll give them to him. If someone needs my HANDS, they are his; AS WELL AS if someone needs my FEET, he may have them. UP TO EVEN BODY, BLOOD AND FLESH/Even to the point that if someone needs my body, it too will be given him." Even one's own blood, the blood from one's own body, is bestowed as a gift upon all living beings. Even the flesh on one's own body can also be given to all living beings. Right now we should all look into ourselves and ask ourselves if we can do this. If we can, then we are Bodhisattvas who have brought forth the resolve of Bodhisattvas. If we are unable to do this, should we or should we not imitate the Bodhisattva? If we want to imitate the Bodhisattva, then we should bit by bit go forward and act in this way.

"EACH AND EVERY THING I CAN RENOUNCE/I can give them all away. The external wealth of countries, cities, wives and children, along with the internal wealth of head, eyes, brains and marrow, I am completely able to give away. THEIR MINDS HAVE NO WORRIES OR REGRETS/After they have performed such acts of giving, they are incapable of having regrets in their minds saying, "I shouldn't have given them away! Such cherished possessions of mine—my countries, cities, wives and children, my head, eyes, brains and marrow--how could I have given them away to people? I shouldn't have done that. It was too idiotic, too stupid!" What the Bodhisattva wants to do is just what people are unable to do the 'stupid' things. He's not just always trying to get a bargain and come out on the long end of the stick when he gives. Therefore, when a Bodhisattva gives away all external and internal wealth, he is unable to regret it. SEEKING ALL THE VARIOUS SUTRA BOOKS/ Furthermore, they find ways to study all of the books of Sutras spoken by the Buddha, and THEIR MINDS ARE NEVER WEARY OR FATIGUED/In their minds there never comes a time when they would say, "I've looked at enough Sutras, and I've recited enough mantras." "I think I've recited this mantra enough; I would like to recite a new and different one." They could never be that way. Bodhisattvas in reading the Sutras never weary of a hundred recitations. Even if they have recited one a hundred times, they are never tired or weary of it. In reciting mantras, too, they never weary of a hundred recitations.  They never become tired of them.

We people should realize why it is we need to recite Sutras and hold mantras. It's not at all because if you recite a certain sutra you will have a certain amount of merit and virtue. When you recite sutras and hold mantras, it is to cure your false thinking. If you didn't have any false thinking, then you could get away with not reciting sutras or holding mantras. But if you do have false thinking, then you have to recite sutras and hold mantras, which counteracts your false thinking and helps your mind become pure. When we constantly strike up false thoughts in our minds, always having unclean, defiled false thinking, so that as soon as you think, if you're not thinking about how nice your girlfriend is, then you're thinking about how handsome your boyfriend is--all of that is false thinking. If all you are doing is thinking, it's still not serious. However, if you keep on thinking like that, you'll start to cry, and will feel it's very painful. Due to that, when we recite sutras and hold mantras, it's so we can expel the false and retain the true. The mind is like a monkey. The monkey is always looking for something to do. If you haven't any work to give it, it runs off east and west. If you do give the mind some work to do, such as reciting sutras and holding mantras, then it will strike up less false thinking, and the monkey won't run off. "Their minds are never weary or fatigued." In reciting sutras and holding mantras--cultivating--they never could become tired or weary.

WELL CAN THEY UNDERSTAND THEIR DRIFT AND MEANING/In their recitation of the sutras and their holding of mantras, they understand the doctrines and purport of the sutras and the principles of the mantras, ADAPTING THEM TO PRACTICES OF WORLDS/Once you have understood the principles, then you can apply them in the world to benefit all living beings. REPENTANCE AND REFORM THEIR OWN ADORNMENT/One should be very repentant and reform the places where one made mistakes in past behavior, and oneself use the merit and virtue of repentance and reform to adorn one's own resolve for Bodhi. THEIR CULTIVATION IS PROGRESSIVELY MORE SOLID/If you yourself are able greatly to repent and reform, bring forth the thought for Bodhi, and cultivate the unsurpassed Way of Bodhi, then day by day you will increase in firmness and solidity.