Issue 299

Chapter 2: The Division Bodies Gather

At that time, the division bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva began gathering in the palace of the Trayastrimsha Heaven, coming from billions of inconceivable, inexpressible, immeasurable, ineffable, limitless asamkhyeyas of worlds. They came from wherever hells are found.
Due to the spiritual powers of the Thus Come One, each came from his own direction and was joined by thousands of billions of nayutas of those who had obtained liberation from the path of karma. All brought incense and flowers as offerings to the Buddha.
Those who came were irreversible from Anuttara-samyaksamBodhi because they had been taught and transformed by Earth Store Bodhisattva.
For long eons, all these living beings had wandered about in birth-and-death, undergoing suffering in the six paths without even a temporary respite. Through Earth Store Bodhisattva’s great kindness and compassion and profound vows, each of them had now reached various levels of sagehood.
They have arrived at the Trayastrimsha Heaven. They felt joyful, gazing at the Thus Come One, their eyes not leaving him for a moment.

The Earth Store Sutra consists of three rolls and a total of thirteen chapters, this is the second chapter.

Division Bodies. How does a body divide up? Division Bodies can be said to be Divided Spirits, it can also be said to be Divided Natures or Divided Minds. Why are they called Divided Spirits? It is because Bodhisattvas have a kind of spiritual efficaciousness. When they connected with that spiritual efficacy, all prayers are answered. This spiritual efficacy is like the adage “A thousand reflections of the moon in a thousand ponds of water; ten thousand miles of clear sky across ten thousand cloudless miles.” With a thousand pools, there are a thousand reflections of the moon in these bodies of water. The reflection of the moon on these pools is the Spirit, as well as the Nature; it can also be the Body or the Mind.

Because there are bodies of water, there are reflections of the moon; without bodies of water, the fundamental substance of the moon remains essentially undivided. Where there is a body of water, there is moonlight; does that mean a portion of the moon is there in the water? No. Nevertheless, we can see the moonlight in the water. Therefore, it is said, “a thousand reflections of the moon in a thousand ponds of water; ten thousand miles of clear sky across ten thousand cloudless miles.” – If ten thousand miles of land have no clouds overhead, that ten thousand miles of land is bright and sunny.

Earth Store Bodhisattva’s Division Bodies originally do not exist. Then, why do we say there are Division Bodies? It is due to living beings’ conditions that the Division Bodies manifest. What are these Division Bodies like? Let me give you another simple analogy. Division Bodies resemble photographs. It starts with one person; after taking a picture, a photo comes out. The image in the photo has no functionality, no spirituality, and no life force. On the other hand, the Division Bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva are divisions of his Body and are the same as his original Body. It is said that Earth Store Bodhisattva has billions of billions of Division Bodies. Whenever Earth Store Bodhisattva sees a place with hells, he sends a division body to that hell to teach and transform the living beings there. Throughout the three thousand great thousand worlds, to every place and every corner that has hells, he sends Division Bodies there to teach and transform living beings. This is because Earth Store Bodhisattva has made the vow to teach and transform living beings in the hells. Hence, wherever there are hells, there are Division Bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva. This is what it means by Division Bodies.

Gathering is returning, which means the division bodies have all come back, all coming together.

At that time, from billions of inconceivable, meaning it is impossible for the mind to fathom the state of Earth Store Bodhisattva, inexpressible, meaning it is impossible to be expressed in words, immeasurable, meaning it is impossible to measure the vastness, ineffable, meaning it is unspeakable, limitless asamkhyeyas of worlds, coming from wherever hells are found, the Division Bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva began gathering in the palace of the Trayastrimsha Heaven. Wherever there are hells, there are division bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva. There are countless number of Earth Store Bodhisattva, all converging at the Heaven of Thirty-Three.

Due to the spiritual powers of the Thus Come One, because of Shakyamuni Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, each division body of Earth Store Bodhisattva came from his own direction and was joined by thousands of billions ofnayutas of those who had obtained liberation from the path of karma. The Division bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva and these living beings all brought incense and flowers as offerings to the Buddha.

Those who came with Earth Store Bodhisattva were irreversible fromAnuttarasam-yaksamBodhibecause they had been taught and transformed by Earth Store Bodhisattva. Having been taught and transformed by Earth Store Bodhisattva, they forever attained irreversibility from the state of Unsurpassed, Proper, Equal, Right Enlightenment.

For long eons, meaning from long, long ago, all these living beings had wandered about in birth-and-death. They have roamed through the six paths of transmigration. Drifting in the current of birth-and-death, they bopped up and down, resembling waves of the sea. After being born, they died; after dying, they were born. They go through cycles of birth-and-death like the rising and falling of the ocean tides. They underwent immeasurable suffering in the six paths without even a temporary respite. Through Earth Store Bodhisattva’s great kindness and compassion and profound vow— “I vow not to become a Buddha until the hells are emptied; I will only certify to Bodhi after all beings have been saved.”, each of them had now reached various levels of sagehood, e.g. first stage, second stage, third stage, fourth stage Arhat or other stages of sagehood. They have now arrived at the Trayastrimsha Heaven.

They felt great joy, gazing at the Thus Come One, their eyes not leaving him for a moment. They fixed their eyes upon Shakyamuni Buddha with one heart and one mind, without even a blink. This is a manifestation of their utmost admiration and respect.

At that time, the World Honored One stretched forth his golden-colored arm and rubbed the crowns of all the division bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva Mahasattva gathered from billions of inexpressible, inconceivable, immeasurable, ineffable, limitless asamkhyeyas of worlds, and said, “I teach and transform obstinate beings such as these within the evil worlds of the Five Turbidities, causing their minds to be regulated and subdued so that they renounce the deviant and return to the proper. But one or two out of ten still cling to their bad habits. For them I again divide into thousands of billions of bodies and use numerous additional expedient means.
Those with keen roots will listen and immediately believe. Those with good retributions will respond to assiduous exhortation and strive to succeed. Those who are dim and dull will return to the proper after lengthy periods of teaching and transformation. Those whose karma is heavy will not show any respect. My division bodies take across and liberate all those different kinds of beings.”

At that time, Shakyamuni the World Honored One stretched forth his golden-colored arm and rubbed the crowns of all the division bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva Mahasattva gathered from billions of inexpressible, inconceivable, immeasurable, ineffable, limitless asamkhyeyas of worlds. Using one arm to rub the crowns of all these division bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva Mahasattva is the Buddha using the “as-you-wish” body –- a spiritual penetration that makes wishes come true. Although there is only one arm, it can transform into hundreds and thousands of arms. The Buddha used it to rub the crowns of hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of Earth Store Bodhisattvas at the same time.

And said, “I teach and transform obstinate beings such as these within the evil worlds of the Five Turbidities… The five turbidities are the turbidity of kalpa, the turbidity of views, the turbidity of afflictions, the turbidity of beings and the turbidity of lifespan. Who are the obstinate beings? Perhaps it is you, perhaps him or her. It is anyone who is obstinate, anyone who does not listen to the teachings, anyone who is naughty and does not follow the rules. Obstinate beings are those who do not observe the rules; in fact, they prefer no rules. For example, someone’s child once asked me, “Why are there rules?” You can tell that even this child would rather be free of any rules, which is a result of adults’ rejections of rules. Thus the ones not willing to follow rules are the obstinate beings. They are so obstinate that they do as they please.

It is not easy to get these obstinate beings to readily obey, Causing their minds to be regulated and subdued… What does it mean by regulated? For example, American cooking does not emphasize on seasoning and flavors. Whereas Chinese cooking especially focus on the conscientious blending of the different flavors – sourness, sweetness, bitterness, spiciness, to render the food delicious. This is the meaning of regulated. For instance, during the period of City States in ancient China, Yi-ya was an expert at creating delicious dishes by regulating the different flavors. Therefore, Mencius said, “Yi-ya understands what the mouth wants.” So, he was good at regulating the flavors. Yi-ya was a famous chef in ancient China. He made the best dishes. Hence, the emperor made him the imperial chef. Subdued means submission, voluntary obedience without objections. No matter what dharma and Buddhist teachings you speak for them, they listen and accept them all without any doubt or objection. This is being subdued.

Isn’t it said that during the five hundred years after the Buddha’s nirvana, there will be no new arhats and no one will attain enlightenment? Actually, anywhere and anytime, someone can become enlightened and arhats can appear in this world. However, an enlightened arhat is prohibited from displaying spiritual powers or interfering with others’ business. For example, Indian Dharma Masters Muo Teng (Mataṇga) and Zhu Fa Lan (Gobharana) are the two Indian dharma masters who traveled from India to China. They had spiritual powers, so did Patriarch Bodhidharma, who was born thousands of years after the Buddha’s Nirvana. In addition, there is Elder Master Hsu Yun (Empty Cloud), who is a contemporary and preeminent Chinese monk. They are all arhats and Bodhisattvas. Not only are they arhats; they are at the state of Bodhisattvas. The same goes with Vinaya Master Hong Yi and Elder Dharma Master Ying Guang of contemporary times. Elder Dharma Master Ying Guang is widely hailed as a manifestation of Great Strength Bodhisattva in China. After the Buddha’s nirvana, China has had many greatly virtuous ones. Even five hundred years, a thousand years, or ten thousand years after the Buddha’s nirvana, anyone who truly cultivates according to the Buddha’s teachings can likewise attain enlightenment and certify to fruition.