Issue 269

The Arisal of Conditions Leading to the Lecturing of the Sutra

Nowadays, every place is a Bodhimanda. Every place is a place for Dharma assemblies. Whenever and wherever, we can lecture on the Sutras and speak the Dharma. At all times and in all places, we can work on our cultivation and apply our effort. Therefore, when it comes to cultivation, location or distance makes no difference. Wherever we go is just the same as our point of origin. We should not distinguish locations or Dharma assemblies on how good or bad they are. We should be able to lecture on the Sutras, speak the Dharma and study the Buddhadharma wherever we happen to be. Only then will we be able to achieve wholeness and harmony in our skill. Make it a habit of studying the Buddhadharma anywhere we are. This is most important!

What is the key point when we study the Buddhadharma? It is to refrain from false thinking! It is to gather your mind and body to come together as one. It is to control your mind from wandering. It is to not think of the past, the present, or the future. It is to only focus your mind in studying the Buddhadharma. This way, you will not have any afflictions or worries. Why do you have afflictions? It is because you cannot see through and let go of things. You regard this matter important and that matter even more important. This regard of importance leads to attachment. Once there is attachment, afflictions arise. Hence, as students of the Buddhadharma, we should be free of attachments—that is, any and all attachments.
Today marks the first time the (Earth Store) Sutra is being lectured here. From now on, let us follow this seating arrangement. People in the second row should position themselves in between the people in the first row, i.e. one person sits in the second row behind the space of two persons in the first row. This way, there is no obstruction of view. Everyone will have a clear line of sight, whether you are sitting in front or behind. For the standing arrangement, people should leave enough room between the rows for bowing. Earlier, we were reciting the Six Syllables Great Bright Mantra. Earth Store Bodhisattva likes people to recite this mantra. If you are able to recite it, he will grant you your wishes. He will help you with whatever you request. Words come short when describing Earth Store Bodhisattva’s [many] efficacious responses, which we will discuss during our Sutra lectures. When speaking the sutra, we always have to recite the Six Syllables Great Bright Mantra. It is an excellent mantra and its functions are inconceivable.

There are some very important causes and conditions leading to the Earth Store Sutra lectures. I was renting a place for the summer and was planning to terminate the lease by the end of summer. However, I realized that, if I did that, it would be difficult for some people to find a place to stay. So, I took a risk and renewed the lease on this place and invited these people to stay. I also invited Earth Store Bodhisattva to stay here with us. This way, every day we would get to bow to the Bodhisattva, plant good roots and cultivate blessings!

However, Americans are unfamiliar with Bodhisattvas since they have never been introduced to a bodhisattva, let alone had to live with one! While some people are delighted by the human-like image of the Bodhisattva, others seem frightened. This led me to want to introduce this Bodhisattva’s life stories. When you wish to make a new friend, you first would probably want to know the kind of person he or she is. So let us now get acquainted with Earth Store Bodhisattva. Given these circumstances, I will lecture on the Earth Store Sutra for everybody.

The Earth Store Sutra is a Buddhist scripture on filial piety. Earth Store Bodhisattva is a Bodhisattva who practices filial conduct and is considered the most filial Bodhisattva. By giving my lectures on the Sutra, I hope to inspire everyone to follow Earth Store Bodhisattva’s spirit of filial piety.

Now, we will discuss the following. First, Causes and Conditions for the Arising of the Teaching: the circumstances that gave rise to this Sutra. Second, Divisions and Vehicles in Which It Is Contained — “Divisions” refers to the Tripitaka, “Vehicles” refers to the Great Vehicle [the Mahayana] and the Small Vehicle [the Hinayana]. Or, in terms of the Five Vehicles, there are the Vehicle of Humans, the Vehicle of Gods, the Vehicle of Sound Hearers [Shravakas], the Vehicle of Those Enlightened to Conditions [Prateyka-buddhas], and the Vehicle of Bodhisattvas. “The Divisions and Vehicles in Which It Is Contained” refers to the division of the Tripitaka and the category of the Five Vehicles to which the Sutra belongs. Third, Determining Its Aim and Purport: We will explain its tenet. Fourth, An Explanation of the Title: We will explain the title of the Sutra. Fifth, Its Transmission and Translators: We will identify the individuals responsible for its transmission and translation. Sixth, Discerning and Explaining the Meaning of the Text: We will especially clarify the meaning of the Sutra’s text.

First, what does the Causes and Conditions for the Arising of the Teaching mean? “Teaching” is the [body of] language used by the Sages to teach and transform living beings, as in the [Chinese] phrase: The language [that] the Sagely One administers to his charges. “Arising” refers to the fact that what did not preciously exist now exists, having arisen and come forth. “Causes” are the factors and “conditions” refers to the reasons. So what causes and conditions brought forth this teaching?

After he had attained Buddhahood, Shakyamuni Buddha spoke the Dharma for forty-nine years in over three hundred assemblies, yet all along, never once did he get a chance to take his mother across [to the other shore of nirvana]. Shakyamuni Buddha was born from his mother’s left ribcage, and his mother passed away after giving birth. When he became a Buddha, he learned that his mother, Lady Maya, had ascended to the heavens. After he had spoken the Dharma Flower Sutra and before starting the Nirvana Sutra, he thought of his mother and ascended to the Palace of Trayastrimsha Heaven. He stayed there for three months to expound the Dharma for his mother.

What was that Dharma? It was the Earth Store Sutra, the sutra on filial piety. For the sake of crossing over his dear mother, Shakyamuni Buddha spoke the Sutra of the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva in the Palace of Trayastrimsha Heaven—those are the causal conditions leading up to this Sutra. Shakyamuni Buddha speaking the Dharma for his mother—isn’t this sutra very important? That sums up the Causes and Conditions for the Arising of the Teaching.

Second, Divisions and Vehicles in Which It Is Contained: “Contained” refers to the categories to which it belongs. The tripitaka has three “divisions”, namely: Sutras, Vinaya, Shastras. Sutras fall within the study of samadhi; Vinaya, the study of precepts; Shastras, the study of wisdom. Sutras, Vinaya and Shastras are simply precepts, samadhi and wisdom. This Sutra is contained within the divisions of Sutras and Vinaya because it discusses the precepts too. “Vehicles” refers to either the Five Vehicles or the Three Vehicles. The Three Vehicles are those of the Shravakas, the Pratyeka-buddhas, and the Bodhisattvas. When you add the Vehicle of Humans and the Vehicle of Celestial Beings, it becomes the Five Vehicles. Just as each human being is unique and different from one another in millions of ways, so are the celestial beings, the Shravakas and Pratyeka-buddhas. Likewise, there are—not just one—but many Bodhisattvas. The Earth Store Sutra is contained within the Vehicles of Humans, Celestial Beings, and Bodhisattvas. This is the Divisions and Vehicles in Which It Is Contained.