The Sutra in Forty-two Sections Spoken by the Buddha. The ten words of the title express both the general and individual names of this Sutra. All sutras spoken by the Buddha share the general name utra. " The individual name, which accompanies the word utra, " is the particular name of that sutra, which distinguishes it from other sutras. The word utra " is just like the word uman, " which we use to describe all people. uman " is the general name, and each person has his own individual name: this one is named Smith, and another is named Chang. The sutras the Buddha spoke are also like that; they have both general and individual names. n Forty-two Sections Spoken by the Buddha " is the individual name of this Sutra. Examining the words of the individual name, we find that the title of this Sutra is established on the basis of a person and a dharma. The Buddha is a person and orty-two Sections " is a dharma. Therefore, the title is referred to as established on the basis of a person and a dharma.

This Sutra is composed of Dharma spoken by the Buddha. When the Buddha disciples were compiling the Sutra Treasury , they selected individual passages and combined them into one work. You could also say it a Buddha-anthology . The Buddha's sayings were put together to make one sutra. The forty-two sections are the forty-two selections of the Sutra. This was the first sutra to be transmitted to China. The two Honorable Elders Kashyapa-matanga and Gobharana brought this Sutra to China from India on a white horse (around a.d. 67). White Horse Monastery was established in Loyang by Han Ming Di , the emperor of that time.

The Buddhadharma was transmitted to China during the Han Dynasty (206 b.c..d. 220). During that era, Taoism also flourished. When Buddhism came to China, the Taoist masters became jealous. They held an audience with the emperor and told him, uddhism is a false faith. It is a barbarian religion; it not Chinese. Therefore, you should not permit it to spread through China. You should abolish Buddhism! " they urged. f you will not abolish it, then you should at least hold a contest. "

What were the rules of the contest ? The Taoists suggested that the emperor put the Buddha sutras together in a pile with the Taoists ' texts and then set fire to them. Whichever books burned belonged to the false religion, and the texts that survived the flames would be recognized as the true ones.

The Taoist leader Chu Shanxin and five hundred other Taoist masters put the Taoist texts together with the Buddhist sutras and then prayed to the Venerable Great Master Lao Zi , ivine Lord, O Virtuous One of the Way! You must grant us a magical response to ensure that our texts will not burn and that the Buddhist sutras will go up in flames! "

Many of the Taoist masters present had spiritual powers . Some could soar through the clouds and ride the fog. Others could sail through the heavens and hide in the earth. Some could vanish into thin air. You might see one in front of you, but suddenly he would disappear! There were Taoists who had the power to do almost anything. Some of them could make a quick escape by disappearing. They had used the charms and spells of the Taoist religion to gain a considerable number of spiritual powers.
When the fire was lit, guess what happened? Not only did the Buddhist sutras not burn, they emitted light instead! The relics (sharira) of the Buddha also emitted a five-colored light that flared into space as bright as the sun, shining over the entire world.
As soon as the Taoist texts were set on fire, they burned to ashes and were gone. Those who had been able to soar through the clouds couldn do it anymore; they had lost their spiritual powers. Those who had been able to sail to the heavens could no longer manage it. Those who had been able to hide in the earth could no longer hide in the earth. Those who had been able to vanish couldn vanish. The spells they mumbled no longer worked. There was no response. The Taoist texts burned to a crisp, and the Taoist masters Chu Shanxin and Fei Zhengqing died of rage right then and there! Witnessing the death of their leaders, two or three hundred Taoists shaved their heads and became Buddhist monks on the spot. So, the first time Taoism and Buddhism held a Dharma-contest, the Taoists lost.
After the book burning , the two Honorable Elders, Kashyapa-matanga and Gobharana , ascended into space and revealed the Eighteen Transformations of an Arhat. They emitted water from the upper part of their bodies and fire from the lower part; then they emitted fire from the upper part of their bodies and water from the lower part; they walked about in space; they lay down and went to sleep in space; and they manifested various spiritual transformations there. Right away the emperor and all the people simultaneously came to believe in Buddhism. That is why this Sutra is extremely important. It was the first Buddhist sutra to be transmitted to China. So, we have come together to investigate this text today.
Let look into the word uddha " first. Buddha is a Sanskrit word. The complete transliteration into Chinese is fo tuo ye; translated, it means n enlightened one. " There are three kinds of enlightenment : enlightenment of oneself, enlightenment of others, and perfection of enlightenment and practice.
1. Enlightenment of oneself : Someone who enlightens himself is different from an ordinary person who is not enlightened. Cultivators of the Two Vehicles , the Sound-hearers and Pratyekabuddhas , have enlightened themselves and are thus no longer the same as ordinary people, but they do not enlighten others.
2. Enlightenment of others : Someone who can enlighten others is different from the cultivators of the Two Vehicles. This person is called a Bodhisattva. Bodhisattvas can enlighten themselves and enlighten others. Being able to benefit themselves, they can also benefit others. They regard all living beings impartially. They themselves are enlightened, and they want all living beings to become enlightened also. This is called he enlightenment of others. "
3. Perfection of enlightenment and practice : Although Bodhisattvas can enlighten others, they still have not reached the perfection of enlightenment and practice. Buddhas can enlighten themselves, can enlighten others, and also have perfected their enlightenment and practice. Because they have perfected the threefold enlightenment, they are Buddhas.
Spoken by. The Buddha spoke this Sutra because he found joy in his mind delights and wanted to share that joy with others. That means that he expressed the things that made him happy, and by doing so, his happiness increased.
Forty-two Sections. There are forty-two sections in this Sutra, and each of these is one of the Buddha discourses on Dharma.
Sutra. The word utra " has four meanings : to string together, to gather in, constant, and a method.
1. o string together " is to unite the meanings that have been expounded. Just as we string together a set of recitation beads, the principles of a sutra are strung together word by word, connecting the meanings that were explained.
2. o gather in " means to bring in those living beings who are ready for the teaching.
3. onstant " means that from ancient times to the present, the sutra has not changed. In the past it did not change, in the present it does not change, and in the future it will not change. From antiquity it has remained constant. Therefore it is called constant.
4. method " refers to what people in the three periods of timeast, present, and future similarly venerate. People within the three periods of time revere this method and use it to cultivate.

The word utra " contains other meanings, too. A sutra is like a bubbling spring, because principles flow forth from it like water from a spring. It is also like a carpenter plumb line, which is a tool that carpenters use for marking straight lines on boards. The carpenter covers his string with ink and then snaps it so that it marks the board. This analogy symbolizes that sutras serve as the standard of the Dharma. A further meaning of utra " is path. " Sutras teach people methods for cultivation, so the word utra " also means a path for cultivation. There are other meanings as well in the word utra. " This is a general explanation of the meaning of the Sutra title, TheSutra in Forty-two Sections Spoken by the Buddha.
 
 

Co-translated by Kashyapa-matanga and Gobharana of the Later Han Dynasty.

Since this was the first sutra to come to China from India, it had to be translated. Kashyapa-matanga and Gobharana were two Dharma Masters from Central India who co-translated this Sutra in the Later Han Dynasty.

The Han Dynasty was divided into the Western Han (206 b.c..d. 23) and the Eastern Han (a.d. 25 220). The Later Han, the period referred to here, is known as the Eastern Han.

In the Eastern Han, during the third year of the Yung ping reign period (a.d. 62), Emperor Ming dreamed that a golden man with a halo of light above his head flew into the imperial palace. The next day he asked his cabinet ministers about the dream, and an astrologer named Fu Yi said to the emperor, have heard that in India there was a holy sage whom people called Buddha. Your dream, Your Majesty, is certainly of the Buddha. " At that time a scholar named Wang Zun also told the emperor, about a book was written in the Zhou Dynasty called Records of Strange Events (Yi Ji). That book states that when the Buddha was born in the Zhou Dynasty during the twenty-sixth year of the reign of King Zhao (around 1024 b.c.), the creeks and rivers overflowed their banks, the entire earth quaked, and a five-colored auspicious light pierced the heavens. At that time there was an astrologer and diviner named Su You . He consulted the I Ching [Book of Changes] and got the hexagram qian, nine in the fifth place, lying dragon in the heavens. ' Su You ascertained that a great sage had been born in India who would transmit a teaching that would come to China after a thousand years.
Then King Zhao of Zhou ordered that the details of the event be carved in stone and recorded. He then buried the stone at a certain spot south of the city, to wait and see if the event would actually occur--to see if a thousand years hence the Buddhadharma would actually be transmitted to China.
Later in the Zhou Dynasty, during the reign of King Mu (1001 946 b.c.), there was a massive earthquake that shook heaven and earth. A white rainbow with twelve rays was seen extending across the sun. Rainbows are mentioned in the Shurangama Sutra. This was a white rainbow which seemed to arch across the sun during the daytime. This rainbow appeared just as the Buddha was about to enter Nirvana. Although India was far from China, the Chinese were aware of what was happening. The Buddha appearance in the world was no chance event. When the Buddha was born in India, all the creeks and rivers overflowed their banks in China. There were floods, and the entire earth quaked. When the Buddha entered Nirvana, a white rainbow with twelve rays arched across the sun. Around this time another astrologer named Hu Duo used the I Ching to consult the hexagrams. He concluded, great sage from the West has left the world. During the Zhou Dynasty, in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of King Zhao (around 1024 b.c.), this great sage was born in India, and now he has entered Nirvana. " Despite their distance, the Chinese knew about these events that happened in India. In China there were diviners who could predict such events accurately.
About a thousand years later, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty had the dream about the Buddha (around a.d. 62). In the seventh year of the Yungping reign, the year of Jia Zi (a.d. 64), he commanded three courtiersai Yin, Qin Jing, and Wang Zuno take eighteen people to India to seek the Buddhadharma. In central India they met the Honorable Elders Kashyapa-matanga and Gobharana . The two returned to China with the three courtiers, arriving at Loyang in a.d. 67, the tenth year of the Yung ping reign period, during the year of Ding Mao. They came on a white horse carrying their sutras, and Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty built the White Horse Monastery .
Four years later, on the first day of the fifth month in the fourteenth year of the Yungping reign period, the Taoists of the Five Mountains in China arrived to stop the spread of Buddhism . As I mentioned earlier, they wanted to set fire to the scriptures of both religions. But unexpectedly, all the Taoist texts burned up, and the Buddhist sutras did not go up in flames. The Buddha sharira radiated a five-colored beam of light. The light seemed to form an umbrella, a canopy in the air, which shaded all those who had gathered to watch the scriptures burn. When all the people in attendance saw this canopy of light, they immediately believed in Buddhism.
 
 

When the World Honored One had attained the Way, he thought, "To leave desire behind and to gain calm-ness and tranquillity is supreme. "He abided in deep meditative concentration and subdued every demon and externalist.

In the Deer Park he turned the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths and took across Ajnata-kaundinya and the other four disciples, who all realized the fruition of the Way.
Then the Bhikshus expressed their doubts and asked the Buddha how to resolve them. The World Honored One taught and exhorted them, until one by one they awakened and gained enlightenment. After that, they each put their palms together, respectfully gave their assent, and followed the Buddha instructions.

When the World Honored One had attained the Way orld Honored One " refers to Shakyamuni Buddha and is one of the Ten Titles of the Buddha. The Buddha saw a bright star at night from where he sat beneath the Bodhi Tree, and he awakened to the Way. He thought, o leave desire behind and to gain calmness and tranquillity is supreme. "He thought to himself, ho is the first person that should be taken across? What shall I do first? " o leave desire behind " means to have no thoughts of desire and to be free of all traces of defilement. almness and tranquillity " means purity, doing action-less action and being thus, thus, and unmoving. This is the finest of all things and is the most inconceivable state.

He abided in deep meditative concentration and subdued every demon and externalist. He remained in profound samadhi, finding it supreme. In this state of great concentration, he was able to subdue the many kinds of demons and unbelievers.

In the Deer Park the Buddha contemplated, and he saw that Ajnata-kaundinya and the other four men were the first ones he ought to take across. That is why he went to the Deer Park and turned the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths are suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the Way. Suffering is a consequence of our actions in the mundane world. An accumulation of those actions is the cause that leads to a particular consequence. When we work to transcend the world, we are rewarded with the cessation of suffering. Practicing the Way is the cause that results in transcendence of the world. Suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the Way are called the Dharmas of the Four Noble Truths.
After the Buddha accomplished Buddhahood, he first spoke the Flower Adornment Sutra in order to take across the Great Knights Who Realize the Dharma Body (Bodhisattvas). But common, ordinary beings were still unable to accept the great Dharma of the Flower Adornment Sutra. It is said that,

They had eyes, but were still unable to see Nishyanda Buddha.

They had ears, but were still unable to hear the perfect,

sudden teaching.

At that time Ashvajit, Subhadra, Mahanama-kulika, Ajnata-kaundinya, and Dashabala-kashyapa were all cultivating in the Deer Park. They had been cultivating together with the Buddha earlier, and they were all the Buddha relatives. Ashvajit , Subhadra , and Mahanama-kulika were kin on his father side; and Ajnata-kaundinya and Dashabala-kashyapa were both maternal uncles. The five men had been sent into the wilds by the Buddha father to look after the Buddha. But Ajnata-kaundinya and Dashabala-kashyapa were unable to endure the hardship that cultivation involved, and they left first. The remaining three Ashvajit, Subhadra, and Mahanama-kulikapon seeing the Buddha accept a bowl of porridge that was sent by a heavenly maiden, assumed that the Buddha could no longer cultivate asceticism. They left him and found their way to the Deer Park.

Thus, when the Buddha realized the Way, he first went to find his five fellow cultivators so that he could take them across. After the Buddha finished speaking the Flower Adornment Sutra , he contemplated all living beings and their potentials and affinities to see whom he should take across first. Knowing that Ajnata-kaundinya and the other four were ready to be taken across, he himself traveled to the Deer Park to turn the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths . o turn " means to roll the wheel, to make it revolve. The Four Noble Truths are: suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the Way. harma " means method " and rule. " The term heel " is used because the Dharma that the Buddha speaks flows forth from his mind into the minds of living beings, so that they can turn away from confusion and go towards enlightenment. Thus it is called a wheel. heel " also implies crushing and subduing. rush " means to break apart. ubdue " means to make submissive. The more solid the opposition, the more the wheel is able to smash it. It is designed to smash apart the externalists and demon kings. That is the meaning of heel. "

The Dharma of the Four Noble Truths is the first Dharma that the Buddha spoke in our world. It said that the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths was turned three times . The first time was the Turning of Revelation. evelation " means the Buddha shows it to us. We don understand, so he tells us about it. Why is it called the turning of the Dharma-wheel of revelation? Because it reveals what the dharmas of the Four Noble Truths are about. The Turning of Revelation is also called the Initial Turning because the Buddha had just begun to turn the Wheel of Dharma. The Buddha said, here is suffering. Its nature is oppressive. " What is oppressive about it? Suffering makes you feel intense misery and deep pain pain so oppressive that it takes your breath away. What kinds of suffering are there? There are: the Three Sufferings, the Eight Sufferings, and the Limitless Sufferings.

The Three Sufferings are:

1. the suffering within suffering

2. the suffering of decay

3. the suffering of process

What is the uffering within suffering " ? When one is already suffering , one further undergoes increased misery; when you are already miserable, your pain doubles: that is suffering within suffering. Who would experience this problem? Consider poor people who are starving and cold, people who never eat their fill and who cannot dress warmly. They still have a wooden hut to sleep in at night. Although they don eat their fill and cannot dress warmly, they are still fairly well off. Then suppose that a hurricane or a cloudburst destroys their wooden hut, leaving them homeless. Now, on top of their hunger and cold, they have lost their shelter as well. Wouldn you consider that suffering?

Or perhaps someone has a place to live in and enough food to eat, but has no clothes to wear: that is also a form of suffering within suffering. Or someone may have sufficient clothing and shelter, but always goes hungry. That is also the suffering within suffering and is known as the suffering of poverty . Such suffering is hard to endure. It oppresses one to an acute degree.
You might object, ich people don experience suffering, right? " Don you know that rich people expe rience the suffering of decay? A person may be both noble-born and wealthy, but then be kidnapped by bandits. The bandits estimate his wealth and estate to be worth five million, and they demand six million in ransom. He has to borrow another million to satisfy the kidnappers. Isn this a case of wealth going to ruin? This is the suffering of decay when it applies to wealth.

If you don experience the suffering of poverty or the suffering of wealth going to ruin, you will still pass through life various processes : from youth to maturity, from maturity to old age, and from old age to death. Your thoughts roll on in ceaseless succession, and that is the suffering of process. Those are called the Three Sufferings.

The Eight Sufferings are:

1. The suffering of birth

2. The suffering of aging
3. The suffering of sickness
4. The suffering of death
5. The suffering of being apart from what you love
6. The suffering of being near what you detest
7. The suffering of not getting what you seek

8. the suffering of the raging blaze of the five skandhas

Beyond these forms of suffering, there are also limitless kinds of suffering that we undergo. That is why the Buddha said, here is suffering; its nature is oppressive. "

here is accumulation; its nature is to beckon. " What accumulates are afflictions. The accumulation of afflictions is a kind of beckoning. Once you have afflictions inside you, afflictions will accumulate from outside. If inwardly you harbor greed, hatred, and stupidity, then outwardly things will not go your way. That is why the Buddha described it as accumulation, with a nature that beckons.

here is cessation; by nature it can be realized. " This is saying that cessation, or still quietude, brings joy. This can be realized. You can realize the joy of this stillness and quietude.
here is the Way ; by nature it can be cultivated. " The Way is a Way of precepts, a Way of concentration, and a Way of wisdom. In detail it refers to the Thirty-seven Limbs of Enlightenment , which are: the Seven Shares of Bodhi, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Five Roots, the Five Powers, the Four Stations of Mindfulness, the Four Right Efforts, and the Four Bases of Psychic Power. Together, they make up the Thirty-seven Limbs of Enlightenment. The Way, by its nature, can be cultivated. The above was the first turning of the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths, and it is called the Turning of Revelation.

The second turning of the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths was the Turning of Exhortation . The Buddha said, here is suffering, you should recognize it. There is accumulation, you should cut it off. There is cessation, you should realize it. There is the Way, you should cultivate it. " This is the Turning of Exhortation. He urged other people to cultivate the Four Noble Truths. This is called the Turning of Exhortation.

The third turning of the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths is known as the Turning of Certification . The Buddha said, ot only am I telling all of you to recog nize suffering, cut off accumulation, long for cessation, and cultivate the Way, I am also telling you, here is suffering; I have already recognized it. There is accumulation; I have already cut it off. ' What accumulates are afflictions and I have already cut them off. I would not tell you to stop afflictions before I myself had stopped them. I feel at ease now because I am free of afflictions. That is why I am telling you now to cut off afflictions, and to recognize the suffering that they bring on. here is cessation, I have already realized it. ' I have already realized the bliss of still tranquillity. So I am telling you all now to realize the joy of cessation, too. here is the Way, I have already cultivated it. ' I have completed my cultivation of the Way, and I don need to cultivate it further. Now I hope that all of you will recognize suffering, cut off its accumulation, long for cessation, and cultivate the Way. "
nd took across Ajnata-kaundinya and the other four disciples, who all realized the fruition of the Way. When the Buddha spoke the three turnings of the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths, Ajnata-kaundinya immediately became enlightened and realized the fruition of his cultivation. Thereafter he was called the one who understands the fundamental limits of reality. He was also known to posterity as the first one to understand.

Why did Ajnata-kaundinya awaken first? Because in the past, when the Buddha was at the stage of causation, he was incarnated as the Patient Immortal . King Kali sliced off all four of his limbs and demanded to know whether the Immortal felt any hatred towards him. He replied, o, I don hate you. " King Kali asked, hat proof is there that you feel no hatred? " The Patient Immortal said, f I do hate you, then my four limbs will not grow back as they were before. If I bear you no ill will, then the four limbs that you have severed will grow back just as they were. "

With those words, his four limbs did grow back as they had been. After that, the Patient Immortal made a vow: hen I become a Buddha, I will take you across first, because you are my Good and Wise Advisor. "
In that previous lifetime, Ajnata-kaundinya was King Kali, and the Patient Immortal was Shakyamuni Buddha. So when the Buddha accomplished Buddha hood, he looked around to see whom he should take across first. hom should I take across first? I should first rescue the man who cut off my hands and feet. " Hence, when the Buddha spoke Dharma for him, Ajnata-kaundinya immediately became enlightened.
Next the Buddha explained about holding precepts and giving. How does one uphold the precepts? How does one practice giving? How does one get reborn in the heavens? He warned about desire, saying, aving thoughts of desire is wrong; it is impure. If you leave desires behind, only then can you become pure, only then can you gain true happiness. " At that time Ashvajit (Horse Victory) Bhikshu and Subhadra (Little Worthy) also became enlightened. They were the next two to awaken.

Third, the Buddha went on to explain other Dharma-doors, and at that time Mahanama-kulika and Dashabala-kashyapa also became enlightened. Those five men were the first to leave home and become Bhikshus. They were the first ones to become enlightened and to realize the Fourth Stage of Arhatship. So the text says, " and took across Ajnata-kaundinya and the other four disciples, who all realized the fruition of the Way. "

Then the Bhikshus expressed their doubts. Later, the other Bhikshus asked the Buddha about the Dharma to clear up their misunderstandings and doubts about principles. nd asked the Buddha how to resolve them. They asked the Buddha whether they should go forward in their cultivation or stop where they were. They asked the Buddha to make a decision for them. The World Honored One taught and exhorted them until one by one they awakened and gained enlightenment.

The Buddha taught and transformed the Bhikshus, and gave them instructions; he offered them advice. After the Buddha taught and transformed them, every one of the Bhikshus became enlightened. That is when they each put their palms together, respectfully gave their assent, and followed the Buddha esteemed instructions. Then they placed their palms together respectfully and gave their assent. That is, they put into practice the principles that the Buddha taught them. Because I thought everyone already understood, I skipped explaining the meaning of hikshu. " I didn realize that some people still don understand.

hikshu " is a Sanskrit word; it has three meanings

1. destroyer of evil

2. frightener of Mara

3. mendicant

Because it has three meanings, if you translate it as endicant, " then the meanings estroyer of evil " or rightener of Mara " are lost. If you choose estroyer of evil " as the translation, then it won mean endicant " or rightener of Mara. " Because the word hikshu " has three meanings, it therefore belongs to the category of terms that contain many meanings and thus are not translated. This is one of the five kinds of terms that should not be translated in the translation of sutras. The five kinds are:

1. words that contain many meanings

2. venerated words
 
 

3. terms referring to things that are not found in this country

5. terms with secret meanings

Because the word hikshu " contains three meanings, its Sanskrit rendering is retained.

The three meanings are:

1. Destroyer of evil: When afflictions are present, there is evil. A Bhikshu is called a destroyer of evil.

2. Mendicant: From above, a Bhikshu receives Dharma from the Buddha in order to increase his wisdom-life. From below, he seeks food from living beings, so that they might plant a field of blessings.

3. Frightener of Mara: When a Bhikshu ascends the mandala platform to receive the Bhikshu precepts , the Precept Teacher (Upadhyaya) asks him, re you a great hero? " The candidate answers, es, I am a great hero! " At that reply, the demons of the heavens and the externalists tremble with fear. Therefore he called a frightener of Mara.

When one leaves home to become a novice (Shra manera), one must know the meanings of the words Shramanera and Bhikshu. After he leaves home, a Bhikshu must know how to destroy evil and how to cut off afflictions. Destroying evil is the equivalent of cutting off afflictions. Our afflictions are extremely evil. If you wish to know whether or not an individual cultivates the Way, you need only check to see whether or not he still has a temper. A person with a big temper does not cultivate the Way. Someone who cultivates the Way is able to patiently endure anything that comes along. No matter who scolds or beats him, he can endure it, to the point that even if someone were to kill him, he could endure it. In all of these situations, one must be patient. Besides being patient, one must possess wisdom and a discriminating eye. That is why a Bhikshu has a world-transcending appearance. If a Bhikshu is able to cut off delusions and to realize the Truth, if he can cut off the delusions of the Triple Realm, then he will realize Arhatship.

We have with us someone who studied Buddhism for four or five years in the past, but only now, after years of searching, has he been able to find his way to Gold Mountain Monastery. This hasn been an easy accom plishment. In the world there are many people who look high and low to study the Buddhadharma, but who can find a genuine place to study. You who have made it to Gold Mountain Monastery should not assume that it has been an easy matter getting here. It difficult to enter Gold Mountain door. I hope you will all take special note of this point.
 
 

Section 1

The Buddha said, eople who take leave of their families and go forth from the householder life, who know their mind and penetrate to its origin, and who understand the unconditioned Dharma are called Shramanas. They constantly observe the 250 precepts, and they value purity in all that they do. By practicing the four true paths, they can become Arhats."

This is the first sectio n of the Sutra in Forty-two Sections. It says that a Shramana (Buddhist monk)can become an Arhat.

The Buddha said, eople who take leave of their families and go forth from the householder life. "When you leave home , according to the Buddhadharma it is necessary to receive your parents ' permission . It not like in America where you are free after the age of eighteen to do whatever you want. Formerly, within Buddhism in India and in China, in order to comply with the custom of the country, it was necessary to tell your plans to your parents: going to leave the home life. " This is called taking leave of them. To leave home is to respectfully offer up your body, mind, and life to the Triple Jewel and no longer to engage in worldly affairs. This is what is meant by ake leave of their families and go forth from the householder life. " You enter a place of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, and you leave the home-life.

In going forth from the householder life, you leave the ordinary household that has been your worldly home. Every household has its own troubles; there is constant quarreling among relatives and no real happiness. Thus you want to leave the mundane home, which is also called the burning house. It is said, he three realms are like a burning house; there is no peace to be found in them. " Therefore, it also called leaving the home of the three realms --the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm. It also called leaving the home of afflictions. Laypeople all have afflictions and no true happiness; that why they wish to leave home. Once you leave home, it essential that you cut off afflictions and resolve your mind on Bodhi. That is what is meant by leaving home.
They are people who know their mind and penetrate to its origin. This means knowing your own fundamental mind and recognizing that when the mind arises, every kind of dharma arises. When the mind is gone, every kind of dharma ceases. There are no dharmas beyond the mind, and there is no mind outside of dharmas. Mind and dharmas are one. If you understand that there is no mind outside of dharmas, then you understand the nature that is everywhere calculating and attaching, our ordinary conscious mind.
In penetrating to the origin, if we understand that the mind and nature in fact have no real substance, nor any form or appearance, if we can understand this principle, then we will understand that the nature which arises dependent on other things is false and illusory. The nature that is everywhere calculating and attaching is fundamentally empty as well. The nature that arises dependent on other things is also false and illusory. Neither of these natures actually exists. That is what is meant by knowing the mind and penetrating to its origin.
And who understand the unconditioned Dharma. To understand the unconditioned Dharma is to understand the Dharma of True Suchness. True Suchness and all dharmas are not one, but at the same time they are not dual. If you understand this doctrine, that True Suchness and all dharmas are not one and yet not different, then you can understand the perfectly accomplished real nature . You can awaken to your basic substance. That is what is meant by nderstand the unconditioned Dharma. "
Are called Shramanas. If you can be like that, if you can take leave of your family and go forth from the householder life, know your mind and penetrate to its origin, and understand the unconditioned Dharma, then you can be called a Shramana . hramana " is a Sanskrit word that means iligently putting to rest. " The Shramana diligently cultivates precepts, samadhi, and wisdom; and he puts to rest greed, anger, and stupidity. After you leave the householder life, you should not diligently cultivate greed, anger, and stupidity while putting to rest precepts, samadhi, and wisdom. If day after day you are without wisdom and day after day your stupidity grows greater, that is what is meant by diligently cultivating how to be greedy, diligently cultivating how to be angry, and diligently cultivating how to be stupid. Every day you are confronted with your own greed, anger, and stupidity. You can put them down, and so precepts, samadhi, and wisdom cannot develop. You pay no attention whatsoever to investigating how to cultivate, how to hold precepts, how to practice samadhi, and how to develop wisdom. Every day your afflictions increase. And why? Because your karmic obstacles from past lives are too heavy and your karmic retribution is so weighty that it keeps you from making the resolve for Bodhi. It makes you constantly find fault with other people. With this attitude, from morning until night you feel that you are better than anyone else, even to the point that you feel you are better than your teacher. y teacher doesn measure up to me. See how talented I am? You could say that rom heaven above to earth below, I alone am honored. '" Someone with this outlook is certainly headed for a fall.
I often see Sangha members who haven even learned how to place their palms together correctly; they join their palms in a very sloppy manner. They sometimes hold them up at eye level! Properly done, your palms should come together in front of your chest. When you place your palms together, your ten fingers should be touching one another. After having left home for so many years, you don even know how to put your palms together! You don know how to bow correctly or to offer incense correctly; youe too pathetic! If you don know how to place your palms together, then you should look at the older cultivators and imitate them.
I recall when I explained the Rules of Deportment for Novices , I told you all not to put your fingers into your nostrils. How could this possibly happen? Because youe joined your palms so high that your fingertips brush against your nose! Your folded palms should be at chest level. Hold them evenly at chest level, not at your mouth, your nose, or your eyes. When you are unclear about as basic a point as this, how can you cultivate the Way at all? If you still get this wrong, you will understand cultivation even less. When you cultivate the Way, you cannot be sloppy about anything or you won have any accom plishment. f youe off by a hairsbreadth in the beginning, youl be off by a thousand miles in the end. "
So, as Shramanas cultivate, they constantly observe the 250 precepts. They always rely on the precepts in their cultivation and do not violate them, and thus their study of the precepts grows. They value purity in all that they do. In motion and stillness, no matter what you are doing, you should maintain your purity. There should be no defilement in what you do.
By practicing the four true paths. The four true paths refer to the Four Noble Truths: suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the Way. When Shramanas diligently cultivate this Dharma, they can become Arhats. Since Arhat is a Sanskrit word with three meanings , it is considered to be a term that ontains many meanings and thus is not translated. " Due to the multiple meanings, it is not translated. We merely transliterate the sound of the Sanskrit word. The three meanings of Arhat are:
1. Killer of thieves. Arhats are really fierce! Wherever there are thieves about, they kill them. ell, " you ask, ren they violating precepts then? " The thieves the Arhats kill are not external thieves. They kill the inner thieves of affliction. Why are there thieves outside? Because there are thieves of affliction insidehe thieves of greed, hatred, and stupidity. Greed is a thief, anger is a thief, and stupidity is a thief. These are the thieves that must be killed. Therefore, the first meaning is iller of thieves. "
2. Worthy of offerings. They are entitled to receive the offerings of gods and humans. An Arhat who has been certified to the fruition is an enlightened sage. If you make offerings to an Arhat, you can thereby gain limitless and boundless blessings, too many to be reckoned. Being a Bhikshu is the cause of becoming an Arhat ; one becomes an Arhat as a result of having been a Bhikshu . At the stage of causation, Bhikshus are destroyers of evil, and at the time of fruition, they are killers of thieves. At the stage of causation they are mendicants, and at the time of fruition they are said to be worthy of offerings. At the stage of causation they are frighteners of Mara, and at the time of fruition they are free of rebirth.

3. Free of rebirth . What is meant by ree of rebirth " ? It means they have ended birth and death . They no longer suffer its misery. However, they have only ended share section birth and death . They have not yet ended change birth and death , so they are only Arhats. If you can cultivate the 250 precepts , then you will accomplish your study of the precepts. If you value purity in all things, then you will accomplish your study of samadhi. If you cultivate the Way of the Four Truths, then you will accomplish your study of wisdom. In this way, you will cultivate precepts, samadhi, and wisdom to perfection; and you will destroy greed, hatred, and stupidity. Once you have destroyed greed, hatred, and stupidity, you become an Arhat . There are four kinds of Arhats: first, second, third, and fourth stage Arhats. One who accomplishes the fourth stage of Arhatship truly ends birth and death.
 
 

rhats can fly and transform themselves. They have a life span of vast eons, and wherever they dwell they can move heaven and earth. "
 
 

What is an Arhat ? A fourth stage Arhat has reached the position called Beyond Study, because further study is no longer necessary. So Arhats of the first three fruitions are in the position of Having More to Study. Arhats of the fourth fruition have reached the position of the Way of Certification ; second and third fruition Arhats have reached the position of the Way of Cultivation ; and first fruition Arhats have reached the position of the Way of Seeing .

Later this Sutra says: e careful not to believe your own mind; your mind is not to be trusted. " We should be particularly careful not to believe our own minds. Our minds are unreliable. You can trust your mind only after you reach the fourth stage of Arhatship.

Sages who reach the fourth fruition of Arhatship don have any more desire and love. They have severed love and desire . What proof is there that someone has certified to the fourth fruition of Arhatship? A fourth stage Arhat feet don touch the ground. His feet leave the ground by three-tenths of an inch, and for that reason he never squashes insects or ants, as would an ordinary person who walks along. When he walking, there may be insects or ants beneath his feet, but he won step on them. This proves that he has become certified to the fruition. Not only can fourth stage Arhats do this, but first stage Arhats can do this as well. Therefore, the text says: Arhats can fly and transform themselves. A fourth stage Arhat can go wherever he wants to go, and he can transform himself in endless ways. He can create endless numbers of transformation-bodies . For example, when I was in Taiwan, I visited the elder cultivator Dharma Master Guang Qin and invited him to come to America. He pointed to his heart and said he could come whenever he wanted to come. Now when he wants to come, he can. He knows he has come, but other people don know. Only those who have opened their spiritual eyes will be able to see that the elder Dharma Master Guang Qin is here.

Not only can the spirit of a fourth stage Arhat travel to some other place, his whole body can go. He can go easily and whenever he pleases. It not necessary for him to buy an airplane ticket. He can just travel through the air and transform himself freely. Arhats possess the ability to make eighteen transformations, and each of these transformations is truly inconceivable.

They have a life span of vast eons. These vast eons are limitlessly long, because a fourth stage Arhat can live as long as he wishes. Longevity is no problem. When the body he inhabits gets old and deteriorates, he can exchange it for another body quite easily. Thus he has a life span of vast eons.

People who realize the fourth fruition of Arhatship have freedom over birth and death . They are truly free: if they want to live they can live; if they want to die they can die at any time they choose. If they want to die standing up, they can die standing up. If they want to die sitting, they can die sitting. If they want to die walking, they can die walking. If they want to die sleeping, they can die sleeping, just as they please. They are very independent; no one can control them. So that why they have a life span of great eons and are said to be free of rebirth. They are not reborn, and they no longer die.
And wherever they dwell they can move heaven and earth. Wherever an Arhat dwells, the heaven spirits and the earth spirits are influenced and moved by him. They are all taught and transformed by him. That what this line means. Wherever an Arhat dwells, the gods, dragons, and members of the eightfold pantheon protect his Dharma and keep his locale peaceful. There aren any hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, avalanches, tidal waves, or any such disasters because the Dharma protectors and good spirits are always guarding him and making everything auspicious. Inauspicious things do unexpectedly happen to Arhats, though; these are mani festations of karma from their past lives. Occasionally such things do occur. Because an Arhat cultivation at the stage of causation may not have been perfect, he will encounter trials and difficulties after he has achieved the fruition. So it is said, ne who cultivates blessings without cultivating wisdom is like an elephant wearing a valuable necklace. One who cultivates wisdom without cultivating blessings is like an Arhat who receives scanty offerings. " Sometimes Arhats have no food to eat. They go out on alms rounds, but nobody makes offerings to them. That because when they were at the causal stage, they only cultivated wisdom and didn cultivate blessings. And so even after they become Arhats, they don have any blessings. People rarely make offerings to them.

Another way to explain ove heaven and earth " is that in every move this Arhat makes, no matter what he does, both heaven and earth will tremble and quake for him. This is a brief explanation of the word rhat. "
 
 

rior to the Arhat is the Anagamin. At the end of his life, an Anagamin vital spirit will rise above the nineteenth heaven, and he will become an Arhat."
 
 

Prior to the Arhat is the Anagamin . A fourth fruition Arhat has realized the position of being Beyond Study, while an Anagamin, an Arhat at the third stage of fruition, is still in the position of Having More to Study. A Sakridagamin of the second stage has severed six grades of delusion in thought in the desire realm and still has to cut off the last three grades of delusion in thought inthe desire realm. Once he severs those last three grades, he realizes the stage of an Anagamin and becomes certified to the third stage of Arhatship. One who has not finished cutting off these last three grades is called a Sakridagamin.

At the end of his life, if an Anagamin vital spirit becomes a ghost, then it is known as he body between sets of skandhas . " If it is yang, then it is known as the vital spirit; this is also what we refer to as the soul , or efficacious nature. It will rise above the nineteenth heaven, and he will become an Arhat. When the Anagaminlife ends, since he has not ended birth and death, his soul rises above the nineteenth heaven. We count from the Heaven of the Four Kings up to the Heaven of No Afflictions. The Heaven of No Afflictions is above the nineteenth heaven. Above the nineteenth heaven, the Anagamin will realize Arhatship, so his name means e who never again returns. " He doesn return into the human realm. This is the Anagamin, an Arhat of the third fruition.

Just now we heard that there are no disasters wherever an Arhat dwells, and some people have raised doubts that it might not be peaceful where an Arhat dwells. I won comment about that, but I will speak about the Elder Master Hsu Yun in China and the responses that occurred during his life. Once during the Sino-Japanese War , when the Elder Master was living at Nanhua Monastery near Canton , Japanese warplanes dropped several bombs on the area, but none exploded. Some people say, ell, they were duds. It was just a coincidence. " But then, why weren other people so lucky? Why was it only at Nanhua Monastery that there were duds?

Another time, when the Elder Master Hsu Yun was transmitting the precepts at Yun Qi Monastery in Yunnan , the trees blossomed with lotus flowers . Why didn the trees blossom with lotuses in those areas to which he didn go? On the leaves of the vegetables and other plants there appeared images of Buddhas . Despite the power of such miraculous responses, people still failed to recognize them as such. They considered them to be merely isolated occurrences. When the Elder Master Hsu Yun was at Nanhua Monastery, a cypress tree that had been dead for several hundred years came back to life and budded. That was another inconceivable happening, as was the time when a white fox came and took refuge. At the time people still didn realize clearly what was happening. Now that the Elder Master Yun has entered Nirvana, everyone praises him. They all say that the Venerable Yun was a sage who realized the fruition of the Way and that he was a Bodhisattva who returned to earth. This is just how people arehen something is before their eyes, they miss it; and once theye missed it, they regret it. People are strange and stupid creatures.

Now in America I want to create living Buddhas, living Bodhisattvas, and living Arhats. I want to create Anagamins, Sakridagamins, and Srotaapannas. Anyone who can get rid of desire and cut off love will have a share in it. As for those who can get rid of desire and cut off love those who are completely spinelesshere just no way to help them. Everything is made from the mind alone. If a person wants to be a ghost, he can be a ghost; if he wants to be a Buddha, he can be a Buddha. If a person wants to be a person, he can be a person. If he wants to be an animal, he can be an animal; it just remains to be seen which road his mind takes.

Don assume that The Ten Dharma-realms Are Not Beyond a Single Thought is an insignificant little book. A thousand years from now, there may be many people who will become enlightened upon reading that book. That is a future matter. Right now it remains to be seen whether anyone will become enlightened.
 
 

rior to the Anagamin is the Sakridagamin, who ascends once, returns once more, and thereafter becomes an Arhat. Prior to the Sakridagamin is the Srotaapanna, who has seven deaths and seven births remaining, and then becomes an Arhat. Severing love and desire is like severing the four limbs; one never uses them again. "
 
 

Prior to the Anagamin is the Sakridagamin, who ascends once, returns once more, and thereafter be comes an Arhat. The sage of the second fruition is called a Sakridagamin . akridagamin " is Sanskrit and means e who returns once more. " At this level of sagehood, one is in the position of the Way of Cultivation. What does it mean to eturn once more " ? The Sakridagamin is reborn once in the heavens and once in the human realm. The Sakridagamin has cut off six grades of delusion in thought in the desire realm. What is delusion in thought? hought " here means consideration or discrimination. If you have thought, but no delusion, that can also be pure. As long as you use wisdom to make discriminations, that is not delusion in thought. Delusion in thought exists when you are confused, and you don understand. You think about what you don understand. This is he nature that is entirely calculated and attached to . "

For example, you might see a piece of rope at night, but not recognize it as a rope. You think, h, look, it a snake! " Why do you think that the rope is a snake? Because, based on the rope, you give rise to he nature that is entirely calculated and attached to. " That is he nature that arises relying on other things . " If you investigate the rope itself, you find that the rope is in fact made of hemp, and it not a snake. Then you are using he perfectly accomplished real nature . "

The desire realm has nine grades of delusion in thought. One reaches the third fruition after severing the last three grades of delusion in thought. If one severs the first six grades of delusion in thought in the desire realm, one becomes certified to the second fruition of Arhatship. If one has not severed these six grades, one cannot become certified to the second fruition. One returns once to the heavens in the desire realm and once to the human realm. Thus, one is called e who returns once more. " When one returns, one becomes certified to Arhatship and ends birth and death.

Prior to the Sakridagamin is the Srotaapanna . Srotaapanna, also Sanskrit, means ntering the flow " or oining the flow. " It also means pposing the flow. " ntering the flow " means one enters the flow of the Dharma-nature of a sage. pposing the flow " means one opposes the flow of the six defiling objects of ordinary people. The six defiling objects are: forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangible objects, and dharmas. When one becomes certified to the first fruition, one cuts off delusion in views . We have delusion in views and delusion in thought; we are confused by views as well as by thoughts. Delusion in views and delusion in thought take control of us and cause us to be confused. So, if you genuinely want to become enlightened, you have to cut off these two kinds of delusion. Delusion in views must be severed, and delusion in thought must be cut off, too.

What is delusion in views ? Delusion in views means that when faced with situations, one feels greed and love. Delusion in thought means one becomes confused about the principle and makes discriminations. Delusion in views: you see events and things, and you are confused by them. Once you are confused by them, you follow along with the situation and are turned by it. And when you are turned by the situation, you give rise to greed and love. With greed, you become attached to things; and with love, you can bear to part with things. Being attached and unable to put things down, you can realize sagehood . If you want to achieve sagehood, you have to cut off delusion in views. How many grades of delusion in views are there? There are eighty-eight grades of delusion in views . When you cut off these eighty-eight grades, you attain the first fruition of Arhatship and become a Srotaapanna. The Srotaapanna is a sage of the first fruition. What is meant by oining the flow " ? You join with the sages ' flow; you are together with sages.

A Srotaapanna is one who has seven deaths and seven births remaining, and then becomes an Arhat. Sages who have realized the first fruition have seven more births and deaths to undergo. When these seven births and deaths are over, then these sages become certified to the fourth fruition of Arhatship and put an end to birth and death. The seven births and deaths are divided in this way: upon reaching the upper-highest level of delusion in thought in the desire realm, you put an end to greed, hatred, stupidity, and pride, and you sever delusion in thought. Severing delusion continues through two births and deaths. Then one life is spent in the middle-highest level of the desire realm; one life in the lower-highest level; one life in the upper-middle level; one life in the middle-middle level and lower-middle levels combined; and one life in the upper-lowest, middle-lowest, and lower-lowest parts combined, for a total of seven birth and deaths. When the seven are finished, you can realize the fruition of Arhatship and end share section birth and death . This is the way it happens in the ordinary course of events, but it can vary among particular individuals; there nothing fixed about it. If a cultivator potentials and roots are special, then he might advance from the first stage directly to the fourth stage of Arhatship. Kumarajiva mother, for instance, went from the first fruition to the second fruition. Therefore, the sequence of certification is not fixed.

There are many categories of delusion in thought and delusion in views in the Triple Realm, but when all is said and done, what confuses people most is love and desire . Love and desire gain control of us and turn us upside down. Knowing clearly something is wrong, we still want to go and do it. Knowing clearly something is right, we don want to do it. People are just such strange creatures. Even if we know very well that something is not good and we are told not to do it, we still go ahead and do it anyway. Knowing clearly something is good, we still don want to do it, even when wee told to do it. We never listen. Why? Because love and desire control us and cause us to be upside-down.

Severing love and desire is like severing the four limbs; one never uses them again. If we can cut off love and desire, then we certainly will be able to accomplish the Way. Cutting off love and desire is just like cutting off your hands and feet: once youe cut off your hands and feet, you can use them anymore. That what it should be like when you cut off your love and desire. So the Sutra says, rior to the Sakridagamin is the Srotaapanna, who has seven deaths and seven births remaining, and then realizes Arhatship. " You must be just that determined, that decisive. You shouldn't neglect to cut off what you are supposed to cut off; otherwise you'll have trouble. You ought to cut off love and desire, but you don cut them off; in general, you just keep avoiding the issue. This is to be indecisive, to have no real wisdom. Without any genuine wisdom, you keep intending to cut them off but never quite do it. Some people are proverbially indecisive like this. They think about it one way, and then they decide that it really another way. They have no will of their own and no principles to go by. This is of no benefit to cultivation. People who cultivate the Way should have heroic determination in their words and deeds. If they are resolute and decisive, then they can cultivate the Way.

Section 2

The Buddha said, hose who have left the home-life and become Shramanas cut off desire, renounce love, and recognize the source of their minds. They pene trate the Buddha profound principles and awaken to the unconditioned Dharma. Internally they have no thing to attain, and externally they seek nothing. They are not mentally bound to the Way, nor are they tied to karma. They are free of thought and action; they neither cultivate nor attain certification; they do not pass through the various stages, and yet they are highly revered. This is the meaning of the Way. "

This second section of the Sutra is talking about non-cultivation and non-certification.

The Buddha said, hose who have left the home-life and become Shramanas cut off desire. "What should people who want to leave the home of the Triple Realm and become Shramanas do? They should cut off desire. Earlier, the Sutra said, evering love and desire is like severing the four limbs; one never uses them again. " They renounce love and recognize the source of their minds. At that point when there is no more love, they recognize the source of their own minds. They penetrate the Buddha pro-found principles and awaken to the unconditioned Dharma. They understand the Buddha most profound principles, which are neither conditioned nor unconditioned. Internally they have no-thing to attain, and externally they seek nothing. If you want to talk in terms of yourself, you have no understanding and no attaining. Inside, you obtain nothing. Outside you seek nothing and obtain nothing. Obtaining nothing inside is the unconditioned Dharma ; seeking nothing outside is also the unconditioned Dharma. So it said,

The less you know of what is going on,

The less affliction you will have.

If you reach the point of seeking nothing,

Then you will have no worries.

They are free of thought and action. They have no false thoughts; all they have are proper thoughts. They don have even a single false thought , so they are free of thought. Since they perform no false or superfluous actions, they are ree of action. " They don do anything in particular. They neither cultivate nor attain certification. They have done what they had to do, they have already cultivated to the ultimate point. There is nothing left that they can cultivate. They don certify because they have already obtained the fundamental substance of the Way. They have already realized the fruition of their cultivation.

They do not pass through the various stages. It is unnecessary to go through all these positions: from the Ten Dwellings to the Ten Practices , to the Ten Transferences , to the Ten Grounds. You need not go through them. You suddenly transcend them. And yet they are highly revered. The position that Shramanas occupy is lofty. This is the meaning of the Way. That is what a Shramana who has attained the Way is like.
 

Section 3

The Buddha said, having their hair and beards, they become Shramanas who accept the Dharmas of the Way. They renounce worldly wealth and riches. In receiving alms, they accept only what enough. They take only one meal a day at noon, pass the night beneath trees, and are careful not to seek more than that. Craving and desire are what cause people to be stupid and dull. "

This is the third of the forty-two sections; it praises the most excellent ascetic practices. If you can cultivate these supreme ascetic practices, you can become certified in your fruition in the Way.

The Buddha said. These are the words of the Buddha. What did the Buddha say? He said, having their hair and beards." People who leave the home-life shave off their beards and the hair on their heads, and they become Shramanas, left-home people, who accept the Dharmas of the Way. To accept the Dharmas of the Way means a cultivator should accept the Way in his mind and cultivate the Dharmas of the Way. A person who cultivates the Dharmas of the Way should renounce worldly wealth and riches; he doesn want the riches of the world. Here, for example, we have several people who have left the home-life and are keeping the precept against holding money. That is very good. That's to renounce worldly wealth and riches. All the fighting in the world is due to wealth. Take a look: countries fight with countries, families feud with families, and people battle with people because of personal benefit. He can renounce worldly wealth; he doesn want any worldly valuables.

In receiving alms, they accept only what enough. Every day they carry their bowls and receive alms. They eat their fill, and that suffices them. Here, eceiving alms " means they carry their bowls and receive alms food. hey accept only what enough " means that having eaten their fill, they stophey aren greedy; they don eat more. They don eat oftenhey take only one meal a day at noonnd they pass the night beneath trees. When they sleep, they sleep under trees . Further, they don sleep under any one tree more than three nights. And they are careful not to seek more than that. You should be careful not to seek for more. Don seek for anything beyond these simple things.

Craving and desire are what cause people to be stupid and dull. A person stupidity is like weeds growing in his mind: the sod and rocks cover over the mind, making him dull. Like the sun obscured by clouds, we don understand things; we can fathom how to do things. And what causes this? Craving and desire. They make us stupid. You object to my saying you are stupid? If you weren stupid, then why, once youe received the precepts, would you then break them? If you aren stupid, then why do you want to do things that you should not do? Just because of craving and desire. You can see through love and you can put down desire, and so you aren at ease. If you can see through and put down things, then you feel at ease; and then you won have any worries, any distress, any troubles, or any affliction. Everything will be just fine. There won be any problems at all. The way I like to say it in English is: verything okay. "
 

Section 4

The Buddha said, iving beings may perform Ten Good Deeds or Ten Evil Deeds. What are the ten? Three are done with the body, four are done with the mouth, and three are done with the mind. The three done with the body are killing, stealing, and lust. The four done with the mouth are duplicity, harsh speech, lies, and frivolousspeech. The three done with the mind are jealousy, hatred, and stupidity. Thus these ten are not in accord with the Way of Sages and are called the Ten Evil Deeds. To put a stop to these evils is to perform the Ten Good Deeds. "

The fourth section dis cusses how good and evil have no fixed form. It as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It simply up to us to do it.

The Buddha said, iving beings may perform ten good deeds. " There are ten kinds of good deeds that living beings can do. Or there are also ten evil deeds. Although these are good deeds, if done incorrectly, they become evil. What are the ten? Three are done with the body, four are done with the mouth, and three are done with the mind.

The three done with the body are killing, stealing, and lust. What is meant by killing? To kill is to take a life, to put an end to the life of another sentient creature. What is meant by stealing? It means to take some object without getting the owner permission. Lust refers to sexual intercourse between men and women.

The four done with the mouth are duplicity, harsh speech, lies, and frivolous speech. Duplicity, or ouble-tongued speech, " doesn refer to someone growing two tongues. It means saying things in two different ways. You speak about Mr. Lee to Mr. Chang, and then you speak about Mr. Chang to Mr. Lee. You speak out of both corners of your mouth. Harsh speech means scolding or profanity. Telling lies means saying things that aren true. Frivolous speech means talking about things that are meaningless frivolous, in appropriate things. Frivolous speech reflects deviant knowledge and deviant views.

The three done with the mind are jealousy, hatred, and stupidity. Jealousy refers to envy. When youe jealous, you don wish good to come to others. When something good happens to another person, you become jealous. Hatred includes haughtiness, resentment, maliciousness, and vengefulness. When one is stupid, one doesn distinguish between principles and facts.

Thus these ten are not in accord with the Way of Sages and do not lead one down a good path. They are called the Ten Evil Deeds. To put a stop to these evils is to perform the Ten Good Deeds. The Ten Good Deeds are: not killing, not stealing, not being lustful, not being jealous, not hating, not being stupid, not engaging in duplicity, not using harsh speech, not telling lies, and not speaking frivolously.

Section 5

The Buddha said, f a person has many offenses and does not repent of them, but cuts off all thought of repentance, the offenses will engulf him, just as water returning to the sea will gradually become deeper and wider. If a person has offenses and, realizing they are wrong, reforms and does good, the offenses will dissolve by themselves, just as a sick person who begins to perspire will gradually be cured. "

The fifth section exhorts people to realize that if we have offenses, we can change them and start over with a clean slate. But if we have offenses and don change them, then the offenses always remain with us. If we can reform and make a fresh start, then the offenses disappear.

The Buddha said, f a person has many offenses and does not repent of them " The category of offenses includes all kinds of mistakes and wrong deeds. If you don change and repent of offenses, but conceal them and hide them away because you don want anyone to see them or know about them, that called not being repentant. The person cuts off all thought of repentance. You don realize that you should repent. You abruptly put a stop to any thought of repentance. That is, you have no intention of changing your errors. If you stop your thoughts of repentance, then when the offenses come down upon you, they will engulf you. The offenses will engulf him, just as water returning to the sea will gradually become deeper and wider. It will be like a small stream flowing back into the sea. Gradually the small offenses will grow deeper and broader, and will turn into big offenses. Even tiny transgressions will become huge. Light karmic obstructions will become heavy karmic obstructions.

If a person has offenses and, realizing they are wrong, reforms and does good. You can have such monstrous offenses that they fill up the sky, but with a single thought of repentance you can melt them away. Your offenses may be as vast as the heavens, but if you can repent of them, they will disappear. You must repent, untie the knot of offenses and realize your own mistakes. After that, you should change your evil conduct into good conduct and practice all kinds of good deeds. The offenses will dissolve by themselves, just as a sick person who begins to perspire will gradually be cured. If you can become a new person, then your offenses will disappear. What is this like? It like a feverish person who breaks out in a sweat and then gradually becomes well.
 

Section 6

The Buddha said, hen an evil person hears about your goodness and intentionally comes to cause trouble, you should restrain yourself and not become angry or blame him. Then the one who has come to do evil will do evil to himself. "

This is the sixth section, which says that good can overcome evil, but evil cannot overcome good. The pre vious section told people to stop doing evil and to do good, to reform themselves. The Buddha feared that some people might be afraid that if they did good deeds, evil people would give them trouble. So the Buddha spoke this section.

The Buddha said, hen an evil person hears about your goodness and intentionally comes to cause trouble. "Suppose an evil person hears that youe doing good deeds, and he intentionally comes to hassle you. He comes to give you trouble and to disrupt your practice of good deeds. At that time you should restrain yourself, you should remain cool and dispassionate. Don get agitated or nervous.

And you should not become angry or blame him. You shouldn get angry, nor should you scold him. Don talk about his wrongdoing. Then the one who has come to do evil will do evil to himself. The evil person who comes to bother you and disrupt your practice will wind up giving himself trouble. He just destroying himself; he just giving himself a hard time. It like a mirror in which an extremely ugly reflection appears. The ugly appearance is simply his own reflection in the mirror; it not that the mirror itself is ugly.

This illustrates that no matter how bad an evil person is, the evil belongs to him and will bring him harm in the end. If you pay no attention to him, there will be no problem. As soon as you start paying attention to him, though, what happens? You fall in with his ilk; you become an evil person yourself.

Section 7

The Buddha said, here was a person who, upon hearing that I observe the Way and practice great humane kindness, intentionally came to berate me. I was silent and did not reply. When he finished abusing me, I asked, f you are courteous to people and they do not accept your courtesy, the courtesy returns to you, does it not?'

"` It does, ' he replied. I said, ow you are scolding me, but I do not receive it, so the misfortune returns to you and must remain with you. It is as inevitable as an echo that follows a sound, or as a shadow that follows a form. In the end you cannot avoid it. Therefore, be careful not to do evil.'"

The seventh section verifies the preceding statement that one who does evil harms himself. In order to explain this, the Buddha makes an analogy.

The Buddha said, here was a person who, upon hearing that I observe the Way and practice great humane kindness, intentionally came to berate me. " The Buddha is a person who observes and cultivates the Way. He also cultivates the practice of great kindness. On hearing this, a person came right up to the Buddha and started scolding him. The Buddha heard him, but was silent and did not reply. He remained silent and did not say anything. When he finished abusing me, once the person stopped berating him, I, the Buddha, asked, f you are courteous to people and they do not accept your courtesy, the courtesy returns to you, does it not?"

t does, "he replied. ight, " he said. t comes back to me. If they do not accept my courtesy and respect, then I take those back. "

I said, ow you are scolding me, but I do not receive it. " ow, sir, " the Buddha said, ou are scolding me. You berate me, but I remain thus, thus, and unmoving. Whether you scold me or not, it all the same to me. I not affected by your scolding; I simply won accept it. So the misfortune returns to you and must remain with you. " ir, " the Buddha continued, our scolding me is not right, so there will certainly be an unfortunate result; it is inevitable. And that misfortune will fall back on you; it will follow you just as an echo follows a sound or as a shadow follows a form, just as the shadow of your body follows you. In the end you cannot avoid it, the misfortune that will result from your having scolded me. Therefore, be careful not to do evil. It is my hope that everyone will not do evil deeds. "

Section 8

The Buddha said, n evil person who harms a sage is like one who raises his head and spits at heaven. Instead of reaching heaven, the spittle falls back on him. It is the same with someone who throws dust against the wind. Instead of going somewhere else, the dust returns to defile his own body. The sage can not be harmed. Misdeeds will inevitably destroy the doer. "

In this eighth section, the Buddha teaches us that we must not do bad deeds, that we must not harm people, because to harm others is just to harm oneself. If you slight others, you only slight yourself. If you are bad to others, it the same as being bad to yourself.

The Buddha said, n evil person who harms a sage is like one who raises his head and spits at heaven. Instead of reaching heaven, the spittle falls back on him. " n evil person " refers to someone who does bad deeds of every kind, while a sage is a worthy and virtuous person. When an evil person who has no virtue tries to harm a sage who has genuine virtue, it as if he were tipping back his head to spit at the sky. The spit doesn reach the sky, but instead falls back on his own face.This is to say that an evil person is really unable to harm a sage. He may think of a way to harm him, but in the end he still actually harming himself. In this world there are underlying principles of justice which govern all things, and which make it wrong to harm people.

It is the same with someone who throws dust against the wind. Instead of going somewhere else, the dust returns to defile his own body. If you face the wind and toss out a handful of dust, instead of flying forward, it will fly back to you and fall on your own body.

The sage cannot be harmed. Misdeeds will in evitably destroy the doer. You can slander a sage or really harm him, because when you cause misfortune for others, you will also bring misfortune upon yourself. It you who will have to undergo the retribution.

Section 9

The Buddha said, eep learning and a love of the Way make the Way difficult to attain. When you guard your mind and revere the Way, the Way is truly great! "

In this ninth section, the Buddha is teaching cultivators to hear the Dharma and to contemplate it, to contemplate the Dharma and to cultivate it, to cultivate the Dharma and then to realize it. Cultivators should not only be able to discuss or to listen to the Buddhadharma, they should also able to put it into practice. It only counts when you actually go and do it.

The Buddha said, eep learning and a love of the Way make the Way difficult to attain. "Deep learning here refers to being well-read. Ananda, for instance, was fore most in learning. He could be called deeply learned. But someone who has only studied the Dharma and has not contemplated it as it is taught will never be able to understand the principles it contains. He relies on only rote memory and intellectual ability. Even if he has a sharp memory and can memorize a sutra, he won get any response. If he fails to contemplate the meaning and fails to cultivate according to it, it will ultimately be of no use to him. ove of the Way " refers to cultivators who know that the Way is really excellent, but who don realize that originally the Way is just their own mind. It is not apart from their own mind. Those people go searching outside their mind for another Way. Although they long for and cherish the Way, yet if they seek outside, they will go wrong. That akes the Way difficult to obtain. " By seeking outside, they will not understand the Way, nor will they be able to encounter it. Since they won encounter it, even less will they understand the Way. The longer they run, the farther away they will get.

When you guard your mind and revere the Way, the Way is truly great! What does it mean to guard your mind? To guard your mind means to guard it from indulging in false thinking; it means not to seek outside. It is said, ook within yourself; don seek from other people. Seek within; don seek outside. " Seek within; in thought after thought, you must awaken; in thought after thought, you must understand; in thought after thought, you must aspire toward the Bodhi-mind. Having no thoughts of seeking fame or benefits is to guard one mind. What does it mean to evere the Way " ? It means to respectfully uphold the Way, never allowing it to be absent from your thoughts, and to comprehend the source of your mind in thought after thought. You merge with the essence of the mind, and you do not seek outside for it. That called evering the Way. " Then the Way is truly great! If you cultivate like that, then quite naturally your accomplishment will be great.

Section 10

The Buddha said, hen you see someone who is practicing giving, aid him joyfully, and you will obtain vast and great blessings. "

A Shramana asked, s there an end to those blessings? "

The Buddha said, onsider the flame of a single torch. Though hundreds and thousands of people come to light their own torches from it so that they can cook their food and ward off darkness, the first torch remains the same. Blessings, too, are like this. "

This tenth section expounds the merit and virtue of oyfully supporting others. " You gain benefits and so do others, and the blessings you create have no end.

The Buddha said, hen you see someone who is practicing giving, aid him joyfully. "There are three types of giving.

The first is the giving of wealth, which is also called iving that sustains life. " This refers to the giving of two kinds of material wealth: inner wealth and outer wealth. Inner wealth refers to the head, eyes, brain, marrow, skin, blood, flesh, tendons, and bones. This is the inner wealth of the body. Outer wealth refers to gold, silver, precious gems, countries, cities, wives, and children. If you have gold, you can give people gold; if you have silver, you can give people silver; if you have jewels, you can give them to others. If you have a country or city, you can relinquish it to others. If you have a wife, you can give her away; if you have a child, you can give him or her away. [This is done in order to single-mindedly cultivate the Way.] This is outward giving. As for inner wealth, you can give away your head, eyes, brain, bone marrow, skin, blood, flesh, and bones. The above constitutes the giving of wealth.
The second kind of giving is the giving of Dharma.The gift of Dharma refers to explaining the threefold study of precepts, samadhi, and wisdom. You give all these various kinds of Dharma to people, so that they gain benefit.
The third kind of giving is the giving of courage. When someone undergoes a catastrophe or a frightening experience, you can dispel their anxiety and alleviate their distress. That what meant by giving courage.
And when you see someone practicing giving and you support him joyfully, praising and rejoicing in what he doing, you will obtain vast and great blessings: your reward of blessings will be immense. Foolish people may say, ell, if I do some charitable act and others amass vast blessings by following along and supporting me, won that diminish my own reward of blessings? " Anticipating that foolish people might reason that way, there follows a dialogue to this point:

A Shramana asked, s there an end to those bless ings?" He asking, ill the blessings disappear? " That is to say, the person who originally did the giving obtained blessings. When others rejoiced in his deed, they also ob tained great blessings. Will the first person be able to keep his blessings? Or will they be snatched away by the others?

The Buddha said, onsider the flame of a single torch. Though hundreds of thousands of people come to light their own torches from it so that they can cook their food and ward off darkness, the first torch remains the same. " Although there is only one flame, a hundred thousand people all come and use the flame to light their fires. They share the fire and use it to cook their food and dispel the darkness. Still, the flame of the original torch remains as it was in the beginning. It won go out. Blessings, too, are like this. The reward of blessings is also like this. The analogy explains that someone who cultivates the Way by practicing giving can realize the fruition in the future. Cooking the food is analogous to realizing the fruition of one cultivation. Warding off the darkness is analogous to warding off the delusions caused by the threefold obstacles: the obstacle of karma, the obstacle of retribution, and the obstacle of afflictions.

What is being said is that the merit and virtue of your acts of giving will enable you and others to realize the fruition in the Way. You will be able to wipe out the three obstacles, and other people who joyfully support you will also be able to purge them. This merit and virtue will be shared by all alike.
Section 11

The Buddha said, iving food to a hundred bad people is not as good as giving food to a single good person. Giving food to a thousand good people is not as good as giving food to one person who holds the Five Precepts. Giving food to ten thousand people who hold the Five Precepts is not as good as giving food to a single Srotaapanna. Giving food to a million Srotaapannas is not as good as giving food to a single Sakridagamin. Giving food to ten million Sakri dagamins is not as good as giving food to a single Anagamin. Giving food to a hundred million Anaga mins is not as good as giving food to a single Arhat. Giving food to one billion Arhats is not as good as giving food to a single Pratyekabuddha. Giving food to ten billion Pratyekabuddhas is not as good as giving food to a Buddha of the three periods of time. Giving food to a hundred billion Buddhas of the three periods of time is not as good as giving food to a single person who is without thoughts, without dwelling, without cultivation, and without accomplishment. "

The eleventh section of the Sutra compares the superior and inferior fields of blessings and lets people understand the superior and inferior aspects of making offerings.

The Buddha said, Giving food to a hundred bad people is not as good as giving food to a single good person. The previous section discussed giving in general terms, but when one gives, the important thing is to know how to do it. If you plant blessings but you don know the right method, if you don plant in accord with Dharma, then you won get any blessings. So the text says that giving food to one good person plants a greater field of blessings than giving to one hundred evil people. Why? Because after you feed a hundred bad people, all they can do are evil deeds. You become an accomplice to the bad things that they do, because you helped them do their evil deeds. If you give food to even one good person, then the good things he does after he eaten his fill are deeds that, you could say, you helped him accomplish. That is why it doesn equal giving food to a single good person.

Giving food to a thousand good people is not as good as giving food to one person who holds the Five Precepts. ood " here implies every kind of offering: food, drink, jewels, money, even your head, your eyes, your brains, and your marrow. If you give your life energy to help people do good things, then the good deeds they do are done with your help. But if you give your life energy in order to help bad people, you actually create offenses. Therefore the merit and virtue of feeding one thousand good people is not as great as that which accrues from giving to even one person who holds the Five Precepts.
Giving food to ten thousand people who hold the Five Precepts is not as good as giving food to a single Srotaapanna. eople who hold the Five Precepts " here refers to people who have taken refuge with the Triple Jewel, who hold the Five Precepts, and who cultivate the Ten Good Deeds. The merit and virtue of giving food to ten thousand people who hold the Five Precepts is not as great as that of making an offering of food to a single Srotaapanna, a sage of the first fruition.

Giving food to a million Srotaapannas is not as good as giving food to a single Sakridagamin. Giving food to a million Srotaapannas, sages of the first fruition, wouldn be as good as giving food to a sage of the second fruition, a Sakridagamin, because those of the first fruition do not know the state of those of the second fruition. Sages of the first fruition have already broken through delusion in views; those of the second fruition have also cut off six grades of delusion in thought in the desire realm. This was discussed in a previous section. Therefore, making an offering of food to a Sakridagamin of the second fruition has more merit and virtue than making an offering to a Srotaapanna of the first fruition.

Giving food to ten million Sakridagamins is not as good as giving food to a single Anagamin. Giving food to ten million sages of the second fruition, who have cut off six grades of delusion of thought in the desire realm, would not be as good as giving food to a single Anagamin, a sage of the third fruition. An Anagamin has cut off all nine grades of delusion of thought in the desire realm.

Giving food to a hundred million Anagamins is not as good as giving food to a single Arhat. Making an offering of food to a hundred million Anagamins of the third fruition does not have as much merit and virtue as making an offering to one Arhat.

Giving food to one billion Arhats is not as good as giving food to a single Pratyekabuddha. Arhats are called Sound-hearers because they hear the sound of the Buddha voice and awaken to the Way. A Pratye kabuddha is one who has been enlightened by conditions. When a Buddha is in the world, Pratye kabuddhas contemplate the Twelve Conditioned Links of Causation and awaken to the Way. When there is no Buddha in the world, they are called olitarily enlightened ones " because they awaken to the Way through contemplation of the illusory transformations and the impermanent nature of the myriad phenomena. If you give food to one billion Arhats, it is not as good as giving food to a single Pratyekabuddha.
Giving food to ten billion Pratyekabuddhas is not as good as giving food to a Buddha of the three periods of time. If you make offerings to any Buddha, whether of the past, present, or future, the merit and virtue is much greater than giving to that many Pratye kabuddhas.
But giving food to a hundred billion Buddhas of the three periods of time is not as good as giving food to a single person who is without thoughts, without dwelling, without cultivation, and without accom plishment. It would not be as good as making an offering to a sage who is without thoughts, without dwelling, without cultivation, and without accomplishment. ith out thought " means thinking and yet not thinking. ithout dwelling " means dwelling and yet not dwelling. One cultivates and yet does not cultivate; one becomes accomplished and yet does not become accomplished. One like this reaches the level of the Initial Stage of the Perfect Teaching. He is known as a Great Knight Who Realizes the Dharma-body. Such beings manifest the Eight Signs of Realizing the Way and are able to accomplish Buddhahood in one hundred worlds.
We should realize the various principles involved in making offerings and the advantages of making offerings to each particular type of individual. Therefore, we should draw near to Good and Wise Advisors. If you draw near to evil advisors instead, you will learn their deviant knowledge and viewpoints. If you keep company with Good and Wise Advisors, you will learn right knowledge and viewpoints. If you make offerings to evil people, you are committing offenses; if you make offerings to good people, then you create merit and virtue. This is something that we should all know.
Section 12

The Buddha said, eople encounter twenty different kinds of difficulties: It is difficult to give when one is poor. It is difficult to study the Way when one has wealth and status. It is difficult to abandon life and face the certainty of death. It is difficult to encounter the Buddhist sutras. It is difficult to be born at the time of a Buddha. It is difficult to be patient with lust and desire. It is difficult to see fine things and not seek them. It is difficult to be insulted and not become angry. It is difficult to have power and not abuse it. It is difficult to come in contact with things and have no thought of them. It is difficult to be vastly learned and well-read. It is difficult to get rid of pride. It is difficult not to slight those who have not yet studied. It is difficult to practice equanimity of mind. It is difficult not to gossip. It is difficult to meet a Good and Wise Advisor. It is difficult to see one own nature and study the Way. It is difficult to teach and save people according to their potentials. It is difficult to see a state and not be moved by it. It is difficult to have a good understanding of skill-in-means."
 
 

The Buddha said, eople encounter twenty different kinds of difficulties. " All people have twenty kinds of difficulties. Difficulties are things that are not easy. Easy things are not difficult. Things that are not easy are adversities. Adverse states are not easily understood or recognized. Easy things are convenient; convenience makes people feel better about them. The twenty items on this list are all hard to accomplish.

The first difficulty is that it is difficult to give when one is poor. If you have money and you want to give, it easy; because if you give a little money, it doesn count for much. But if you don have anything to give and yet you still can give, that is genuine giving. What counts is to do things that can be done. Anybody can do what possible, and there no particular value in doing what anyone can do. An outstanding person does what others cannot do. He surpasses everyone else. This person transcends the common lot.

Speaking of the difficulty of giving when one is poor, there is a story that illustrates this truth. When Shakya muni Buddha was living in the world, there was a very poor person. Now, although he was poor, he still had a wife. This couple had each other, but their lives were very difficult. They had only a little hut to live in; they had nothing to eat and no clothes to wear. Being so poor, they had to beg for their food every day out on the streets. Begging isn that difficult a thing, but what made it hard was that the couple had no clothes to wear. All they had was one pair of pants. How could two people wear one pair of pants? They could only take turns. One day the husband would wear the pants and go out begging for food, and bring it back to share with his wife. The next day the wife would go out wearing that pair of pants. Her husband, left at home, had no pants to wear. The one who went out to beg would wear the pants and bring back the food for the two of them to eat. In this way they were able to sustain themselves day by day. Alas! You might say they were about as poor as could be.

At that time there was a Pratyekabuddha, and as mentioned before, Pratyekabuddhas have the spiritual power of knowing past lives. He took a look at their situa tion and saw that the couple was not able to give in past lives; that why they were so poor that they owned only one pair of pants in this life. The Pratyekabuddha thought, must try to take these two people across. " He made a vow to take them across by helping them plant the seeds of blessings. So the Pratyekabuddha went begging at the couple door. He looked like a Bhikshu as he stood there, with his bowl in his hand, seeking alms. The couple saw the monk seeking alms, but they didn have any food or drink to give him, and all they had in the way of clothing was their one pair of pants. The husband said to his wife, e ought to do a little giving and seek some blessings. Why do you think wee so poor? It because we couldn give in the past. We should give now. "
And the wife said, ive? Well, what do we have to give? "
Her husband said, ell, we still have a pair of pants. We could give that pair of pants to this Bhikshu. "
The wife lost her temper at that. oue really an idiot! Wee only got one pair of pants, which we take turns wearing. If we give it to that Bhikshu, we will lose our only means of going out to beg. With this one pair of pants that we take turns wearing, we can still go begging for food. If we were to give it away, how could we go out? "

The husband exhorted his wife, hat true, it not at all easy, but we shouldn take ourselves into account. We should just give the pants to the Bhikshu, and if the two of us can go out and beg, wel stay here and starve to death. Why worry so much about it? You see, the Bhikshu isn leaving. "

His wife, after hearing him out, sighed and said, kay, if you want to give, then give! " So this is what they did: they stuck their only pair of pants out the window and handed it to the Bhikshu. The Bhikshu, who had reached the fruition of a Pratyekabuddha, took the pants to where Shakyamuni Buddha was and offered the pants to him. He then explained, just received this pair of pants from a poor household. It was all they had in the house, and they gave it to me. "
Shakyamuni Buddha took the pair of pants and said to everyone, ere is a case of great merit and virtue. A poor couple had nothing but a pair of pants in the house, and they were able to give it as an offering to this Bhikshu, who is in fact a Pratyekabuddha. They will reap limitlessly great blessings in the future. "
The king of the country was in Shakyamuni Buddha Dharma assembly at the time. When he heard that there were people in his own country so poor that they had no clothes to wear and no food to eat, while in his palace he himself ate so well and dressed so elegantly, he felt ashamed to face his citizens. In his shame, the king sent people to that poor household bearing rice, flour, and lots of food and clothes. The couple immediately received a reward for giving up their pair of pants. They had given their one pair of pants, and now they got everything they wanted. Later on, they went to see the Buddha. The Buddha spoke Dharma for them, and as soon as he did, the two of them immediately reached the first stage of Arhatship.
Therefore it is difficult to give when one is poor. If you can give when you are in difficulty, that is really a true mind of giving. And if, when giving, the more difficult it is, the more you are able to do it, then the more value it has. For example, you can stand to be scolded. However, if people scold you and you can endure it, then you have virtuous conduct. Or, if you can stand being hit, but when somebody hits you, you bear it and look at it like this: h, this is my Good and Wise Advisor who has come to help me eradicate my offenses and leave the sea of suffering. This is a rare Good and Wise Advisor! " No matter what kind of state arises, you should recognize it clearly. People who criticize you are truly your Good and Wise Advisors. It shouldn be that when people praise you, youe like a child who gets some candy and becomes overjoyed; but when you get slandered, it tastes as bitter as bile. That not the way it should be.
The Buddha named twenty kinds of difficulties. Ac tually, in human existence there are many more than that. To be able to easily resolve difficulties when they come shows a true understanding of the Buddha dharma.

It is difficult to study the Way when one has wealth and status. ealth " means you are rich; tatus " means you have power and influence. If someone is rich and honored, then of course his life is pleasant. It certainly isn as difficult as it was for the couple that I just spoke of who owned nothing but a pair of pants. A wealthy person will have clothes to wear and money to spend; he will also have eminent relatives and renowned friends. Right then, if you were to tell him to cultivate and work hard, to leave the home-life and study the Way, he would find it difficult to do. Why? Because he has everything he wants and he happy with what he has; he very carefree. His house is like the emperor palace, and he dines on the best gourmet food and on expensive dishes that most people can afford. So it not easy to convince him to cultivate.

It is difficult to abandon life and face the certainty of death. To abandon life means you don want to live. However, even if you don want to live, you may not be able to die. For instance, some people may want to commit suicide, so they take sleeping pills. But they don take enough, and they survive. You might prefer to die and not necessarily be able to do so. If it were the case that, whenever you felt you had had enough of living, you could definitely die, then there would be no difficulty here!

There is another way to explain this. If you don want to live, you can certainly die. But even if you want to live, and you employ every possible means to prolong your life and avoid death, you cannot succeed. Eventually, everyone has to die. There isn anyone who will live forever and never grow old. No one can live forever and never die. Therefore the Buddha says that it is difficult to abandon life and face the certainty of death.

It is difficult to encounter the Buddhist sutras. All of you should not think that it easy to get to hear lectures on the sutras or to read the sutras. It not easy at all.

The unsurpassed, subtle, wonderful Dharma,

Is difficult to encounter in millions of eons.

Now that I can see and hear it, accept and uphold it,

I vow to understand the Tathagata true and

actual meaning.

It is difficult to be born at the time of a Buddha. This is also not easy. Although the Buddha has entered Nirvana, the Buddhadharma still remains, so we can still study Buddhism and cultivate. This is very fortunate!

It is difficult to be patient with lust and desire. Lust and desire refer to the emotional love and desire between men and women. That kind of love and desire is not easy to bear, because ordinary people feel it is biologically natural for men and women to get married. It is not easy to endure the feelings of love and desire, to have the strength of patience to not be turned by emotional states. You may be patient once and patient twice; then you can be patient anymore, and so you are turned upside down. Therefore, it is not easy to be patient with lust and desire.

It is difficult to see fine things and not seek them. Everybody who sees something fine wants to own it and feels greed for it. To see something good and not be greedy for it is quite difficult.

It is difficult to be insulted and not become angry. For instance, someone may suddenly hit you, scold you, or insult you for no reason whatsoever. If he maltreats you and puts you down, it is truly difficult not to get angry, to remain calm as if nothing happened. If you can do that, then youe someone who has already walked the road to its end. You pass.

It is difficult to have power and not abuse it. An example of a powerful person is a government official who decides he like to kill someone and goes ahead and does it. He uses his authority to oppress people. He uses his power to execute people even when they are innocent. If he has this kind of power, and he casually kills people, that an abuse of power. If he has power yet still respects people, and therefore he doesn casually kill or oppress them, then he is not abusing power. That not easy. Nevertheless, if he can avoid abusing his power, that is the very best.

It is difficult to come in contact with things and have no thought of them. No matter what you encounter, you just go ahead and deal with it without a second thought. When something comes up, you don get worried. You handle it as the situation requires. When the matter is over and done with, you remain calm. That is to say, hen something happens, you respond. When it is over, you are calm. " That called having no thought: you don have any attachment or any false thinking.

It is difficult to be vastly learned and well-read. To be vastly learned means to study widely, and to be well-read means to do extensive research. This is also not easy.

It is difficult to get rid of pride. Everyone has a measure of pride, and if you want to get rid of that pride, youl find that it not easy.

It is difficult not to slight those who have not yet studied. Those who have already left the home-life should know about this above all. You cannot slight people who have not yet studied the Buddhadharma. If you do slight them, that called slighting those who have not yet studied. If you encounter someone who doesn understand the Buddhadharma, you should use various kinds of expedient means to teach and transform him. You cannot look down on him and be impolite. In Buddhism, there is a list of four things that you cannot ignore. The Buddha often discussed them. What are they?

1. Even if a fire is small, you can ignore it. You can be careless and casual. You have to pay close attention to it, because if you don, it likely to burn up everything.
2. Even if a dragon is small, you can ignore it. This is because a dragon can change from small to large, since it has spiritual penetrations and transformations.
3. Even if a prince is young, you can ignore him. The prince is the son of a king, and even though he is young now, he will become the king in the future.
4. Even though a Shramana may be young [in the Buddhadharma], you can neglect him, because in the future he will become a Buddha. It easy to slight those who have not yet studied the Buddhadharma, but you should not do so.
It is difficult to practice equanimity of mind. To practice compassion and equanimity with the mind is not easy; yet you should go ahead and do it.
It is difficult not to gossip. For the most part, people enjoy gossiping. To refrain from gossiping is a difficult thing to do. I have a disciple who told me that before he left the householder life he never gossiped at all. After he left home, however, he picked up the habit. But he awakened very quickly, so I believe he won be gossiping anymore.

It is difficult to meet a Good and Wise Advisor. It hard to meet a Good and Wise Advisor. Just consider how many people study the Way; most of the people you meet are muddled and confused. A Good and Wise Advisor is not confused. He will not allow you to walk down the wrong road. People who cultivate the Way should certainly listen to the instructions of a Good and Wise Advisor. If you don listen to a Good and Wise Advisor before you realize the fruition of the Way, and if you only listen to your own opinions, youe making a mistake. If you go that way, you will be in for a fall. Youl eventually encounter a demonic obstruction. You definitely must draw near to a Good and Wise Advisor and listen to his instructions. Yet it is difficult to find a Good and Wise Advisor.

It is difficult to see one own nature and study the Way. It is not easy for people who study the Way to understand their mind and see their nature. If you can understand your mind and see your nature through your study of the Way, you have done what is not easy to do.

It is difficult to teach and save people according to their potentials. To teach and transform living beings in the appropriate way, according to the conditions and affinities, is not an easy matter.

It is difficult to see a state and not be moved by it. No matter what situation you may meet, if you are not turned by it and you can turn it around instead, then you have done something which is hard to do.

It is difficult to have a good understanding of skill-in-means. To understand the right expedient method to use in teaching and transforming living beings is also not easy.
Section 13

A Shramana asked the Buddha, y what causes and conditions can I know my past lives and understand the ultimate Way? "

The Buddha said, y purifying your mind and preserving your resolve, you can understand the ultimate Way. Just as when you polish a mirror, the dust vanishes and brightness remains, so too, if you cut off desire and do not seek, you then can know past lives. "
 
 

The thirteenth section helps people gain knowledge of past lives and an understanding of the Way. The Buddha tells us that if knowledge of past lives is our goal, we must understand the Way.

A Shramana asked, y what causes and conditions can I know my past lives and understand the ultimate Way?" hat causes and conditions, or what Dharma-doors, should I cultivate in order to obtain knowledge of past lives? How can I understand true principles? "

The Buddha said, y purifying your mind and preserving your resolve, you can understand the ultimate Way. "The Buddha said, ou should make your thoughts pure and guard your resolve. Firmly keep your resolve. Whatever vows you have made, you should uphold them. You can make vows and then forget them after only a few days. You can withdraw them after a short while. That not permissible. That not preserving your resolve. If you can purify your thoughts, if you can get rid of the darkness in your mindll the false thoughts, greed, hatred, and stupiditynd if you can preserve your resolve, you will come naturally to understand the true Way, the highest Way. " What is it like? Now I will give you an analogy.

Just as when you polish a mirror, the dust vanishes and bright-ness remains. It just like cleaning a mirror: when the dust is gone, the brightness of the mirror appears. This brightness refers to the penetration of past lives. So too, if you cut off desire and do not seek, you then can know past lives. If you can cut off your thoughts of desire and reach the level of not seeking for anything, then you can attain the penetration of knowing past lives. When people cultivate the Way, they certainly should not indulge in any scattered thinking or false thoughts. If you can do away with false and scattered thoughts, then no matter what Dharma-door you cultivate, you will quickly succeed with it. If you have false and scattered thoughts, as well as greed, hatred, and stupidity filling up your belly, then you certainly aren going to obta