A Detailed Exposition of the Vimalakirti Sutra 

by Grandmaster Lu, Living Buddha Lian Sheng of the True Buddha School 

Translated into English by the True Buddha School Vimalakirti Translation Team 

Discourse 6, 5 June 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)  

Chapter One—Buddhaverse[1]

Thus have I heard: At one time, the Buddha was in the Amra Garden near the city of Vaisali, accompanied by eight thousand great bhikkus, thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas, and the assembly of virtuous and knowledgeable spiritual practitioners.

Their attainments of the great wisdom and fundamental conduct were solely due to the divine might of the buddhas. Together they formed a dharma-protecting fortress to uphold the correct dharma. Their lion’s roar resounded throughout all ten directions. People were naturally enticed to join, and the atmosphere was affable.

Today, I will continue to talk about the Vimalakirti Sutra. Last night, I explained great wisdom. What is great wisdom? It is the wisdom of emptiness, the wisdom of existence, and the wisdom of the tathagata combined. It comprises sarvajnata, margajnata, and sarvakarajnata (the wisdom of all-knowledge, the wisdom of the knowledge of the path, and the all-embracing wisdom). Or we can also say that great wisdom is the wisdom of true emptiness combined with the wisdom of discernment.

In the ten dharma realms of the buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, sravakas, heavens, humans, asuras, hells, hungry ghosts, and animals, they are established based on emptiness (they come into existence from emptiness). If you just talk about the wisdom of true emptiness, it’s easy to fall into nihilism and neglect karma (the law of cause and effect). You’d think everything is empty; nothing. So, karma is nothing, too...Wrong! You might say there is no cause and effect on the moon, right? No, you are wrong! 

Cause and effect certainly exist! All you need is to have the slightest self, and there will be cause and effect. It is extremely difficult for a human being to reach the state of no-self. You cultivate and cultivate and are nearly there, yet you still retain an ever-slightest self; thus, cause and effect still apply. Whenever there is a self—even the slightest extent—there will be karma.

In terms of purity—[I recite this incantation during homa] “Purify, purify self-nature, and purify all self-natures”—it is basically impossible to reach complete purity. There is always a trace of impurities; subsequently, karma—clearly and vividly—will always be with you. Karma applies to all ten dharma realms, including the four sagely realms. Even if you have been freed from the rebirth cycle, you are still bound by the law of cause and effect.

Karma—the law of cause and effect—is inconceivable! One can never say that there is no karma because the “self” still exists. Although you are mindful of emptiness, your conduct is not empty. Even after you empty everything, you still have a very slight “self.” Whenever there is a self, there is karma, and karma cannot be set aside. Therefore, we should never ignore karma. Remember, karma is inconceivable!

Sometimes the wisdom of true emptiness can mislead people to believe that there is no karma, which is a big mistake. Now, I have explained great wisdom; it includes both the wisdom of true emptiness and the wisdom of discernment. As I explained in the last talk, the wisdom of emptiness is to know that everything is false and nothing is true reality. As stated in the Heart Sutra, form is emptiness, and emptiness is form; form is none other than emptiness, and emptiness is none other than form. The Vajra Sutra also states the same concept.

So, what is real then? Only emptiness is real; emptiness is the true reality. And the true reality is emptiness. Form is none other than emptiness, so existence is emptiness, and emptiness is existence. Existence is a false reality because it will become empty eventually. That’s why we say that form is emptiness! What you see is emptiness; everything you come across is emptiness. While you indeed exist, your existence is false.

Hence, there are the Threefold Contemplation of emptiness, falsehood, and the middle way. When you apply both the wisdom of true emptiness and the wisdom of discernment, it becomes the wisdom of the tathagata. Whereas the wisdom of true emptiness is the wisdom of the arhats, the wisdom of discernment is the wisdom of the bodhisattvas. That’s all about great wisdom. 

Now we move on to fundamental conduct. What is the fundamental conduct? It’s very simple. The fundamental conduct for an arhat (sravaka) to attain arhatship (sravakahood) is to practice the four noble truths. How about for bodhisattvas? The fundamental conduct for bodhisattvas is to practice the six perfections of generosity/giving, precepts, endurance, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. For pratyekabuddhas, they cultivate the twelve links of dependent origination to transcend the rebirth cycle. And buddhas cultivate the thirty-seven enlightening factors and ultimately attain buddhahood. The fundamental conduct for buddhas is the thirty-seven enlightening factors.

To attain anuttara samyaksambodhi—the right realization—you need to cultivate according to the fundamental conduct required for each attainment: four noble truths, eightfold noble paths, six perfections (paramitas), twelve links of dependent origination, and thirty-seven enlightening factors. These are the fundamental conducts.

Accomplished in great wisdom and fundamental conduct…

They are accomplished in the three kinds of wisdom and fundamental conduct. So, what do the thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas practice? The fundamental conduct of bodhisattvas is the six perfections.

If you practice only giving, you can go to the heavenly realms. The giving mentioned here is not simply giving wealth, dharma, and fearlessness, but includes all good deeds. Your good deeds generate merit, which allows you to reach the heavenly realms. Those who have not forsaken desire will reside in the heavenly realm of desire. Those who have not forsaken form [everything tangible] will reside in the heavenly realm of form. Those who have forsaken everything will be in the formless realm. Do you understand now?

So giving is about doing all kinds of good deeds. If you don’t do [many] good deeds and still have karma, then you cannot go to heaven. When one does more good than bad, one will be reincarnated in the human realm. The human realm is one of the three good realms. If one does more bad than good or often fights and is involved in conflicts, one will go to the asura realm. If one is very foolish, muddled-headed, ignorant, cannot understand or accept buddhadharma and has done many absurdly stupid things, then one will go to the animal realm. If you are extremely evil, aggressive, or greedy, you will fall into the realms of hell and hungry ghosts.

This is all about cause and effect. You reap what you sow, like what Hushi[2] spoke. This is karma! In simple words, you will receive the effects of all you’ve done. There is also a common saying: if you plant beans, you will get beans; vice versa if you plant melons, you will get melons. You will not get melons if you plant beans. It is a very simple concept! However, karma is inconceivable because human thoughts and actions can be very subtle. There are myriad subtleties and complexities that it is impossible to infer.

Recently, I saw a T.V. program showing that even though the heart stops after a person dies, they discovered that the brain is still active. They conducted extensive research on the brain and detected that upon death, scenes instantly appear, displaying everything you have done like a movie playback. 

It’s just like what they say: In primordial times, upon your death, you’d end up in front of a sort of mirror to watch all that you had done when you were alive, thereby experiencing the cause and effect of all your actions [and thoughts]. It turns out modern science proves it too. Science and technology have advanced to a point where they can detect brain waves after death—after your heart stops beating. The brain activity displays your karma for you to watch with the eye of your heart-mind. This is true. 

According to the Vimalakirti Sutra, the fundamental conduct for arhats is the practice of the four noble truths; for pratyekabuddhas, it is the practice of the twelve links of dependent origination; and for the bodhisattvas, it is the six perfections: giving, precepts, endurance, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. 

And we have a term for the practice of the six perfections, “The six perfections in myriad actions.” So each of the six perfections is applied to all aspects of life [in other words, all conduct of a bodhisattva is based on the six perfections]. 

If you can strictly observe the precepts, then you will become pure. You give unconditionally and do all good deeds. You can endure and remain calm; you don’t lose your temper, fly into a rage, throw a tantrum, say and do all the wrong things—and regret it afterward—because your intelligence is zero when you lose it. Losing a temper is ridiculous; everybody can tell. Flying into rage is an embarrassment. After all, what is there to be so upset about? We are all adults, so don’t act so immaturely. Couples fight because of this, and murders frequently happen due to this as well.

Getting angry shows that you haven’t cultivated your endurance! If you cultivate endurance to maintain your composure and never lose your temper inappropriately, then your common sense will remain. Spiritual cultivators cultivate their heart-minds to become very pure, without many afflictions, and they wouldn’t suddenly become angry. So, you can’t lose your temper! Endure!

You must continue to endure until there is no endurance any longer. As you have the wisdom of emptiness, you know there is nothing to endure. What is it you are enduring anyway? Everything is false. Everything is empty. Being mindful in this way will help resolve all afflictions in your heart. Wealth, looks, and fame are all empty, too. 

Is Tat-Yen here? I asked Tat-Yen, “How strange! How can your daughter be so beautiful?” I often see her daughter’s photo for blessings; she is very beautiful. Yet when I see her mom… Oh my God! Please stand up and show yourself to everyone [Grandmaster talks to Tat-Yen and laughs]. Tat-Yen and Master Lian Chuan are very good friends. I asked how come [unlike her,] her daughter is so beautiful, to which Tat-Yen replied that 40 years ago, she was very confident! [laughter] I was also very confident 40 years ago. You can tell she was beautiful too, 40 years ago. That’s why she was very confident. When she walked on the street, all the boys—and not the policemen—whistled at her. [laughter] 

Looks cannot be preserved; it is empty! Do you really think a ninety-year-old grandma can look like a lady in her twenties? Impossible, right?! The young Grandmaster was handsome too—apart from height. I have a photo to prove it. [laughter] But looks cannot be retained—they are all false. Now, wrinkles, skin color, everything has changed. My eyes were larger before, but now my eyelids sag. Even my small ears have sagged [laughter]. They all changed!

Everything changes. Cars, houses, and human beings will all disappear one day. When an earthquake hits, even real estate properties can disappear. Is there really such a thing? How is it that a piece of land ends up being someone else’s after an earthquake? Someone at the Ninety-Nine Sharp Mountains (Ninety-Nine Peaks) in Nantou had this experience during the 1999 Jiji earthquake, and they had to survey the land again. So real estate properties can become nothing. 

So, use the wisdom of emptiness to eliminate your endurance.[3] Always be mindful of this. Everything is merely a temporary phenomenon; no matter what it is, it will disappear one day. Thus, there’s no need to lose one’s temper over anything. 

What do you want recognition for? It will also disappear. What do you want position or power for? They too, will disappear. It applies to the wealthy elites like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and many others as well. The Taiwanese say that wealth cannot last more than three generations. The richest man in Taiwan back then, Wang Yung-Ching, is no longer the richest man; and neither are his descendants.

So wealth is only temporary; it’s not forever. My grandfather Lu Chang earned a lot of money from his oil and rice business. He had six wives, and my mother said there were a few more unofficial ones. But by the time my father grew up, it was all gone. And it was even worse by my time. Thus, it all changes back and forth. Wealth can disappear, too.

With this in mind, we think of giving—wealth, dharma, and fearlessness—as much as we can. We abide by the precepts because purity can only be achieved by observing the precepts. We endure because without endurance, our IQ plummets to zero, and we create problems. This is one of the bodhisattva’s fundamental conducts—we must endure.

We must also be diligent! Since you are on the spiritual cultivation path, you must be diligent and make the best use of your time. Soon, you will become old—if you are not diligent, then you are wasting your life. And then what happens next? You’ll reincarnate again into your next life! You’ll continue to transmigrate in the cycle of birth and death, unable to escape it.

There will never be any attainment without diligence!! If you can have attainment without being diligent, then you can cut my head off to be turned into a chair for you to sit on. “Cutting off my head to be turned into a chair” is something my youngest sister often said to us. [chuckles]

If one claims spiritual fruition can be attained without diligence… that would be a lie! A complete lie! You must be diligent to have attainment. Sure, you may be lazy today… And then it drags on and becomes a habit. Before you know it, you have procrastinated for a month or even a year. 

Go ahead and play around. You will end up wasting your time! Think about where you will be headed next life. The rebirth cycle exists. Causes and effects exist. Yet, you still aren’t diligent?! I have already warned you!

Next is meditation. As it’s clearly written in the Vimalakirti Sutra, Vimalakirti rebuked Sariputra for sitting still in the woods or inside the cave day in and day out. He said, “That’swrong! You are merely sitting, and you still “enter” and “exit” meditation. Is that considered benefitting sentient beings?!” 

What is meditation? True meditation is single-mindedness in everything you do. You are constantly in a meditative state, no matter what you do, no matter how you live. Vimalakirti said that whatever you do is meditation. Upon hearing it, Sariputra felt very remorseful. 

Do not mistake meditation for sitting still on a cushion, alone, in a lotus position, away from the hocus-pocus of the outside world, although this is the way to start learning. But ultimately, you should achieve a meditative state in everything you do. 

Next is the perfection of wisdom. As I just said, you must utilize wisdom to transform everything—to apply the wisdom of emptiness to resolve everything.

So, we think of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia as a mere game! In Grandmaster’s eyes, it is nothing. It’s likened to a fight between red and black ants on earth, where both are biting each other. That’s all about it; what is there to make a fuss about? It's called a war when red ants and black ants bite each other. In wars, many people die. There will be karma; there will be retributions! 

In sum, a bodhisattva, a buddha, a pratyekabuddha, and a sravaka/arhat all have their fundamental conduct.  The great bhikkus and great bodhisattvas all accomplished great wisdom and conduct. They understand this concept, and here I am explaining it to you. 

Please raise your hands if you have generated the bodhisattva vow. The bodhisattva vow is part of the ordination vow, so ordained monastics should observe the bodhisattva precepts. Many lay practitioners have made the bodhisattva vow as well. If you have made the bodhisattva vow, you should cultivate according to the six paramitas.

Please observe yourself according to what I have explained and pay attention to whatever is missing. Whether you are a master, reverend [monk or nun], senior dharma instructor, or lay practitioner, you must cultivate according to the required fundamental conduct. By following it entirely, you will have attainment. This is to be accomplished in great wisdom and fundamental conduct. 

Om mani padme hum. 

Next discourse on the Vimalakirti Sutra: Discourse 7, 11 June 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)

Previous discourse on the Vimalakirti Sutra: Discourse 5, 4 June 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued) 

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