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 38, 1 October 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)  

Chapter One—Buddhaverse

Meditation Self-mastery King Bodhisattva,

Dharma Self-mastery King Bodhisattva,

Let’s now talk about the Vimalakirti Sutra. Last time, I gave a detailed explanation on the Equal View Bodhisattva, Unequal View Bodhisattva, and the Equal and Unequal View Bodhisattva.

Today, I will explain the Meditation Self-mastery King Bodhisattva or the Bodhisattva who is a King of Self-mastery in Meditative Stability. Given the name, you would know that this is about meditation and that he has self-mastery in meditation. The “king” refers to him being the highest—that he has attained the highest realm. This applies to all [bodhisattva] names; any names with “king” in it mean that they have reached the highest realm. So, this bodhisattva has attained the highest mastery in meditation.

What is meditation? During the group practice just now, I was aware in the beginning that the practice was Ksitigarbha. Then I gradually became unaware of it. The other day, the MC told me that she extended the samadhi by five minutes because she saw Grandmaster was in deep meditation. She said she was empathetic toward me. Empathy for meditation? Is there such a thing?

I must be the King of Self-mastery in Meditative Stability. Seated here, many people could see me. Was my head bending low? Low but not nodding. Only after the ring of the bell, I became aware again and slowly lifted my head and straightened myself. That wasn’t sleep, that was meditation. I have great mastery in meditation.

As a King of Self-mastery in Meditative Stability, I am constantly in meditation—walking, standing, sitting, lying down, and in all daily activities. I can meditate when it is very noisy, when sitting on the dharma throne, while walking, driving, etc. At a red traffic light, I’d close my eyes until the car behind me honks as the light turns green. Then, I’d know I was in deep meditation. This is a joke, of course, so please do not do that! 

One time, Sariputra was meditating in the woods. Vimalakirti approached him, “What are you doing?” Sariputra replied, "I am meditating.” Vimalakirti laughed at him, “You receive alms from hundreds of households, yet you don’t help anyone. Instead, you stay in the forest and sit there all by yourself. Does this benefit sentient beings?” When you go deep into the mountains, stay in caves or the woods to meditate alone, will you benefit sentient beings?

Vimalakirti continued, “You should be with people, helping them by teaching buddhadharma. In this way you will benefit sentient beings.” Vimalakirti added, “What you are doing is not meditation!”

The key points of meditation are solidity and immovability. You have meditative stability when you are rock-solid and unmoved. This is meditation!

Immovability is attained when bodhisattvas reach the eighth ground—the Immovable Ground; and what does “Immovable Ground” mean? It means they have reached a state where they will never regress; they have become true bodhisattvas. They are immovable!

On the contrary, regression can occur to anyone who starts out with strong devotion but eventually wavers and abandons spiritual cultivation. You may have strong faith in the beginning, but you can still regress and stop practicing. If you still regress, then you have not reached the immovable state.

Non-regressing means continual perseverance—one stays on course, unperturbed. At the immovable state, one is extremely solid and unmoved. One is not unmoved physically, but mentally and spiritually. Your faith and commitment toward attainment are extremely strong; you would never digress from it.

What is immovability? It is when your mind remains unaffected and unmoved in any circumstances. There is a Zen Buddhist saying that goes, “If a buddha appears, kill the buddha! If a mara comes, kill the mara!” Even when a buddha appears in front of you, your heart-mind remains unperturbed. If a mara or demon comes to you, likewise, your heart-mind is unruffled.

This phrase is not about physical killing; you don’t use knives to stab them. Instead, it means that no matter who appears in front of you—buddha or mara—you remain unmoved. You are unmoved by anything in any circumstances. You always have meditative stability even when you encounter the worst kind of situation. Only then is it called stability and immovability. So, meditation generates meditative stability which is very stable and unmoved.

Of course, when you encounter tragedies, emotions arise—you are humans after all. All sentient beings have feelings and emotions. Sometimes we feel happy, sometimes we feel sad. So, we cannot say that human emotion is against immovability. However, through spiritual cultivation you train to become stronger and increasingly unaffected by your environment. You stay unaffected no matter if a buddha or a demon appears.

You feel happy when you win a lottery, but your heart and mind remain calm, and you donate to charity. You grieve when your closest one dies, but you console yourself that it is a matter of time—everyone will die. So, you don’t succumb to the emotions and remain anchored. You calmly help to bardo deliver them to the purelands. Your heart and mind are always calm in any circumstances. This is likened to the Meditation Self-mastery King Bodhisattva.

Once you understand this, your heart-mind becomes strong, stable, and non-regressing. You are a master of yourself, always unaffected by anything. You have self-mastery and meditative stability.

Meditation Self-mastery King Bodhisattva has reached the highest state of meditation and he is rock-solid and immovable under any circumstances. But we know everything is everchanging in this world. Nothing remains unchanged or unmoved. Lives and deaths are ever present; they are interchanging.

In samsara, nothing is unbreakable. For humans, nothing remains fixed and stable. Human bodies deteriorate, get ill, and eventually die. So, everything is everchanging amid the myriad births and deaths that are transforming around us. In samsara, births and deaths continue to occur.

So, you think you’re fine, but do you realize that some of your cells have died today? Perhaps your brain cells, or all sorts of cells have died. If you get cancer, many more cells will die. In the end, all your cells will die. Are you aware of the births and deaths occurring inside your body? They are continually occurring everywhere, even within you; you just don’t realize it.

As Buddhists, we should know how to master ourselves in accordance with our affinities—to have self-mastery. As an example, in our dining hall, we now have Reverend Lian Ming who studied the culinary arts and Lotus Eva who owned a Japanese restaurant. They bring their expertise to the kitchen, and together with a few other people, they create wonderful meals. Our food has greatly improved—they make delicious food! The food prepared for everyone by Reverend Lian Guan has also improved.

Our meals were unpredictable before. One time, we had a big pot of winter melon soup with a whole frog floating in it. We never saw this before. Sometimes, the meals were even inedible. Yet, we always came to eat and never complained. We gave praise when the dishes were good but remained quiet when they were bad. Right? We still consumed the food even if it tasted like garbage. How could we make a fuss? We were fortunate enough to have food to eat.

I just go with the flow and eat whatever is served. I never say, “I want to eat something.” Have I ever said anything like that before? Never. This is what is meant by following affinities. We follow affinities in what we eat, wear, drive, etc. We use whatever is given to us, whether lama outfits, cars, or even houses. If someone gave me a car, I’d just drive it. I once drove a Toyota, and my first car in America was a Ford Mercury.

I also follow affinities when it comes to my abodes. I used to live in an illegal house in Taiwan before moving to a tiny house we bought for NTD 200,000. Do you know how much that equated to? [~USD 6,000] Just imagine what kind of house it was! Yet to me, it was like a paradise on earth. I slept very well there and never loathed it. Likewise, when I lived in the illegal house built on top of a ditch, I slept soundly and sweetly with the sound of flowing water underneath. When it rained, the water that got inside the house was so nice and cooling. It felt like a fairyland.

To me, living in illegal housing or a luxury home are the same. I am at ease in any circumstance. I just follow the affinity, be it for food, clothes, houses, cars, etc. If you can be like this, then you have meditative stability and self-mastery. Just like the Meditation Self-mastery King Bodhisattva.

I can accept any situation and environment. Were I to live in illegal housing again, I would be fine. After all, I had experienced it before. The illegal house was not built on the ground. It was built on top of a ditch covered with wooden boards. After adding a little dirt, a house was built. We lived there because we had no money. Instead of cars, we had two small bicycles with a basket in front—one for me to carry Fo-Ching and one for Shimu to carry Fo-Chi.

That remains the happiest moment in my life. We rode along Jingwu Road to Taichung Park and went for a stroll together. When we got hungry, we ate the mung bean soup that Shimu had prepared earlier. That remains the happiest moment in my life. We just followed affinity and were completely at ease.

Now you understand what self-mastery is. We follow whatever affinities arise and then live our days with ease and happiness. You are fearless and not afraid of anything. Only in this way are you in a state of meditation! It is not about sitting there, “meditating.”

In [real] meditation, your mind is very solid, strong, and stable. Having meditative stability, you are unperturbed and unmoved. You have cultivated until your heart-mind has reached the state of immovability and you are non-regressing. In addition, you have self-mastery and go with the flow following your affinity.

There is an anecdote about Confucius and his disciple, Yuan Si. It described how Confucius continued playing his lute happily—with ease—regardless of the dripping water in his leaking house. That was self-mastery! We need to understand what it means to go with the flow. We need to know how to be at ease and have self-mastery.

Let me reiterate word-by-word the meaning of Meditation Self-mastery King Bodhisattva. Meditation refers to stability, immovability, and non-regression. You have self-mastery when you can go with the flow and be at ease in any circumstance. When you reach the highest realm, you are called a king. Altogether, you would be called the Meditation Self-mastery King Bodhisattva. In other words, the one who has reached the highest realm of self-mastery in meditation and thus, becoming a king, will be named Meditation Self-mastery King.

Meditation does not mean “meditating” somewhere quietly. Likewise, it is not meditation if you have the intent to meditate! Real meditation happens without awareness. If you consciously meditate, you won’t be able to enter real meditation. Meditation happens unwittingly when you don’t keep it in mind, yet while also being solid and indestructible. This is real meditation! The one in real meditation flows with affinity; they have self-mastery and are at total ease. They are completely unperturbed by anyone and anything. They remain unhindered in any circumstances.

Vimalakirti told me, “If you are still affected by anybody, you have no meditative stability.” You are in a state of meditation only when no one or nothing affects you.

Let me give you an example. Sometimes people ask, “Grandmaster, why do you treat me like nothing?” “You wave to everyone but me. Why is that?” “You don’t even look at me.” “You smile at others but not me.” Such cases show their lack of meditative stability, since they were still affected by me. The one with meditative stability is not affected by anybody.

I also remain unperturbed in giving spiritual consultation. I treat everyone equally, giving you the same attention. Never am I moved by anything. I am the same regardless of how ugly or beautiful you are, or if you fart in the consultation room. Perhaps you cannot hold it and you let it out, so I’d just have to endure it. Fortunately, everyone wears a mask these days. I will continue and never say, “Because you farted, please get out.” So, even farts do not affect me. I go with the flow in any circumstance, and I am totally at ease.

If you come wearing dirty stinky socks, I will still calmly provide consultation, even if the stench is so bad that it fumes the whole room. One time, I gave a consultation to someone with awful body odor. Oh heavens! Nevertheless, I still helped him while holding my breath. I will never ask anyone to leave because of their bad body odor, or say something like, “Please go wash yourself first before coming back for consultation.” Some people have bad odors even after bathing.

I just follow what affinity may come and remain at ease. Once, a mafia boss from Chicago came for a consultation. He was accompanied by his assistant and a businessman in a suit. This tall, retired mafia boss spoke Cantonese. As soon as I saw him, I knew he was in the mafia—his face showed it. Yet, I helped him too. When I told him that I knew he was the head of mafia, he said, “Yes, that’s right. But I have retired.” I saw scars from knives and bullets on his body. They offered meals and we ate together. I saw many scars from knives and bullets on his body. Most people would have been scared, but I still gave him consultation although I was slightly apprehensive. Who knows! Perhaps I could have been punched had the consultation not gone well or if I had said something too bluntly. If that happened, I would have been finished.

Yet, I went with the flow and followed whatever affinity arises. The Meditation Self-mastery King goes with the flow and remains at ease under any circumstances.

Grandmaster has met all kinds of people. Some were in the mafia, each with their problems. One of them declared, “I will carry your bag for you!” I nodded, and he surely did. Every day, this mafia boss accompanied me during my fengshui consultation. One day, he suddenly said, “No more of this! Here’s your bag back!” throwing it at me. I asked him, “Where are you going?” “I am going back to the mafia.” So he left! And I just let him be.

I have disciples from all walks of life. There was a notorious mobster, Liao Longhui. His funeral was attended by a big crowd of Taichung politicians and people from all over. It was a very big scene. Another mobster together with a city mayor invited me for dinner one time. So I knew two of the three mafia bosses in Taiwan.

In the deliverance of sentient beings, Grandmaster follows the course of nature with self-mastery. The King of Self-mastery in Meditative Stability has no fear, always in meditative stability, hardworking and single-minded in doing everything, and is totally unaffected by anyone.

If you dislike someone, or you avoid talking to anyone, you are still affected. You have no meditative stability. If you hate someone, you are affected by the person you hate. If you are jealous or envious, that means they still affect you. You need to train yourself until you can be at ease, gain self-mastery, and go with the flow in whatever situation you encounter. You must know to do this! Only this is called meditative stability.

If I were to dislike, discriminate, or be bothered by anyone, then Grandmaster Lu does not have meditative stability—I am not in meditation. The fact is, I am never affected by anything or anybody. To me, all my disciples are equal. I am totally unaffected by any of them.

If someone scolds you and it remains on your mind for days, or something makes you angry for days, then you do not have any meditative stability during those days. You have meditative stability only when nothing bothers you—be it slander, criticism, or whatever anyone says or does. When nothing ever affects you then you are in [constant] meditation.

If you see someone at the dining table and you avoid going because of them, that means you are affected by that person—you don’t have meditative stability. A person with true meditative stability will not be affected in any way.

Sometimes, I’d ask if someone is on speaking terms with so-and-so. If they reply they don’t want to see or talk to so-and-so, then I’d tell them that it is wrong to be like that. I’d say, “It’s okay to see and talk to them. You should feel at ease and be a master of yourself. Have some self-mastery.” It shouldn’t be a big deal. Meditation is all about this.

As Buddhist practitioners, you must remember that if you still feel antipathy or are affected in any way by anyone, then you don’t have meditative stability. Meditative stability means accepting what may come and being at ease with it. Meditation Self-mastery King is always at ease in the face of anyone and anything. 

I explain this point at length so you can understand better. Anyone explaining that meditation is sitting quietly in contemplation is lying! True meditation is when everyone is equally fine to you. Everybody has buddhanature, and it is the same buddhanature—no matter how bad or good a person is, how beautiful or ugly, they all have the same buddhanature. Do you now understand what meditative stability is and what meditation is all about? You need to understand this!

Om mani padme hum. 

Next discourse on the Vimalakirti Sutra: Discourse 39, 2 October 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)

Previous discourse on the Vimalakirti Sutra: Discourse 37, 25 September 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)

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