Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra 

A Detailed Exposition by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu  

Translated into English by the True Buddha School Vimala Sutra Translation Team 

Discourse 63, 18 February 2023 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)    

Chapter One—Buddhaverse 

“Observing the Buddha with a pure mind, they are filled with joy,

Seeing the World-honored One right before them.

This is the most uncommon display of transcendent power.

The Buddha spoke on dharma with one voice,

Yet different kinds of sentient beings understand differently

The same words of the World-honored One.

This is the most uncommon display of transcendent power. 

             The Buddha spoke on dharma with one voice,

And they all accepted, practiced, and received its benefits

According to their understanding.

This is the most uncommon display of transcendent power.

            The Buddha spoke on dharma with one voice,

Some are fearful and some are joyous,

Some renounced [samsara], and some resolved their doubts.

This is the most uncommon display of transcendent power.

             We bow to the Ten Powers of Great Diligence.

We bow to the fearless one.

We bow to the one abiding in uncommon dharma.

We bow to the great teacher of all.

We bow to the ability to break all bondages.

We bow to the one who has arrived at the other shore.

We bow to the one who can deliver all the worlds.

We bow to the one who has abandoned all paths of life and death.

You know the phenomena of the comings and goings of sentient beings,

And gained liberation through the mastery of all dharma.

Unattached to the world like the lotus,

Your conduct is always amid emptiness and extinction.

Understanding all phenomena without any concerns,

You are relying on nothing like the sky! We bow to you!”

Now we will talk about the Vimalakirti Sutra. I will go through it faster.

“The Buddha spoke on dharma with one voice,

Yet different kinds of sentient beings understand differently

The same words of the World-honored One.

This is the most uncommon display of transcendent power.”

When Sakyamuni Buddha spoke the dharma, it’s always with one voice—he spoke in Pali. Yet, listening to the same words, different sentient beings understood differently. Similarly, when Grandmaster expounds the dharma, people can also have different interpretations and understandings of it. This is also a kind of transcendent power. Grandmaster gives a dharma teaching not only here, but also all over the world. Many people have seen and heard Grandmaster teach dharma to them on different occasions at various places around the world. And it happens during the day, not only in dreams. To some, Grandmaster is always with them—at any moment. Some of my disciples have such capability, and they are right here inside the temple hall right now. There are many witnesses to this nowadays. Dharma sister Sally knows such a person. Not only they can see and talk to Grandmaster’s dharma bodies, but also when they told the dharma body something—like their upcoming trip to Seattle—Grandmaster could know about it. I am not making this up. Such cases have appeared in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, England and many more places.

“Seeing the World-honored One right before them.”

They can see Grandmaster standing in front of them. This also happened in Sakyamuni Buddha’s era. The Buddha gave dharma teachings at Vulture Peak, but at the same time, he was at South India’s Sri Dhanyakataka Stupa, expounding the Kalacakra Dharma to King Sucandra, the King of Shambala. He gave dharma teachings at both places simultaneously. Now, don’t say that Sakyamuni Buddha’s transcendent power is an uncommon dharma because Grandmaster too is the same. This is the meaning of: Seeing the World-honored One right before them. This is the most uncommon display of transcendent power.

What is an uncommon dharma? It is like when you speak different dharma to different disciples. It is called uncommon because you don’t say the same thing to all disciples. If you have such a capability, whether you die or not, you [your dharma body] are still in the saha world. In such a case, there is no difference between life and death. For instance, Golden Mother and Grandmaster are always together. Golden Mother is at her pureland, the Golden Mother Fairyland (Primordial Pond) at the Peak of Mount Kunlun, but she can also be together with Grandmaster in any instant. This is easy to explain; it is like the moon that is reflected on thousands of rivers. In other words, one moon can appear on thousands of rivers. Additionally, they [the deity] are all alive and they can talk. Having spiritual union with your yidam, you will have such power. Grandmaster is in spiritual union with Golden Mother, so I can speak to Golden Mother anytime. By the same token, she can talk to Grandmaster anytime too. 

“The Buddha spoke on dharma with one voice,

Yet different kinds of sentient beings understand differently

The same words of the World-honored One.

This is the most uncommon display of transcendent power.”

This is an uncommon dharma because you send a different message to different people.

“The Buddha spoke on dharma with one voice, 

And they all accepted, practiced, and received its benefits

According to their understanding.”

Everyone heard [and interpreted] it differently but all of them received the benefits of Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings.

“This is the most uncommon display of transcendent power.”

This is also an uncommon dharma. Sakyamuni Buddha has the transcendent power to convey different messages to different people [although he used the same words], thus, this is an uncommon dharma.

“The Buddha spoke on dharma with one voice,

Some are fearful and some are joyous,

Some renounced [samsara], and some resolved their doubts.

This is the most uncommon display of transcendent power.” 

The Buddha used his one voice to speak the dharma. Upon hearing it, some people [who do bad deeds] were terrified because the Buddha mentioned that in whatever you do, there are causes and effects. On the contrary, some people felt joy in their hearts because they know their good deeds will bring good rewards. Thus, [their reactions] are different. They perceived the same voice [or message] differently–some were fearful, and some were joyous.

“Some renounced [samsara], and some resolved their doubts.”

Upon hearing the Buddha’s dharma teaching, some people felt that they wanted to leave the saha world. The Buddha also helped answer any doubts. Sakyamuni Buddha answered all the questions they had. This is also the most uncommon display of transcendent power. Sakyamuni Buddha has such power. He transforms from one into many. His emanations or dharma bodies are innumerable.

Like Buddha Amitabha of Sukhavati, he could also transform. Guru Padmasambhava is one of his transformations or emanations. The Padmakumaras too are his transformations. In Sukhavati, he manifested the peacocks, the parrots, and the kalavinkas.

Moreover, they all can cultivate the thirty-seven enlightening factors, causing people to naturally chant the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, as well as to practice the thirty-seven enlightening factors. All of them—including Guru Padmasambhava and Padmakumaras—are the transformations of Amitabha Buddha. Thus, Amitabha Buddha can transform, and so can Grandmaster Lu.

Right here, there are people who can see Grandmaster Lu [dharma bodies], not only during dreams at night. Seeing in dreams is no big deal and most people’s dreams are messy. Yet they still [make a big deal out of it] and ask [Grandmaster]. Yes, many people can really see Grandmaster Lu [dharma bodies]!

In the past, dharma brother Gao Minglu saw Grandmaster’s dharma body to be two stories high. What’s the big deal being tall, rich, and handsome? Tall? My physical body is not very tall; however, my dharma body can be as tall and as huge as I want it to be. Dharma brother Gao saw me to be two stories high and it’s for real! There are several people inside the Seattle temple that can see Grandmaster in daytime. I won’t mention their names for now.

Hence, some people were fearful, and some were joyous. Some wanted to leave the world, while some resolved their doubts. The true bodies that everyone saw were different. However, they are all Grandmaster, and each of the dharma bodies said different things to different people.

“We bow to the Ten Powers of Great Diligence.”

The Accumulated Treasures Bodhisattvas bowed his head to the ground toward Sakyamuni Buddha, to pay homage. The ten powers means that Sakyamuni Buddha has ten kinds of uncommon dharma powers. Sakyamuni Buddha has great diligence too. His diligence in spiritual cultivation is like Grandmaster’s. Grandmaster is really diligent too. Just look at how I perform the Thousand Dharma Vessels Bardo Deliverance. When I returned to Taiwan, I thought I’d probably don’t need to do it anymore, right? No, I still had to continue doing it! And when coming back from Taiwan, I can stop right? No! Grandmaster must keep doing it until one day I no longer can! 

Last night at 2 a.m., I was still performing the deliverance. It’s true! I was still on the dharma throne, practicing, and didn't sleep until 4 a.m. Now there are even more sentient beings to salvage—those who died from the Turkey earthquake. But they are difficult to save because to be saved, the sentient beings need to fulfill these two important requirements:

1.   They must have good roots [good merits] to go to Sukhavati. Only when they have good roots, can they go to Sukhavati. 

2.   They must be able to be single-minded. 

But how can people from those countries understand all these? They have never even heard of “Amitabha.” All they have heard is probably just the existence of Buddhism from textbooks on religions. They would not know buddhadharma or how to cultivate spiritually. Nonetheless, Amitabha Sutra stated:

1.   You cannot lack good roots to go to Sukhavati.

2.   You must chant Amitabha Buddha’s name single-mindedly. Only then can the Pureland Trinity appear and guide you to Sukhavati.

Then, how do I save them? First, I invoke Amitabha Buddha to come and radiate boundless light to bless them so that their bodies and minds are purified. Second, I chant Amitabha Buddha’s name so they can hear it and chant together with me. By creating a cause of chanting the buddha's name, there will be the effect of becoming a buddha. This is how I perform bardo deliverance. This is great diligence. The buddhas definitely have great diligence. There is a bodhisattva called Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, also known as the Greatly Powerful Bodhisattva or the Great Diligence Bodhisattva. All bodhisattvas are diligent, let alone the buddhas.

“We bow to the fearless one.”

There is nothing to fear. Grandmaster too is fearless. Grandmaster has cultivated to the point that I am now fearless. Previously, I have written about fearlessness in the context of the philosophy of being unimpeded, of having no hindrances. The spirit of being unhindered is fearlessness—one is fearless about anything. When you have proven the Way, is there anything to be afraid of? Since you have already proven the Way, you become fearless. Therefore, Accumulated Treasures Bodhisattva paid homage to Sakyamuni Buddha because the Buddha had attained the Way and was fearless of everything.

“We bow to the one abiding in uncommon dharma.”

The Buddha’s real ten powers and transcendental transformations are all uncommon dharma.

“We bow to the great teacher of all.” 

The bodhisattva said to pay homage to the greatest teacher of all buddhadharma, Sakyamuni Buddha. He is the great teacher. In other words, we pay homage to the greatest teacher of all.

“We bow to the ability to break all bondages.”

Sentient beings are all in bondage. Held in bondage by what? By themselves. If you are greedy for money, you will be bound by money. If you are greedy for sex, you will be bound by sex. If you are greedy for fame and name, you will be bound by fame and name. Whatever you are greedy for, you will be bound by it. However, buddhadharma can cut off all the bondages of sentient beings. Honestly, nobody binds you but yourself.

“We bow to the one who has arrived at the other shore.”

Once you have attainment, you have reached the other shore. Like the thousand dharma vessels that have reached Sukhavati—all the spirit beings on it have reached the other shore. The other shore is buddha. You are no longer bound. Once you reach that realm, it is the other shore. Actually, there is no such thing as a realm. The realms are only manifested for you to see. The other shore is not the other shore. “Other shore” is merely a name or term. Because only when you have no more “other shores” that you arrive at the other shore.

“We bow to the one who can deliver all the worlds.”

This means paying homage to Sakyamuni Buddha, who can be a great teacher in the saha world, give the all-important buddhadharma to sentient beings, and deliver the sentient beings of the saha world.

“We bow to the one who has abandoned all paths of life and death.”

After Sakyamuni Buddha attained the Way, of course there’s no life and death. That’s why it’s called seemingly coming and seemingly going [in Chinese, ru lai or tathagata means “seemingly coming”]. He has abandoned life and death forever. There is no birth and there is no death. When there is no birth, there will be no death. He forever abandons the path of life and death. I can appear in Singapore, Taiwan, America, Canada, Mainland China, and anywhere else. I can let people see my [dharma body] in any place. But any appearances are mere illusions.

“You know the phenomena of the comings and goings of sentient beings,”

Sakyamuni Buddha indeed knows how sentient beings come and go. He knows about all phenomena, as stated in the Vajra Sutra. Those who comprehend the fundamental wisdom or the true wisdom have gained enlightenment. The wisdom of discernment is for use in the world. Beyond the world, only the fundamental wisdom remains. So the Buddha understands the phenomena of coming and going of sentient beings.

“And gained liberation through the mastery of all dharma.”

When the Buddha gave dharma teachings, he can let sentient beings gain liberation in their body, mind, and everything, free from bondage.

“Unattached to the world like the lotus,”

This is simple! Lotuses grow out from the mud. Similarly, the Buddha became a buddha from this world. The Buddha attained buddhahood in the world and he then transcended the world; He was in the world, but also transcended the world. He is pure like the lotus, unattached to the world like [how] the lotus [is unattached to the mud]. The lotus grows out of the mud but it is most pure. Thus, [the Buddha is] unattached to the world like the lotus—pure!

“Your conduct is always amid emptiness and extinction.”

This means [the Buddha] has confirmed the empty-nature. Sukhavati has four purelands—The Pureland of the Eternal Serene Light where the dharmakaya buddhas are; the Magnificent Pureland of Real Rewards where the sambhogakaya buddhas are; the Abundant Pureland for Convenience; and the Pureland of Mundane Beings and Sages Together where the nirmanakaya buddhas are. When Sakyamuni Buddha was in the saha world giving dharma teachings, that was his nirmanakaya. He was also in the Pureland of Mundane Beings and Sages Together. Upon attaining buddhahood, he was and is also in the Pureland of the Eternal Serene Light. The phrase Your conduct is always amid emptiness and extinction refers to Sakyamuni Buddha—his dharma body—is residing in the Pureland of the Eternal Serene Light. His nirmanakaya resides in the Pureland of Mundane Beings and Sages Together while his sambhogakaya resides in the Magnificent Pureland of Real Rewards and the Abundant Pureland for Convenience.

“Understanding all phenomena without any concerns,”

He understands all phenomena and he has no concerns, no attachment, no afflictions, no life, and no death. He has no cares or entanglements whatsoever. Nothing!

“You are relying on nothing like the sky! We bow to you!”

Accumulated Treasures Bodhisattva pays homage to Sakyamuni Buddha who is like the sky. Relying on nothing means no attachments to anything. When you truly attain the Way, you are like the sky where you are unaffected by such things as wealth, beauty, fame, food, and sleep. People in the saha world are attached to money, sensual pleasures, and fame; these are the three main [groups of] attachments. There are also attachments to food and sleep. Because you love to eat, that’s why you become overweight! This is cause and effect! When you are overweight, don’t say it’s because you were born with it. How can you become overweight without overeating? Everything is due to cause and effect. Because you love to eat, you become overweight. If you don’t eat, how can you be overweight?

In 2024, the US will have a presidential election. There is a former president who wants to be reelected. He is very persistent. Amitabha! He wants to do it again, as if he would die if he didn’t do it. Even if I explain the buddhadharma to him, he wouldn’t understand.

This is because whatever you are attached to will bind you. If you have no attachments at all, what can bind you? Who can hold you in bondage? Nobody but yourself. It’s because you still have greed. How come the scammers cannot cheat Grandmaster? Because Grandmaster doesn’t care about making money so I won’t be cheated! I only give dharma teachings. How can you trick me? What do you try to get from me? [Hustlers would say,] “If you invest in this, you will gain a lot of money.” Then they will give you a small return at first. Once you transfer your money, they’ll disappear with it. This is how scammers do their tricks. They give you a little sweetness before causing you great suffering. You suffer this due to greed. Even to my children I have no attachment. Of course, I love them, but I am not attached to them. Everything is tied to fate. Life and death are predestined while riches and honor are decreed by the heavens. Let go of your attachments!

This is the Accumulated Treasures Bodhisattva’s praise for Sakyamuni Buddha.

Om mani padme hum.

Next discourse on the Vimalakirti Sutra: Discourse 64, 19 February 2023 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)

Previous discourse on the Vimalakirti Sutra: Discourse 62, 12 February 2023 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)

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Full webcast of 2023.02.18 Maha Cundi Buddha Mother Group Practice (Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, Redmond, USA) and dharma discourse with English interpretation: https://www.youtube.com/live/bwEQdPfUL6U?feature=share

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