To Understand Buddhism - The First Vow

The First Vow: To Pay Respect to all Buddhas.

Who are Buddhas? We are told in the Flower Adornment Sutra,  Sentient or insentient, all attain wisdom. So all beings that have self-awareness and all things such as plants and minerals are Buddhas-to-Be. With respect for all beings and things, not just the present Buddhas, we will foster the heart of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. His heart is different from that of most Bodhisattvas.

Buddhist practitioners are respectful to the Buddha, but this respect may not be com" pletely sincere. Why not? If we are listening to a lecture, but suddenly think of an important appointment or have a call on our phone or pager, what will we do? We will leave the hall immediately go to attend to business or the telephone call! So, our respect and belief are not genuine. If we were truly sincere and respectful, we would regard attendance at the lecture as our prime concern. But in fact, if we are listening to a talk on the sutra and some" one tells us that there is a business opportunity that will us make a million dollars US, we will

The profound respect of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva is perfectly genuine, regardless of whether it is for Buddhas, sentient beings or insentient objects. Why? He understands that they all have a Buddha nature. Therefore, offending a sentient being is offending a Buddha. Thus, we too should respect all beings.

Then how do we act towards tables and chairs? They are also to be respected as be" ings, for everything is the result of the joint force of all causes. What is the right way to show respect for all things? Prostrate to it three times a day? No, that is the way of a Buddhist idiot. To show respect to material objects, we just keep them orderly and clean. For example, books go neatly into a bookcase. When doing something, we are earnest and responsible, trying to do it the best we can. We treat people, matters and objects with equal respect. This is the virtuous way of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. This is the expanded and perfected way of the Six Paramitas, and therefore the most perfect and effective way for Buddhist cul" tivation.


The Second Vow: To Praise the  Thus Come One

The second vow is to  Praise the  Thus Come One  . Since, the first vow is  To respect all Buddhas why don t we rephrase them as one,  Praise and respect all Buddhas ? There is a profound meaning within these two vows.  Respect all Buddhas applies to behavior. When considering the form, we are to show respect for everybody, regardless of whether they are good or bad. Also, we are to respect all laws whether they are accepted or he" retical.  Praise the  Thus Come One  applies to nature. So there is a difference. We admire the good but not the bad, although we respect the latter. And therein lies the difference.

praised nearly every one of the fifty-three spiritual guides he visited. However, three of them he respected but did not praise; Fasumiduo, Shengrepoluomen, and Ganluhuowang. The first was a prostitute and symbolized lust or greed. The second was a heretic and symbolized ignorance. The third was hot-tempered and symbolized anger. He would punish those who caused him the slightest offense by plunging them into boiling oil or driving them into a hill of daggers. These three symbolized the Three Poisons of greed, anger and ignorance. To Sud" hana, the three were to be respected but not praised. So we see that praise is linked to vir" tue.

Only good characteristics and accepted laws deserve praise. But we still respect all beings and things because respect reflects purity of mind and the virtue of respecting others equally. We respect heretical beliefs while we praise accepted ones such as Christianity, which helps raise people to the heaven realms. This is not achieving the perfect, complete enlightenment, but it is infinitely better than heretical beliefs that will lead people to fall into the three lower realms. So we praise Christianity. However, we never praise cults for they urge people to commit wrongdoings.

We can see that there is a big difference between the first and second vows although both come from a pure and perfect intention.


The Third Vow: To Make Offerings Extensively

The primary characteristic of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva is an immeasurablly broad and compassionate heart, which in Mahayana Buddhism is considered as the perfect func" tion of the self-nature. Ordinary Bodhisattvas have seen their self-nature, but it is partial, not are directed to all beings in the universe. Herein lies the difference between Universal Wor" thy Bodhisattva and ordinary Bodhisattvas who practice just the Six Paramitas. An offering to one Buddha is an offering to all Buddhas. His offerings are not only made to Buddhas but also to sentient and non-sentient beings. Therefore, one is all and all is one. With this great broad-mindedness we can attain the non-discriminatory and boundless perfection.

Universal Worthy Bodhisattva told us that of all the many kinds of offerings, that of the teachings is supreme. However, only the Buddha s teachings can help sentient beings break through confusion and delusion, to uncover the perfect self-nature, to become enlightened. No other kind of offering can do this. As Buddhism is an education, we are to respect the teacher and follow his or her teachings. Only in this way, can we attain perfect, complete enlightenment.

In the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, which sutra is the most important? In the Sui and Tang dynasties, over a thousand years ago, great Buddhist scholars studied and com" pared all of the sutras from Buddha Shakyamuni s forty-nine years of teaching. They agreed that the Flower Adornment Sutra was the most important. So the Flower Adornment Sutra was commonly acknowledged as the perfect teaching. The scholars then made compari" sons between the Infinite Life Sutra and the Flower Adornment Sutra and concluded that the Infinite Life Sutra was higher than the Flower Adornment Sutra. They explained that the Flower Adornment Sutra and the Lotus Sutra are the two most important. In Chinese Bud" dhism they are called the  First Vehicle Perfect Teachings . Both function as the guide to the Infinite Life Sutra. Therefore, the Infinite Life Sutra is really the number one teaching.

When I first read this, I was very pleased because it agreed with my personal experi" ence. It was the Flower Adornment Sutra that brought me to the Pure Land School. I lec"

 Chapter of Universal Worthy s Conduct and Vows from the Surangama Sutra. During these seventeen years I sensed the experience of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva being led by the

Ten Great Vows to the Western Pure Land. This Pure Land is the essence and the final desti"

nation of the Flower Adornment Sutra. From this experience I realized that the ancient

scholars were right.

So we know what is the best and most important among all of Buddha Shakyamuni s teachings. However, it was only after Mr. Lian-Ju Xia, a Buddhist layman, edited a compila" tion of the five versions of the original translations of the Infinite Life Sutra that we could enjoy a perfect benefit. The great project of editing such an extensive literary collection demon" strated that Mr. Xia was not an ordinary person, but rather the manifestation of a Great Bodhisattva. This great being felt compassion for the sentient beings in our world, which re" vealed that the opportunity for many beings to attain Buddhahood, had matured. Thus, he manifested in our world to compile the sutra versions and propagate the Pure Land method during our Dharma Ending Age.

When I visited Beijing, a student of Mr. Xia presented me with a photo of his teacher. Upon returning to Taiwan, I printed an enlarged copy of the photo. Although it is not very clear due to repeated duplications, an amazing phenomenon is apparent. Behind Mr. Xia s head the image of a Buddha appears. Light is emitting from this image as well as from be" low his shoes. Although the photo has been reduplicated many times, we can still clearly see that the image over Mr. Xia s head is that of a Buddha sitting on his lotus seat. We placed the photo in a prominent position to express our gratitude to this Great Bodhisattva for having given us such a gift and for guiding us in our cultivation and propagation of Bud" dhism.

hood. It contains forty-eight chapters. Which chapter is number one? Of all the chapters, chapter six is the most important. It tells us of Buddha Amitabha s forty-eight vows. When we read the Infinite Life Sutra, we see that Buddha Shakyamuni rigorously followed these vows when he introduced the history and background of the Pure Land.

Which of these vows is number one? The great scholars and monks in ancient China agreed that the eighteenth vow is number one. It tells us that ten recitations of Buddha Ami" tabha s name will result in birth into the Pure Land. In my early years of study, I questioned whether the Buddha had the ability to help a person to immediately become a Buddha, even if they were is doomed to birth in the Avici Hell, the lowest of the hell realms,. If Buddha was unable to accomplish this, then his wisdom and ability were limited and saying that he had all virtues and perfect abilities was a compliment rather than a fact. However, if the Buddha was capable of helping such a person become a Buddha, then I would believe that he was really perfect in wisdom and capable and thus worthy of our admiration. This ques" tion remained unanswered until after I read the forty-eight vows of Buddha Amitabha in the sutra. Then I realized that the Buddha s wisdom and virtuous character are indeed perfect and universal.

The Buddha is indeed capable of helping a person who has committed serious of" fenses to become a Buddha. The question lies in whether or not the person believes and accepts. If not, then the fault lies with the individual, not the Buddha. So, after reading the Infinite Life Sutra we know that anyone who sincerely practices the recitation method will surely succeed.

In the earlier example of Master Di-Xian and the student who so successfully chanted  Namo Amituofo for three years, the student knew in advance when he would be born into following day. After he passed away from this world, he remained in a standing position for three days waiting for his master to come to make final arrangements. His birth into the Pure Land was into the highest level. His accomplishment is proof of the eighteenth vow, which explains to us that this birth can be accomplished with just ten recitations of  Amitabha .

Anyone who has faith in this method surely has good roots, great merits and virtues. The Infinite Life Sutra explains that the monk s rebirth after such a short time of practice was due to his having made offerings to innumerable Buddhas in previous lifetimes. As a result, he was able to believe and practice. Without his good roots from previous lifetimes, he would not have been able to believe regardless of what his teacher had said.

The name of Buddha Amitabha contains infinite meanings. It is the name of the uni" verse, so it includes everything. If we want to know the meaning of the name we can read the Infinite Life Sutra, the explanation of the name. If we want to understand the Infinite Life Sutra we can read the Flower Adornment Sutra, for it is an explanation of the Infinite Life Su" tra. If we want to understand the Flower Adornment Sutra we can read the entire Great Canon for it is the explanation of the Flower Adornment Sutra. By using this method to un" derstand the sutras, we will know that the merit and virtue of the name of Buddha Amitabha are truly extraordinary.

This name alone contains all of Buddhism as well as all laws throughout the universe. Therefore, to chant this name is to chant all sutras. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, there was a famous monk Ciyun Guan-ding. Among his many works is the Directory to the Visualization Sutra, which tells us that when we seek escape from disasters we can resort to reciting sutras, chanting mantras or drawing divination slips. However, if a person has com" mitted grave wrongdoings then the only thing that will work is to recite  Namo Amituofo .

people do not know this so they resort to other methods. Therefore a person who is ill may recite the Medicine Master Sutra and when faced with disaster may recite the  Universal Door Chapter". This person does not know that the merits and virtues of Buddha Name Reci" tation make it the number one method.

Then why didn t Buddha Shakyamuni tell us so directly? Why did he teach us so many sutras and methods? Because many people do not believe in the Buddha Name Recitation Method. So he kept the finest method for last. This is similar to what we see in the Taiwan Palace Museum. Most people consider the beautiful jade collection of the Qing dynasty, to be more valuable than the bronze ware, which resembles pieces of metal, not realizing the bronze ware is the most valuable part of the collection in the museum. Similarly, most peo" ple do not realize the true value of Buddha Name Recitation. So the Buddha had to teach all the sutras to guide sentient beings to the Pure Land.

Master Shan Dao told us that the only purpose for all Buddhas to manifest in the world is to tell us of the original vows of Buddha Amitabha. Today, we can truly understand, culti" vate and propagate the Pure Land method. Truthfully, this is due to the support of the Triple Jewels. Also, the opportunities today for sentient beings to achieve attainment are very good. In the past five to six years, millions of copies of the Infinite Life Sutra have been printed and spread throughout the world. I have traveled around the world introducing and recommending this sutra. Many people have liked and accepted it. Seeing you here work" ing and practicing so earnestly, I am very pleased and feel that my hard work has been re" warded. Therefore, if we can practice and widely propagate this method, than I can say that we have perfectly fulfilled the vow to  Make Offerings Extensively .

The methods used by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are infinite in number. They are the Worthy Bodhisattva is the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. Also, Zhuen Ti Bodhisattva, one of the great patriarchs of Tibetan Buddhism, is a manifestation of Guan Yin Bodhisattva. Both Universal Worthy Bodhisattva and Guan Yin Bodhisattva urge us to seek birth into the Western Pure Land. We ordinary people discriminate between Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism, but Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with their perfect freedom and non-discriminatory minds do not discriminate among the different schools. All eighty-four thousand methods lead to the same goal. With this understanding, we will naturally respect all methods and schools.