Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable

Today we get to the Parable of the Burning House, but before we get to that the Buddha underlines that the overriding purpose is to help everyone become Buddhas, which means there are no sravakas or pratekabuddhas among his children, only bodhisattvas.

Did I not tell you, ‘The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, expound the Dharma with expedients, that is, with various stories of previous lives, with various parables, with various similes, and with various discourses only for the purpose of causing all living beings to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi?’ All these teachings of the Buddhas are for the purpose of teaching Bodhisattvas.

As a read the Parable of the Burning House today, the major that I draws my attention is the realization that the children “are engrossed in playing,” and therefore unable to see the danger even when the father points it out to them.

The other point that is important here and will come up again, is that the Buddha can’t use his magical powers to enlighten us. He cannot just pick us up and carry us out of the burning house. Instead, he offers us toys he knows we want and the promise of those toys causes the children to rush from the house “pushing one another, and striving to be first.”

I have appeared in the triple world, which can be likened to the rotten and burning house, in order to save all living beings from the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering, lamentation, stupidity, darkness, and the three poisons, to teach all living beings, and to cause them to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. I see that all living beings are burned by the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation. They undergo various sufferings because they have the five desires and the desire for gain. Because they have attachments and pursuits, they have many sufferings in their present existence, and will suffer in hell or in the world of animals or in the world of hungry spirits in their future lives. Even when they are reborn in heaven or in the world of humans, they will still have many sufferings such as poverty or parting from their beloved ones or meeting with those whom they hate. Notwithstanding all this, however, they are playing joyfully. They are not conscious of the sufferings. They are not frightened at the sufferings or afraid of them. They do not dislike them or try to get rid of them. They are running about this burning house of the triple world, and do not mind even when they undergo great sufferings.

The “toys” that are offered are not insignificant. They require skill and faith to enjoy.

Sariputra! Those who have intelligence, who receive the Dharma by faith after hearing it from the Buddha, from the World-Honored One, and who seek Nirvana with strenuous efforts in order to get out of the triple world, are called Sravakas. They may be likened to the children who left the burning house in order to get the sheep-carts. Those who receive the Dharma by faith after hearing it from the Buddha, from the World-Honored One, who seek the self-originating wisdom with strenuous efforts, who wish to have good tranquility in seclusion, and who perfectly understand the causes of all things, are called Pratyekabuddhas. They may be likened to the children who left the burning house in order to get the deer-carts. Those who receive the Dharma by faith after hearing it from the Buddha, from the World-Honored One, who strenuously seek the knowledge of all things, the wisdom of the Buddha, the self-originating wisdom, the wisdom to be obtained without teachers, and the insight and powers and fearlessness of the Tathagata, who give peace to innumerable living beings out of their compassion towards them, and who benefit gods and men, that is to say, who save all living beings, are called men of the Great Vehicle. Bodhisattvas are called Mahasattvas because they seek this vehicle. They may be likened to the children who left the burning house in order to get the bullock-carts.

To have offered only the bullock-carts would not have enticed everyone out of the building. But now that everyone is out, once everyone is no longer engrossed in playing, they can appreciate the One Vehicle.

I led all living beings at first with the teaching of the Three Vehicles. Now I will save them by the Great Vehicle only. Why is that? It is because, if I had given them the teaching of the Great Vehicle at first directly from my store of the Dharma in which my immeasurable wisdom, powers and fearlessness are housed, they would not have received all of the Dharma. Sariputra! Therefore, know this! The Buddhas divide the One Buddha-Vehicle into three by their power to employ expedients.

Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable.

Sariputra’s joyful reaction underlines why he is considered foremost in wisdom among the Buddha’s major disciples.

World-Honored One! I reproached myself day and night [after I saw that the Bodhisattvas were assured of their future Buddhahood]. Now I have heard from you the Dharma that I had never heard before. I have removed all my doubts. I am now calm and peaceful in body and mind. Today I have realized that I am your son, that I was born from your mouth, that I was born in [the world of] the Dharma, and that I have obtained the Dharma of foe Buddha.

And in gathas:

I always saw you praising the Bodhisattvas.
Therefore, I thought this over day and night.
Now hearing from you,
I understand that you expound the Dharma
According to the capacities of all living beings.
You lead all living beings
To the place of enlightenment
By the Dharma-without-asravas, difficult to understand.

I once was attached to wrong views,
And became a teacher of the aspirants
for the teaching of Brahman.
You expounded to me the teaching of Nirvana,
And removed my wrong views because you understood me.
I gave up all those wrong views,
And attained the truth that nothing is substantial.

At that time I thought
That I had attained extinction.’
But now I know
That the extinction I attained is not the true one.
When I become a Buddha in the future,
I shall be adorned with the thirty-two marks,
And respected
By gods, men, yaksas, and dragons.
Only then I shall be able to say
That I have eliminated all [illusions].

One important point that the Buddha makes here and again later is that those hearing the sutra have heard it before in past lives and this previous instruction has set the stage.

Sariputra! I caused you to aspire for the enlightenment of the Buddha in your previous existence. You forgot all this, and thought that you had already attained extinction. In order to cause you to remember the Way you practiced under your original vow, I now expound to the Sravakas this sutra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

After Sariputra is told explicitly that he’ll become a Buddha, the “great multitude” celebrated sans garments. The gods, in particular, were happy to hear the news. Accumulated merits again plays a role:

The Buddha turned the wheel of the teaching
of the Four Truths
At Varanasi a long time ago.
He taught that all things are composed
of the five aggregates
And that they are subject to rise and extinction.

Now he turns the wheel of the Dharma,
The most wonderful, unsurpassed, and greatest.
The Dharma is profound.
Few believe it.
So far we have heard
Many teachings of the World-Honored One.
But we have never heard
Such a profound, wonderful, and excellent teaching as this.
We are very glad to hear this
From the World-Honored One.

Sariputra, a man of great wisdom,
Was assured of his future Buddhahood.
We also shall be able
To become Buddhas,
And to receive
The highest and unsurpassed honor in the world.

The Buddha expounds his enlightenment difficult to understand,
With expedients according to the capacities of all living beings.
We obtained merits by the good karmas which we did
In this life of ours and in our previous existence.
We also obtained merits by seeing the Buddha.
May we attain the enlightenment of the Buddha by these merits!

We end the day setting the stage for tomorrow’s reading:

World-Honored One! Now my doubts are gone. You assured me of my future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. These twelve hundred people now have freedom of mind. When they had something more to learn, [that is to say, when they had not yet completed their study for Arhatship,] you taught them, saying, ‘My teaching is for the purpose of causing you to emancipate yourselves from birth, old age, disease, and death, and to attain Nirvana.’ The [two thousand] people, including those who have something more to learn and those who have nothing more to learn, also think that they attained Nirvana because they emancipated themselves from such a view as ‘I exist,’ or ‘I shall exist forever,’ or ‘I shall cease to exist.’ But [both the twelve hundred people and the two thousand people] are now quite perplexed because they have heard from you [the Dharma] which they had never heard before. World-Honored One! In order to cause the four kinds of devotees to remove their doubts, explain why you said all this to them! “

Day 4 finishes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the first volume of the Sutra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

We begin with a definition of arrogance – the 5,000 who left the gathering when Sakyamuni announced that there was something more than the lesser vehicles, something equal to the wisdom of the Buddha still to be taught.

Some bhiksus and bhiksunis
Were arrogant.
Some upasakas were self-conceited.
Some upasikas were unfaithful.
Those four kinds of devotees
Were five thousand in number.

They could not see their own faults.
They could not observe all the precepts.
They were reluctant to heal their own wounds.
Those people of little wisdom are gone.
They were the dregs of this congregation.
They were driven away by my powers and virtues.

Sakyamuni expounded the “teaching of Nirvana to the dull people.” His purpose: “to cause them to enter the way to the wisdom of the Buddha.” He didn’t promise Buddhahood; now he does.

Any Sravaka or Bodhisattva
Who hears even a gatha
Of this sutra which I am to expound
Will undoubtedly become a Buddha.

There is only one teaching, that is, the One Vehicle
In the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters.
There is not a second or a third vehicle
Except when the Buddhas teach expediently.

It is hard to fully grasp what is happening:

Know this, Sariputra!
I once vowed that I would cause
All living beings to become
Exactly as I am.

That old vow of mine
Has now been fulfilled.
I lead all living beings
Into the Way to Buddhahood.

Not some reward in a pure world or a distant heaven. A teaching so that all living beings can “become exactly as I am.”

We can imagine what enlightenment is like reading what Sakyamuni saw at first:

Sariputra, know this!
Seeing with the eyes of the Buddha
The living beings of the six regions, I thought:
They incessantly suffer because they are taken
To the rough road of birth and death.
They cling to the five desires
Just as a yak loves its tail.
They are occupied with greed and cravings,
And blinded by them.
They do not seek the Buddha who has great power.
They do not seek the Way to eliminate sufferings.
They are deeply attached to wrong views.
They are trying to stop suffering by suffering.

My great compassion was aroused towards them.
I for the first time sat at the place of enlightenment[,]
[And attained enlightenment].
For three weeks afterwards,
I gazed on the tree,
Or walked about, thinking:
“The wisdom I obtained is
The most wonderful and excellent.
The living beings [of the six regions]
Are dull, attached to pleasures,
And blinded by stupidity.
How shall I save them?

It took the urging of King Brahman, Heavenly-King Sakra, the four heavenly world-guardian kings, Great-Freedom God, and other gods [of each world], and thousands of millions of their attendants to convince Sakyamuni that he could turn the wheel of the Dharma.

I thought:
If I extol only the Buddha-Vehicle,
The living beings [of the six regions] will not believe it
Because they are too much enmeshed in sufferings to think of it.
If they do not believe but violate the Dharma,
They will fall into the three evil regions.
I would rather enter into Nirvana quickly
Than expound the Dhanna to them.

But, thinking of the past Buddhas
who employed expedients,
I changed my mind and thought:
I will expound the Dharma which l attained
By dividing it into the Three Vehicles.

And so he expounded the Dharma “according to the capacities of all living beings.”

That was my first turning
Of the wheel of the Dharma.
Thus the words: Nirvana, Arhat, Dharma,
and Sangha
Came into existence.

But this was not enough.

Sariputra, know this!
Then I saw many sons of mine,
Thousands of billions in number,
Seeking the enlightenment of the Buddha.
They came to me respectfully.
They had already heard
Expedient teachings
From the past Buddhas.

I thought:
I appeared in this world
In order to expound my wisdom.
Now is the time to do this.

We hear this now and we will hear this again and again in the Lotus Sutra:

All of you, do not doubt me!
I am the King of the Dharma.
I say to you:
I will expound the teaching of the One Vehicle
Only to Bodhisattvas.
There is no Sravaka among my disciples.

Study this:

Those who do not study the Dharma
Cannot understand it.
You have already realized
The fact that the Buddhas, the World-Teachers,
employ expedients,
According to the capacities of all living beings.
Know that, when you remove your doubts,
And when you have great joy,
You will become Buddhas!

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Today begins the “big reveal.” Śāriputra, foremost in wisdom, discovers he’s not so smart after all.

In short, the Buddhas attained the innumerable teachings which you have never heard before. No more, Śāriputra, will I say because the Dharma attained by the Buddhas is the highest Truth, rare [to hear] and difficult to understand.

And in gathas:

The Dharma cannot be shown.
It is inexplicable by words.
No one can understand it
Except the Buddhas
And the Bodhisattvas
Who are strong in the power of faith.

This revelation causes confusion, especially among those who thought they knew it all.

The great multitude at that time included Sravakas. [They also included] Ajinata-Kaundinya, and other Arhats, twelve hundred altogether, who had already eliminated asravas. [They also included] the bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas, [that is, the four kinds of devotees] who had already aspired for Sravakahood or Pratyekabuddhahood. All of them thought:

“Why does the World-Honored One extol so enthusiastically the power of the Buddhas to employ expedients? Why does he say that the Dharma attained by him, is profound and difficult to understand, and that the true purpose of his teachings is too difficult for Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas to know? He expounded to us the teaching of emancipation. We obtained this teaching and reached Nirvana. We do not know why he says all this.”

And in gathas:

No one asks you about the Dharma you attained
At the place of enlightenment.
[The Dharma] is too difficult for me to measure.
[So it is for others; therefore,] no one asks you.

Although you are not asked, you extol the teachings
[Of the past Buddhas] which you practiced.
Your wisdom is wonderful.
It is the same wisdom that the other Buddhas obtained.

The Arhats-without-asravas
And those who are seeking Nirvana
Are now in the mesh of doubts, wondering:
“Why does the Buddha say all this?”

Having been here before and knowing where all this is going, I have a much better appreciation of what Sakyamuni is revealing. These guys know they’re not Buddhas and never considered asking how to become Buddhas. They have no idea what they’ve learned is only expedient used to help them free themselves enough to see that there is something more.

It’s no wonder that 5,000 people walk out when the Buddha finally accedes to Śāriputra’s request to explain himself. Their loss.

“Śāriputra! What is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds? The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open [the gate to] the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves. They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to enter the Way to the insight of the Buddha. Sariputra! This is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas appear in the worlds.”

The Buddha said to Śāriputra:

The Buddhas, the Tathagatas, teach only Bodhisattvas. All they do is for one purpose, that is, to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings, to cause them to obtain the insight of the Buddha.

Śāriputra! I also expound various teachings to all living beings only for the purpose of revealing the One Buddha-Vehicle. There is no other vehicle, not a second or a third. Śāriputra! All the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters also do the same.

And…

I know that all living beings have various desires. I also know that they have attachments deep in their minds. Therefore, I expound various teachings to them with stories of previous lives, parables, similes and discourses, that is to say, with various expedients according to their natures.

Śāriputra! I do all this for the purpose of causing them to realize the teaching of the One Buddha-Vehicle, that is, to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things. Śāriputra! There is not a second vehicle in the worlds of the ten quarters. How can there be a third?

The day ends with this:

“Sariputra and all of you present here! Understand the Dharma by faith with all your hearts! There is no vehicle other than the One Buddha-Vehicle.”