成就的快慢取决于……

Speed of Attainment Depends on... 

True Benefit of the Buddha Dharma Derives from Reverence

The very moment we open a sutra, the present becomes transcendent—beyond time and space—and the Buddha’s untainted, luminous compassionate mercy is revealed. This compassion is not a worldly emotion. The Buddha embodies essence, form, and function—Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya. The function of the Buddha cannot be separated from the form, and the form cannot be separated from the essence. Because the Buddha’s essence transcends time and space, so too do the Buddha’s form and function.

Whenever a Dharma Master expounds the Dharma—be it Mahayana or Theravada—his teaching is beyond time and space. Why? Because the very aspiration that prompts him to speak the “the Theravada Vehicle” is of Mahayana. He teaches Theravada solely to guide those beings whose spiritual root accords with that vehicle.

Thus, as long as we revere the Buddha-Dharma, its merit will surely flow to us. Master Yìn Guang teaches us: “The true benefit of the Dharma is found only in reverence. One portion of reverence wipes out one portion of negative karma and adds one portion of blessing and wisdom; ten portions of reverence wipes out ten portions of negative karma and adds ten portions of blessing and wisdom.”Therefore, not only should we open the sutras as if we were standing face-to-face with the Buddha himself, but we should also meet even a master’s voice or image—be it only through a screen—with heartfelt gratitude. Only with a heart of gratitude can we accord with the master’s heart: a heart of compassion and wisdom dedicated to spreading the Dharma. If we remain cold, casual, or cynical while the Dharma is being expounded, we will never feel the power of the Dharma.

The Buddha himself is present wherever the voice of the Dharma resounds. When a Dharma master expounds the teaching from the Dharma-seat, it is none other than the living Buddha appearing before us.To go further: we, the disciples of the Buddha, were burdened by such heavy karmic obstacles that we failed to encounter Shakyamuni during his earthly life. Yet now, in this Dharma-ending age, virtuous teachers still manifest as ordinary beings just like us, refusing to abandon us stubborn and unruly sentient beings. For this boundless kindness, we should feel heartfelt gratitude toward these virtuous teachers.

When such gratitude truly arises, it is only natural that our eyes are filled with tears as we watch him expound the Dharma. Every word he utters reverberates through our eardrums, vibrates our mind, and stirs the core of our innate wisdom. From the depths of our treasury of Tathagata, the essence of merit and virtue begins to surface, while the mass of ignorance and karmic hindrances is slowly purified.

The Mind that Listens to the Dharma

Determines How Soon We Attain

The state of mind with which one listens to the Dharma determines one's spiritual root and the speed of one's attainment. The pace of attainment is not fixed; it depends on the quality of one's listening. The better the mindset and the higher the quality of listening, the greater the benefit derived from the Dharma—more karmic obstacles are purified, and wisdom is more readily awakened. Even when attending the same Dharma talk, each person receives spiritual benefit in different ways. Why? Because their states of mind differ. As the Dharma master has said, sentient beings vary in their spiritual roots. Yet spiritual root is not fixed—it is shaped by experience and by one's inner state.

Therefore, from now on we should train ourselves to form such a habit: Before listening to the Dharma, first arouse Bodhicitta; the moment we see the Dharma master, join our palms and let gratitude fill the mind. What kind of gratitude? We regard the appearance of a Dharma master as an event even rarer—at this instant—than the historical presence of the Buddha himself. Reverence in body, speech and mind flows spontaneously; we feel so grateful just like we have stumbled upon a treasure that is all but impossible to meet.

A Buddha statue may stand there twenty-four hours a day, smiling, yet the statue will never open its mouth to speak. A Dharma master, however, can speak on the Buddha’s behalf. Born in our own age and sharing our karmic conditions, he is able to proclaim the Tathagata’s real meaning and make us understand. He transmits the Buddha’s wisdom, unfolds the hidden intent of the teachings in language we can grasp, and thereby grants us the decisive benefit that frees us from birth-and-death. 

Unless we actually put forth effort in the Dharma, our inner grasp of it will not deepen with the mere passage of time. A stone is still a stone a hundred years later; sand heated for a century is merely hot sand—it is never mistaken for cooked rice. Yet once a disciple begins to hear and reflect upon the Dharma, day-to-day transformation begins: Each dawn finds him not quite the same person who goes to sleep the night before.