Universal – appear everywhere in the entire universe
Worthy – depending on grace into virtue
That is the origin of the title of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva
Universal Worthy Bodhisattva want to help all beings. Not only the human, but all the flowers and plants, all species without consciousness . He wants to teach all, the being with consciousness and plants without consciousness to reach enlightenment. That is why he has the name, Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. He want to bless all flowers, tree. You see, how great are his vows. Normally we only know to help all sentinel beings, the beings with life. The Bodhisattva wants to reach beyond, even those without life. The word “Bodhisattva” can be translated as “sentient beings with great compassion”. Because Bodhisattva is also a sentient being, a being with compassion so immense. Bodhisattva is also called “public people” because Bodhisattva actions are all for the public, there is no selfish mind, no self-interest, no jealousy, no mind obstacle.
The compassion and the vows of the Bodhisattva had made during cultivation is huge, that is why he is called the Great Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. His teaching thru out the universe is called Universal. His virtue at the highest level is called Worthy. It means his dharma teaching spread thru out the universe. His virtue is at the highest level, resembles the highest saint.
If one wants to fulfill the merit of the Buddha, it is necessary to cultivate ten great vows. Those are:
- The first is to worship and respect all Buddhas.
- The second is to praise the Thus Come Ones.
- The third is to extensively cultivate making offerings.
- The fourth is to repent of karmic obstacles and reform.
- The fifth is to follow along with and rejoice in merit and virtue.
- The sixth is to request the turning of the Dharma wheel.
- The seventh is to request that the Buddhas remain in the world.
- The eighth is to always study with the Buddhas.
- The ninth is to constantly accord with living beings.
- The tenth is to universally transfer all merit and virtue.
1. The first vow is to worship and respect all Buddhas. To worship and respect all Buddhas does not mean to worship only Shakyamuni Buddha or Amita Buddha.
Worshiping one is worshiping all;
One Buddha is all Buddhas.
Worshiping all Buddhas without becoming attached to all Buddhas, and worshiping one Buddha without becoming attached to one Buddha, is the practice of the “true mark of impartial bowing.” Although you bow to the Buddha in worship, regardless of whether it is one Buddha or all Buddhas, you should not become attached to the mark of worship. For example, you do not want to say, “My merit and virtue is great indeed since I bow to so many Buddhas. No one else can match such practice as mine.” Do not become attached to marks in this way, or any other way, and then you will truly be able to practice the first vow, to worship and respect all Buddhas.
2. The second is to praise the Thus Come Ones. When we worship and respect all Buddhas, do we do so because they want the respect of others? Regardless of whether we worship the Buddhas or not, they are still Buddhas. If we worship the Buddhas, they do not obtain more benefit, or get larger, and if we do not worship the Buddhas, they do not lose any benefit, or get smaller. When we worship the Buddhas, it vitalizes our heart and spirit, but it does not affect the Buddhas. So when you worship the Buddhas, do not become attached to any mark.
Why should we praise the Thus Come Ones? They do not need our praise. They are not like us; when we are praised we become so happy our eyes and nose wrinkle up with laughter. But if we are not praised, our eyes and ears get angry. If the Buddhas were like this, they would be no different from common people. So it is not necessary to praise or worship them. Moreover, if they were the same as common people, what value would there be in worshiping them. Moreover, if they were the same as common people, what value would there be in worshiping and praising them? On the other hand, since Buddhas do not need our praise, then why praise them? It this not a contradiction?
It certainly is not a contradiction. When we praise the Buddhas, we obtain merit and virtue for our self-nature. How can this merit and virtue be described? Every person’s self-nature has light, and when you praise the Buddhas, your Yang light radiates and shines through the darkness of your ignorance. The merit and virtue which comes from praising the Buddhas is invisible and is brought about because you commit no offenses. To obtain this merit and virtue, you cannot indulge in false thinking, and the fewer false thoughts you have, the more the light of your wisdom flows forth. Cultivators of the Way fear having false thoughts because false thoughts defile the self-nature with darkness. If you are without false thoughts, the light of your self-nature shines through brighter and brighter. When you praise the Buddhas, you cherish the Buddhas, and when you cherish the Buddhas, you unite with the wisdom light of the Buddhas. Then the light of your self-nature spills forth.
Another example of praise of the Thus Come Ones is the hymn in praise of Amita Buddha:
Amitabha’s body is the color of gold,
The splendor of his hallmarks has no peer.
The light of his brow shines round a hundred worlds,
Wide as the seas are his eyes pure and clear.
Shining in his brilliance by transformation
Are countless Bodhisattvas and infinite Buddhas.
His forty-eight vows will be our liberation,
In nine lotus-stages we reach the other shore.
3. The third is to extensively cultivate making offerings. The third vow of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva is to extensively cultivate making offerings. “Extensively” means “on a vast scale,” and “cultivate” means “to improve and develop;” that is, one develops the ability and improves the quality of making offerings without limit. There are many kinds of offerings. One might give his body as an offering; another might give his mind; still another could give both his body and mind as an offering. What does “giving one’s body as an offering” mean? There are two kinds of disciples who give their bodies as offerings to all Buddhas.
The first leave the home-life and use their bodies to do the Buddha’s work: to cultivate the Buddha Dharma. The second are laypeople who are not able to leave the home-life, but who take time out of their busy schedules to come to the monastery, light incense, and bow to the Buddha. This is giving the body as an offering. If you are busy or for some other reason cannot go to a temple, then you may daily, with a pure and clean mind, light incense and contemplate the Buddha in your home. Perhaps you are in a remote place or in some other unusual circumstance, in which case you can still give your mind or body as an offering, by giving offerings of incense and flowers, or by lighting lamps before the Buddha, or by buying fruit or new clothing as an offering, or by offering lighted candles to the Buddha. One can also give his mind as an offering by cultivating the Buddha Dharma with a true mind, daily bowing to the Buddhas, worshiping and reciting Sutras, always being mindful, and always doing wholesome things for the sake of the Buddha Dharma. These are doing various kinds of offerings.
Originally there were ten different kinds of offerings, but in time the ten became one hundred, and the one hundred has finally become 10,000. When we make offerings to one Buddha, we contemplate ourselves making offerings to uncountable and unlimited numbers of Buddhas everywhere throughout the Dharma Realm, and in this way we make offerings before each one of these Buddhas. If you contemplate in this manner, you are doing what is called “making offerings throughout the Dharma Realm.” By making offerings throughout the Dharma Realm, you accumulate the merit and virtue of the Dharma Realm and obtain the wisdom of the Dharma Realm. By obtaining this wisdom, you totally perfect the resultant position of the Dharma Realm. Therefore we should extensively cultivate making offerings. Extensively cultivate making offerings,” means exhausting your strength to make offerings using whatever strength you have to make offerings to the Triple Jewel-the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Universal Worthy Bodhisattva extensively cultivates the practice of making offerings as his third vow.
4. The fourth is to repent of karmic obstacles and reform. The Bodhisattva’s fourth vow is to repent of karmic obstacles and reform. “Repent” means to “regret previous offenses, to be contrite and self-reproachful.” “To reform” means “to correct oneself so that the same offense is not committed again.” To repent means that one wishes to change one’s previous offenses, and to have reformed means that one does not again make such mistakes. This means that evil acts that have already been done will not be done again, and that the potential for evil acts that have not yet been done is totally eradicated. It also means to cut off the continuing effect of evil acts which have already been done.
To reform means to increase ones good deeds and to do the good deeds which have not been done. You can also say it means to continuously do the kinds of good deeds that one has already done, and to cause the kinds of good deeds that have not yet been done to be done and continuously increase. There are many kinds of karmic obstacles, and karmic obstacles are one of the three fundamental kinds of obstacles, which are: karmic obstacles, retribution obstacles, and the obstacles stemming from afflictions. Now we are discussing how to repent of karmic obstacles and reform. To repent of one’s karmic obstacles and reform involves repenting of one’s retribution obstacles and reforming the obstacles that come from afflictions.
In general, there are three kinds of karmic obstacles which are simply the karmas of body, mouth, and mind. The body creates three kinds of karma-killing karma, stealing karma, and the karma of sexual misconduct. When you discuss “killing” in terms of its broader aspects, it refers to killing larger animals, but in terms of its subtler aspects, killing refers to the killing of even the smallest creatures, like ants, mosquitoes, and flies. This broadly describes killing in its grosser and subtler forms, but there are also thoughts of killing. Although one does not actually kill, having the thought to kill is an offense in the realm of one’s self-nature. To have the thought to kill breaks the Bodhisattva Precepts. The cause of killing, the conditions of killing, the dharma of killing, and the karma of killing all break the precept against killing.
When we discuss “stealing” in its broadest sense, it means to steal a person’s country; on a smaller scale, it refers to stealing a person’s livelihood; and on a fine scale, it involves pilfering nothing more than a needle, a thread, a sliver of wood, or a blade of grass. In general, if you obtain something which is not given to you, you are stealing.
“Sexual misconduct” also has its grosser and finer aspects. Even a thought of sexual desire in your mind causes your self-nature to be impure and breaks the Bodhisattva Precepts. The previous discussion is a general description of the karmic obstacles of the body: killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct.
There are also the three karmic obstacles created by the mind: the evil acts of greed, hatred, and stupidity. Karma is created from thoughts of greed, karma is created from thoughts of hatred, and karma is created from thoughts of stupidity. Finally there are four evil acts of the mouth; the mouth creates karmic obstacles by irresponsible speech, false speech, harsh speech, and duplicity. There are many ways in which one may create offense karma, and so now we should resolve to repent, because we do not want to allow new mistakes to arise. This is the meaning of repenting of karmic obstacles and reforming.
How does one repent? Before the Buddha, one may feel deep sorrow, a pain for past mistakes so deep that one cries before the Buddha in a sincere wish to repent and reform. If you earnestly repent, your karmic obstacles will be spontaneously destroyed. This describes the fourth of Universal Worthy’s vast vows, “to repent of karmic obstacles and reform.”
5. The fifth is to follow along with and rejoice in merit and virtue. The fifth of his vows is to follow along with and rejoice in merit and virtue. “To follow along with” means “to accord with and to comply.” “To rejoice” means “to be happy.” “Merit” is what one establishes by benefiting others, and “virtue” is the result of the wholesome good deeds one does. One both accords with and rejoiced in one’s own merit and virtue, and one also accords with and rejoices in one’s own merit and virtue, and one also accords with and rejoices in the merit and virtue done by others.
If you wish to repent of karmic obstacles and reform, then you must follow along and rejoice in merit and virtue by doing many kinds of meritorious and virtuous acts. In fact, doing meritorious and virtuous acts is just repenting of one’s karmic obstacles and reforming. Therefore it is said, “To follow and rejoice in merit and virtue is to repent of karmic obstacles and reform. And to repent of karmic obstacles and reform is to follow and rejoice in merit and virtue.”
If this is the case, then are not the fourth and fifth vows redundant, and if they are, then why do we have this fifth vow?
The fourth vow instructs us to repent of karmic obstacles and reform, and if one wishes to repent of karmic obstacles and reform, one should also fulfill the fifth vow and follow and rejoice in merit and virtue. But in fact there are two separate and distinct things that one must do to practice these vows.
To follow and rejoice in merit and virtue includes doing all kinds of good deeds, and not crimes or evil acts. To follow and rejoice in merit and virtue, one may do something which benefits others, and this action is called a good deed. Merit is established by doing things for everyone, by acting for the general good.
6. The sixth is to request the turning of the Dharma wheel. The Bodhisattva’s sixth great vow is to request the turning of the Dharma wheel. What is the “Dharma wheel?” Wheels roll over things, and the Dharma wheel rolls over gods, demons, and those of outside ways. It enables the proper Dharma to exist eternally. After Shakyamuni became a Buddha, he turned the Dharma wheel of the Four Truths three times and crossed over the Five Bhikshus. This is an example of turning the Dharma Wheel, which basically means to “explain the Dharma.” To request the turning of the Dharma wheel means to respectfully and sincerely ask the Buddha to speak Dharma, or to ask various Dharma Masters to explain the Buddha’s teachings. All of these exemplify Universal Worthy’s vow to request the turning of the Dharma wheel. For example, we explain Sutras here everyday, and each time the Dharma assembly convenes, lay people or Dharma Masters who request the Dharma are fulfilling one of the vows and performing one of the practices of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva.
What value does requesting the turning of the Dharma wheel have? We need to have people turning the Dharma wheel in this world so that the demon kings will not dare emerge. If no one explains the Dharma, then the demon kings will come out. A second reason is that when you request the turning of the Dharma wheel, the merit and virtue crated by this wholesome act arises because of you, and is obtained by you, and you thereby follow and rejoice in merit and virtue. Furthermore, if you request the turning of the Dharma wheel, you will expand your wisdom, but this brings benefit not just to you, because your request is that a Dharma Master speak the Dharma for everyone, and so it benefits everyone. This is also following and rejoicing in merit and virtue.
7. The seventh is to request that the Buddhas remain in the world. The seventh vow of Universal Worthy is to request that the Buddhas remain in the world. The Buddha enters the world, lives in the world, and then enters Nirvana. When the Buddha remains in the world, it is like the sun high in the sky filling the world with light. When the Buddha enters Nirvana, the sun sets and the world becomes dark. Therefore, Universal Worthy Bodhisattva made a great vow to ask the Buddhas to remain in the world-to forgo entering Nirvana and always remain in the world.
Universal Worthy made this vow to request that the Buddhas remain in the world because the Buddhas are able to satisfy desires of living beings. If all living beings realized and sincerely asked the Buddhas to dwell here in the world, then the Buddhas would not leave to enter Nirvana. If you do not ask the Buddhas to continue dwelling in the world, then as soon as they finish teaching and transforming the living beings who should receive their instruction, they enter Nirvana. Therefore the Bodhisattva vowed “to request that the Buddhas remain in the world.” This is the seventh vow.
8. The eighth is to always study with the Buddhas. His eighth vow is to always study with the Buddhas. “To study with the Buddhas” means to study their teachings, the Buddha Dharmas, of which there are many. In your study, do not be afraid that there are too many Buddha Dharmas, because the more you study, the more extensive your wisdom will become. For example, why was Ananda’s memory so good? “The Buddha Dharma is like a great sea which flowed into Ananda’s mind.” It was not that the ocean of Dharma flowed into his mind, for this is just an analogy which means that at all time, in life after life, Ananda emphasized learning and studied diligently, and so his memory was very good. To always follow the Buddhas and continually study with them means that you cannot be lax or lazy, or muddled, but you must diligently cultivate precepts, samadhi, and wisdom, and put your greed, hatred, and stupidity, the three poisons, to rest. If you can do this diligently and cultivate sincerely, perfect in precepts, samadhi, and wisdom and totally free yourself from all greed, hatred, and stupidity, then you are always studying with the Buddhas.
9. The ninth is to constantly accord with living beings. The ninth vow of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva is to constantly accord with living beings, and his tenth vow is to universally transfer all merit and virtue. “Constantly” means “always,” to be forever constant and never change. “Accord” means to “do what is suitable, to respond appropriately to the state of living beings.” Doing this may seem to some to pose a problem. While according with living beings who are deviant, should one accord with their deviant ways?
Basically, living beings are unaware, but if you accord with this lack of awareness, you will end up on the road of stupidity. To accord with living beings means to accord with their customs in order to rescue them from going against the flow. What does this mean? All living beings are topsy-turvy; it is their inverted views and behavior that are called “going against the flow.” For example, if a stream flows from west to east, but you wish to go up the stream from east to west, you are going against the flow. If you literally accord with living beings, then you will not become a Buddha, and if you want to become a Buddha, then you cannot accord with living beings. Then why does Universal Worthy wish to constantly accord with living beings? Did I not just speak about according with the living beings who are going against the flow until you rescue them? One goes against the flow of common people involved with the six sense objects, and enters the sages’ flow of the Dharma Nature. This is “to constantly accord with living beings.”
10 .The tenth is to universally transfer all merit and virtue. The tenth vow is to universally transfer all merit and virtue. “Universal” means “infinitely pervasive, everywhere, and totally.” “To universally transfer all merit and virtue” means “to always make this transference.” To whom? To all Buddhas, like this:
May the merit and virtue accrued from this work,
Adorn the Buddhas’ Pure Lands;
Repaying four kinds of kindness above,
And aiding those suffering in the three paths below.
May those who see and hear of this,
All bring forth resolve for Bodhi;
And when this retribution body expires,
May we be reborn together in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
This is what is mean by transferring the merit, or performing dedications of merit.
“To transfer” means “to come back,” and “to go out.” It means “to come inside,” and “to go outside.” After you have returned, then you can leave. To what place do you return? To the point where you universally transfer all merit and virtue. “I want to transfer merit and virtue to all common people so they become sages. I want to transfer merit and virtue to living beings so they all become Buddhas.” This is universally transferring merit and virtue. To return the common to the sagely, to return living beings to Buddhahood, to return the small to the great, and to return oneself to others: each of these is a way to transfer all merit and virtue.
What is the meaning of to return oneself to others? To do something good and transfer all the merit derived from this action to a friend, and thus cause the friend to resolve his mind to attain Bodhi and perfect the unsurpassed Way, is to transfer oneself to others.
“To transfer phenomena to the noumenon.” Whatever you do has a mark. But if you transfer it to the noumenon, it no longer has a mark, because the noumenon is without a mark. That is to say, you transfer merit and virtue which has marks and characteristics to the inexhaustible Dharma Realm, the Dharma Realm which can never be exhausted.
“To return the small to the great.” “Previously I studied the Small Vehicle, but now I will study the Dharma of the Great Vehicle.” This is the meaning of returning the small to the great.
The verses above discuss transferring merit and virtue. Everyday at the end of the Sutra lecture, we recite these verses. Explaining the Sutras is the practice of giving Dharma, the highest form of giving, and the merit and virtue accrued from this giving is greater than making offerings of the seven precious jewels in all of the three thousand great-thousand worlds.
“Even though the merit and virtue is so great, I do not want to keep it.”
Then what do you want to do with it?
“I wish that the merit and virtue accrued by explaining the Sutras, speaking the Dharma, and turning the great Dharma wheel will adorn the Pure Lands of the Buddhas.” You should use the merit and virtue which you earn to adorn the Pure Lands of the Buddhas of the ten directions.
“Repaying four kinds of kindness above” means “to repay heaven and earth, the king, your mother and father, and your teachers and elders,” all of whom are kind ones who nurture others’ development.
“Aiding those suffering in the three paths below” means “to rescue animals, hungry ghosts, and beings in the hells.”
“May those who see and hear of this” Sutra being lectured or those who hear this Dharma “all bring forth the resolve for Bodhi.” Everyone should quickly resolve to attain Bodhi, the Path of Enlightenment. “And when this retribution body expires:” Our present body is called a retribution body, and when it reaches its end, when it is exhausted and dies, “may we be born together in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.” All of us together will be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. This explanation of transferring merit and virtue, describes the tenth vow of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva as he transfers all the merit and virtue from his deeds to all Buddhas.