Than Hsiang's Pu Men Pin Online Gong Xiu Dharma Sharing (06/12/2024)

Teaching Assistant of International Buddhist College, Sis Wong Ping Ling shared on "The Parables of The Lotus Sūtra".

The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most important sūtras in Mahayana Buddhism, and it is very influential in East Asia (countries like China, Japan, Korea, and so on).

It is to be noted that the “Pu Men Pin” (《普门品》) which we chant every Friday is chapter 25 of this sūtra. This is also one of the reasons for the popularity of the Lotus Sūtra – because of this chapter “Pu Men Pin” on Avalokiteśvara bodhisattva.

Secondly, this sūtra is also very popular because of the parables in the sūtra (parables are short stories to teach lessons). There are altogether seven parables in the sūtra.

First, let us look at the name of the sūtra.

The name of the sūtra in Sanskrit is Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra.

“Saddharma” is “Excellent Dharma” or “True Dharma”.

“puṇḍarīka” is white lotus.

So, “Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra” is the Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma. In short, it is usually named “Lotus Sūtra”. It had been translated by Master Kumarajiva into Chinese as “妙法莲华经”. The shortened title is “《法华经》”.

Before we go into the parables, I thought it would be good if I just go through the core teachings of the Lotus Sūtra, because the parables in the sūtra are used to explain these core teachings.

This is just a short revision because Sister Suan Bee had already gone through the core teachings last year.

One of the very important core teachings of the Lotus Sūtra is that “all beings have the potential to become Buddhas”; this is known as “Buddha Nature”. Everyone has the potential to become Buddhas. You and I have the potential to become Buddhas.

In fact, in the sūtra, even Devadatta (Buddha's evil cousin) - there was a prediction of Buddhahood for him. Even after all that he had done, there was a prediction of Buddhahood for him! This is because all of us have the “Buddha Nature” within us. In the sūtra, prediction was also made for many people to become Buddhas. These included the disciples of the Buddha like Mahākāśyapa, Śāriputra, Subhūti, Mahāmaudgalyāyana, etc.

In chapter 10, all sorts of people are predicted to become Buddhas. Even if you do simple forms of devotion, like paying respect to the Buddha, you can become a Buddha.

The second core teaching of the sūtra is that the “One Vehicle is the supreme and all-encompassing path to Buddhahood.” This means the oneness of all practitioners rather than the three traditional paths of śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva.

The “One Vehicle” encompasses many different teachings because of the Buddha’s great compassion and wish to save all beings. In the Lotus Sūtra, the many teachings taught by the Buddha including the three vehicles to awakening, are revealed to be part of the “One Vehicle” because of the Buddha’s skillful means.

We have different capacities and we have different inclinations - so, we can follow the śrāvaka way, or the pratyekabuddha way, but then ultimately, the “One Vehicle” that is the “Buddha Vehicle” is the supreme. The Lotus Sūtra declares that all other teachings are subservient to the ultimate truth of the “One Buddha-Vehicle”, a goal that is available to all!

In chapter 2, the Buddha declares that ultimately there exists only One Vehicle. He compassionately teaches the different paths, but ultimately, there is only “One Vehicle”, and that vehicle is the “Buddha-Vehicle” which is Buddhayāna.

Related to the “One Vehicle” is skillful means or upāyakauśalya in Sanskrit. The Buddha uses skillful means to accommodate the different needs of individuals. So, the Buddha teaches in a way that is appropriate for each person, according to their needs and capacities.

Thus, the “One Vehicle” encompasses the three vehicles to awakening. These are all the Buddha’s skillful means to accommodate the different needs of individuals because each person's capacities and inclinations are different.

Another important teaching of the Lotus Sūtra is that the Buddha’s lifespan is immeasurable and he is still active in this world teaching the Dharma. The biography and the apparent death of the Buddha is viewed as just an illusory manifestation – it is just a skillful means to teach us. His birth as the historical Buddha is to show us the path to Buddhahood.

The above core teachings are expressed in the form of parables in the sūtra and there are altogether seven (7) parables in the Lotus Sūtra.

Sister Suan Bee last year already explained two (2) of the parables. The first was the Parable of the Burning House (Chapter 3) where a father saved his children by tricking them out of the house with the promise of different toy carts.

The other parable which Sister Suan Bee already explained last year was the Parable of the physician (Chapter 16) who fakes his own death to entice his poisoned sons into taking an antidote so that they can be cured.

Tonight, I shall continue with another two parables.

• The Parable of the father and his lost son (Chapter 4).

This parable tells us about a father and his son. The boy is the son of a rich man, and he decides to leave his father’s house. He embarks upon a life of wandering from place to place, living in poverty and suffering. Deep down, he believes that he has no worth and that his life is without purpose.

After a long time, the son one day arrives in a city where a millionaire lives in a palace. The millionaire is, in reality, his own father, but the son does not recognize him. The father sends his guards to find his son so he can come and live with him in his palace, but the son is terrified by the men, and he flees upon seeing them.

The father tells his servants to dress in simple clothes and go out into the city to find his son. When they find him, they are to offer him a job in the palace. The job is a lowly one, to clean the restrooms in his father’s house. The boy feels that it is a job that matches well his own sense of low self-value. Thus, he takes on the job and unknowingly goes to work in his father’s palace, cleaning the toilets daily.

The father himself wants to see his son, but he does not want to scare him away, so he disguises himself as a servant from time to time and goes to work alongside his son in the latrines. The father sees that his son works hard, and he is filled with love for him. The son was later promoted to a higher position.

Then one day, the father finds himself on his deathbed, and he knows that it is time to reveal himself to his son. He calls for him, and when the son comes, he tells the son that he is his father. He leaves his son all his estate and wealth.

In this parable, the father represents the Buddha, and his son represents us, his disciples. The son leaving home and living in poverty are equivalent to our own spiritual wandering and suffering, like us getting lost in saṃsāra and forgetting our true nature. (We have the “Buddha Nature” within us.)

The simple jobs the son carries out represent the Buddha’s teachings and practices, and when he is promoted, it represents his (and our!) spiritual progress. The father’s inheritance is the teaching of the Law of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment, the “One- Buddha” Vehicle.

This parable teaches us that even though we may feel lost and alone, the Buddha is always there with us, guiding us back to the path of enlightenment. Even if we are feeling lowly and underserving, Buddhahood is something that is always within our reach. We have the Buddha Nature in us. We must have faith in the Buddha’s teaching.

It also shows us that the Buddha’s teachings are not difficult to follow and that even the simplest act can lead us to liberation. Even your simple devotion to the Buddha, your respect to the Buddha, can lead you to liberation.

The law of Buddhahood is not something which is endowed naturally, it is something that has to be inherited and passed down. That’s why it is said that the father passed on his wealth to the son. The son is us, and the father is the Buddha. So, the Buddha passed on this teaching of the supreme enlightenment to us.

• The Parable of the medicinal herbs (Chapter 5).

When the earth is parched and dry, the sky opens up to let the heavy rains comes down. Everything that grows in the soil, the trees, the glass and the plants, all get water easily from the falling rain.

However, because of their different natures, each of the plants receives the rain in a different way, according to their capacity. The roots of some trees go down deep into the ground, access the groundwater through their deep roots. But other plants have shallow roots, so they can only receive the heavy rain on the surface. This water soon evaporates in the heat, leaving them thirsty and wilting.

These are the plants which have shallow roots, they can only receive the rain on the surface. On the other hand, there are these other trees which have deep roots that go into the ground and access the ground water.

The cloud gives water equally to all of the plants, but depending on how they absorb moisture and grow; they will become different types of herbs.

What is the meaning behind this parable?

In this parable, the types of plants represent the different sentient beings in the world, and the rain symbolises the Buddha's teachings. All plants receive rain or all beings receive the Buddha's teaching, but they absorb them differently. Depending on how they receive the Buddha's teaching, adsorb and put them into practice, they will become different types of people.

The plants grow into three different types of medicinal herbs: the superior herbs, the mediocre herbs, or the inferior herbs.

What are the inferior herbs? These represent those that receive teachings from heavenly creatures, and human beings, including the teachings of Brahma.

The mediocre herbs represent the people who receive the teachings to become śrāvaka, for example the “Four Noble Truths”; and pratyekabuddha (the Silent Buddha) , for example “the twelve-Linked Chains of Causations”. These are said to be mediocre herbs.

The superior herbs represent those people who receive the teachings for the Bodhisattva, for example the “six pāramitās”. These are the classifications of the different herbs, and represent different types of people.

This parable teaches us that even if all people receive the same teachings from the Buddha, they are not all capable of benefiting from them in the same way. How they absorb and put the instructions into practice will determine what kind of person they will become. It all comes down to their own capacity and efforts.

We have been exposed to the Buddha’s teachings, so, how much we absorb, also depends on our own capacity, on our own diligence and on our own efforts, whether we put them into practice, and how much we put them into practice. How far we can progress also depends on our own capacity and effort.

Thus, as you can see, these two parables reflect the core teachings of the Lotus Sūtra which have been highlighted earlier.

For more information, please browse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx-WNQkP608

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