This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfzc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. Good afternoon. So this is the second class we're having on the Vimo Dirti Sutra, which is... The teaching of the Bodhisattva, unstained glory. Vimalakirti means unstained glory. And as I said in the first class, just for a little review, a little review, because we didn't get very far into the sutra in the first class. This sutra, why am I teaching it? Because it's very important to the Zen school. And hopefully we'll bring up a lot more today about why it's important to the Zen school.

[01:04]

The Vimalakirti, kind of one way of looking at it is it teaches sunyata, emptiness, like we chant in the Heart Sutra every day, no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue. all dharmas are marked by emptiness. But in a very positive, that's the only word I can, probably there's a better word, but positive, warm-hearted, a kind of, you can have a good feeling about emptiness. It doesn't seem like, eww, emptiness, you know, just no, no, no, no, no. So it's the wisdom teachings of the Prajnaparamita literature, plus skill and means from other sutras like the Lotus and the Apatamsaka.

[02:13]

This is a good sort of intersection of those two is considered to be, and it's short. It's an easy read. It's pleasant. Very popular in China. This picture on the dust jacket of Robert Thurman's translation comes from a detail from this awesome stele, which is like a kind of a pillar thing, a part of a temple that you can go see. You don't have to go to the Orient because of, thanks to American imperialism, it exists in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. And people circumambulate it and pay reverence to it all the time. It's beautiful. Oh my gosh. And it shows, if you know the sutra, when you look at it and walk around it, you can see all these scenes from the sutra.

[03:17]

It's pretty far off. So this is the scene of Manjushri paying a visit to Vimalakirti. One last thing from chapter one, and then we're going to move on to chapter two. Darn it. Which is, in chapter one, the purification of the Buddha field. You may recall that the Buddha transforms this sort of scary Saha world. The Saha world means endurance. The world of things to be afraid of, actually. Things that make us uncomfortable about the world. I think we heard a pretty good list in a workshop this morning. Somebody read a letter and I thought, yep, Saha world. This Buddha field gets transformed into

[04:22]

a beautiful place of practice. And I said, I analogize that to being at Tassahara. You know, sometimes Tassahara is amazing. This is the best place ever. And then sometimes Tassahara is like, what are these people that they're doing? You know, this place is crazy. You know, what changes it? What I didn't mention in the last class was, well, I did say this, but why is it important? The Buddha changes the entire world by sticking his big toe Just as big toe. That's pretty zen. Yeah? You know why? I think that's pretty zen. It's just as big toe. Just the meaning is not in the words but a pivotal moment brings it forth. Just with this big toe. This pivotal thing changes everything. It changes everything. Like

[05:23]

pebble striking the side of a bamboo. The world changes. I wanted to mention that. Just this big toe. Okay. Finally, Vimalakirti, the Bodhisattva Unstained Glory, gets introduced in Chapter 2. Please stop me at any time. I don't really want to just sit here and natter on to all of you, but I can. As you know, I can. So, Inconceivable Skill in Liberative Technique is Robert Thurman's translation for the title of Chapter 2. Where else have we heard this? People who were in the practice period with Linda Ruth is what we studied.

[06:36]

It's chapter two of the Lotus Sutra. Ho Ben. Upaya. Skill and liberative technique is upaya. Okay. I helped you out there. Just this once. So, this is what Vimalakirti is famous for. There are many examples also in the Lotus Sutra, like... There's a burning house. And what happens at the burning house? The wise father wants to save his children from the burning house, but he can't save them by just saying, get out of the burning house, because they don't see that the house is burning.

[07:46]

So, he tries to lure them out. He successfully lures them out by offering them cool toys and stuff. So, there's a similar thing happens in chapter 2 with Vimalakirti. So, I also mentioned in the last class that Vimalakirti was a lay person. And this is also important to the Chinese, to the Zen school, that he was a lay person. He's a bodhisattva, but he's not an ordained monk. He's not part of the Buddha's sangha. He's a lay person. In fact, he's a very successful business person. At that time, there lived in the great city of Vaisali, a servant of Li Chavi, Vimalakirti by name.

[08:56]

He had attained tolerance as well as eloquence. He played with the great super-knowledges. That's a very accurate translation. He played. Play, play, play. With the great super-knowledges. He had attained the power of incantations and the fearlessnesses. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It goes on and on and on about Vimalakirti's awesomeness. His wealth was inexhaustible. for the purpose of sustaining the poor and the helpless. He observed a pure morality in order to protect the immoral. And then it gets into all these dichotomies. So I said that in the last class too. A big part of why this sutra is important to Zen is its relationship to and source from Madhyamaka teachings.

[10:15]

Nagarjuna talks about the two truths. It's the first chapter of Reb's book, Being Upright, the two truths. So this is how We practice as Mahayana Buddhists, as bodhisattvas in training. We live in the truth of the absolute and the truth of the relative. And Vimalakirti, although he wore the white clothes of the layman, yet lived impeccably like a religious devotee. He lived at home, but remained aloof from the realm of desire, the realm of pure matter, and the immaterial realm. He had a son, a wife, and female attendants, yet always maintained continence. Well, that's kind of interesting. How did he manage that? He appeared to be surrounded by servants, yet lived in solitude. He appeared to be adorned with ornaments, yet always was endowed with the auspicious signs and marks.

[11:16]

He seemed to eat and drink, yet always took nourishment from the taste of meditation. He made his appearance at the fields of sports and in the casinos, but his aim was always to mature those people who were attached to games and gambling. He visited the fashionable heterodox teachers, yet always kept on swerving loyalty to the Buddha. He understood the mundane and transcendental sciences and esoteric practices, yet always took pleasure in the delights of the Dharma. He mixed in all crowds, yet was respected as foremost of all. In order to be in harmony with people, he associated with elders, with those of middle age, and with the young. yet always spoke in harmony with the Dharma. He engaged in all sorts of businesses, yet had no interest in profit or possessions. To train living beings, he would appear at crossroads and on street corners, and to protect them, he participated in government. That kind of reminds me of the eulogy we watched when Obama was talking about if you think running for public office is...

[12:26]

something unusual for a pastor, you don't know much about the AME Church. It also makes me think of Don and Kate who came here from the Buddhist Peace Fellowship because that's their practice. They appear at crossroads and on street corners. And it goes on and on. It also says, to demonstrate the evils of desire, he even entered the brothels. What? To establish drunkards in correct mindfulness, he entered all the cabarets. Who does that remind you of? I'm looking at you. Come on. Jesus of Nazareth got into a lot of trouble because the people criticized him. for associating with publicans and harlots.

[13:30]

And Vimalakirti did the same. He was honored as the businessman among businessmen because he demonstrated the priority of the Dharma. And on and [...] on. Thus lived the Lichavi Vimalakirti in the great city of Vaishali, endowed with an infinite knowledge of skill in liberative techniques. At that time, Out of this very skill in liberative technique, Vimalakirti manifested himself as if sick. So Vimalakirti decides to play at being sick. He's not really sick, but he says, I'm sick. I mean, I'm sick. I'm very, very sick. And he expects... that well we're not quite there yet that's the next chapter but when he becomes sick he retires to his sick room and he gives a discourse on the impermanence of the body which goes on and on and on ending with

[14:56]

No, that's not even the ending. It really goes on and on. But this passage, it is like a dream. The body, the human body, is like a dream being an unreal vision. It is like a reflection being the image of former actions. It is like an echo being dependent on conditioning. It is like a cloud being characterized by turbulence and dissolution. It is like a flash of lightning being unstable and decaying every moment. The body is ownerless. The body is ownerless, being the product of a variety of conditions. Yes? Is he playing sick or does he manifest sick? Well, I think he's playing sick because he says, I mean, the sutra says, out of this very skill and liberative technique, he manifested himself as sick. Okay, so, you know, maybe his body was actually sick. But it was his choice. Yeah.

[16:03]

Anyone else? No? Because that's really fun. Thank you. Thank you. So the passage I just read, does that remind anybody of something in any other Buddhist? Thank you very much, Taylor. Yes, sir. Very similar, isn't it? Very similar to the Diamond Sutra. most famous very famous passage in the Diamond Sutra so I say to you this is how to contemplate our conditioned existence in this bleeding world like a tiny drop of dew or a bubble floating in a stream like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud or a flickering lamp an illusion a phantom or a dream so is all conditioned existence to be seen thus spoke the Buddha so While the Lichavi Vimalakirti thus taught the Dharma to those who had come to inquire about his sickness, many hundreds of thousands of living beings conceived the spirit of an excelled perfect enlightenment.

[17:07]

And that's the setup. Vimalakirti is at home. He's sick. What does he expect? Chapter 3. Then the Lichavi Vimalakirti thought to himself, I am sick, lying on my bed in pain. Yet the Tathagata, the saint, the perfectly accomplished Buddha, does not consider me or take pity upon me and sends no one to inquire after my illness. The Lord knew this thought in the mind of Vimalakirti and said to the Venerable Shariputra, Shariputra, go to inquire. after the illness of the Lichari Vimalakiyoti. Now, there's a tradition we have in the practice period that is based on this. You know? Someone in the practice period is sick, the Shuso goes and pays them a visit.

[18:14]

And this is where that tradition comes from. Or maybe... It's older than that, but this is a very old Buddhist tradition of paying a call on those who are ill. But in the Zen school, it's very traditional to have the head monk sort of take the part of, well, you'll see, all these disciples, they don't want to go. But the Shusoga does go. Just like, you'll see. Eventually somebody goes. But it takes a long time to get there. Why? Nobody wants to talk to Vimalakirti. They're scared of him, basically. Basically, they're scared of him. So, starting with Shariputra, who's supposed to be the foremost in wisdom, and as we mentioned in the last class, he's kind of the fall guy.

[19:17]

Poor Shariputra. He gets set up a lot. in this sutra, but elsewhere too. So, one by one, in this chapter, actually I have them here in the list. These are all historic personages. These were all actual disciples of the Buddha, the Arhats, in the Buddha's original Sangha. and it's how many? Ten of them, I think, that the Buddha sends one by one to inquire. And each of them, this is traditional, each of the disciples of the Buddha's assembly, like the main ones who show up over and over again in the sutras in the Pali Canon,

[20:21]

They have like their specialty. They have like their special powers. They're like super friends. So, Shariputra is master of wisdom. Magalyayana, master of supernatural powers. Mahakasyapa, known for ascetic training. Subuti, known for his understanding of emptiness. Purna was the foremost expounder, foremost teacher of the Dharma. Katyayana was the founder of the Abhidharma. Aniruddha possessed the divine eye. He has supernatural powers. Upali was an expert in the Vinaya, the Shingi guy. Rahula was foremost among those eager for training. He's just like, come on. That's the Buddha's son. And Ananda listened to the Buddha's teachings the most among the disciples and recited them later. So all these guys, they're all guys, they're all men, one by one, the Buddha asked them and they said,

[21:22]

No, I'm not going to go. I can't do it. And one by one, each of them says the reason he won't see Vimalakirti, like starting with Shariputra, Lord, I am indeed reluctant to go to ask Felicavi Vimalakirti about his illness. Why? I remember one day when I was sitting at the foot of a tree in the forest, absorbed in contemplation. So this should be... you know, Shariputra's thing. The Lichavi Vimalakurity came to the foot of that tree and said to me, Reverend Shariputra, this is not the way to absorb yourself in contemplation. And then, so one by one, it gets set up and knocked down. Each of these people, you know, what Vimalakurity has to say to them, the reason why they don't want to go visit him, is because he defeats them in discourse and based on their supposed specialties.

[22:32]

Ugh, terrible. That's how cool Vimalakirti is. So, this, what Vimalakirti has to say to Shariputra, at first, is especially terrible There's a passage here that's especially important to the Zen school. He says, You should absorb yourself in contemplation in such a way that you can manifest all ordinary behavior without forsaking cessation. You should absorb yourself in contemplation in such a way that you can manifest the nature of an ordinary person without abandoning your cultivated spiritual nature. This is kind of... the unique breeze of this house. What is the way? Ordinary mind is the way. So... Shariputra said, I was unable to reply and remain silent.

[23:35]

Therefore, I am reluctant to go ask that good man about his sickness. Then he goes on. He has Magaljajana. He has Mahakashapa. Um... Yes? Why didn't he go himself? Yeah, why didn't the Buddha go himself, you know? The Buddha didn't do that. I don't know why. I don't know why. I think he wants to encourage his students to practice. Yeah, I think maybe the Buddha was just too important. I don't know. Maybe he was busy. He had other things to take care of. But maybe he wanted to encourage his students.

[24:36]

Give them a chance. So... When... He's speaking to Mahakashapa. Mahakashapa said he was reluctant to inquire because one day he was begging. Mahakashapa was well-known for ascetic practices, so he was begging. And Bhimala Kiriti gave him a hard time because Mahakashapa was avoiding the houses of the wealthy and favoring the houses of the poor, because he wanted to give the poor people more opportunities to practice giving. And Vimalakirti says, this is partiality and benevolence. He said, you should dwell on the fact of the equality of things, and you should seek alms with consideration for all living beings at all times.

[25:46]

You should beg your food in awareness of the ultimate non-existence of food. May we with all beings realize the emptiness of the three wheels, Giver, receiver, and gift. We chant twice a day. That's how he's trying to get them to practice. On and on and on. None of the Arhats want to go. I have a question. Yes. It's a little odd to me. one of the great strengths of Vimalakirti is upaya, skillful means, that, what do you say, it's 10 disciples or 11, what do you say it is? 10, I think. 10, yeah. That he's delivered teachings to 10 disciples and the way it registered was not, didn't seem to go over that well. All these incredibly wise disciples

[26:47]

didn't go, oh, wow, I really learned a lot from this guy, Vimalakirti. In fact, it was the total opposite. It seems like they were like, oh, God, keep me away from this guy. It doesn't sound like, I mean, at least up front, that doesn't sound like it was like Upaya. In the end, I'm sure there's some, it worked out, and they all learned the lesson they need to, I'm sure. Well, yeah, but, yeah, I know. It's a little odd. Vimalakirti, I think, Part of his skill in liberative technique is not being afraid of being confrontational. And the reason they are reluctant to go visit him, they're kind of kicking the can down the road in a way. Somebody's got to do it. But they're kicking the can down the road. Let him do it.

[27:49]

Let him do it. Hoping that somebody else will. And eventually somebody does. I guess ultimately the reason that they are not visiting him is because they know what he's teaching is right and they feel like he beat them at their own game. He beats them all at their own game. And this is a Mahayana scripture. And these are all arhats. So it also could be considered a propaganda device. This is the Mahayana, these poor shravakas. They're really good, but they're not quite up to snuff. They're not on board with the bodhisattva path. So, then we get into chapter 4, the reluctance of the bodhisattvas. Okay. So we set up to knock down all these guys who don't want to go visit Vimalakirti. I thought that was chapter 2.

[28:50]

No, that's chapter 3. Chapter 2 introduces Vimalakirti and his sort of decision to be sick. And chapter 3 is, I wonder if someone's going to come visit me. And the Buddha, although the Buddha doesn't go in person, he hears the thought. He perceives with his divine eye. this thought that female kirti is having. And then chapter four, we go from arhats to bodhisattvas. And the chapter on the reluctance of the bodhisattvas introduces three bodhisattvas, and one, again, emphasizing the importance of lay practice, that anybody can practice the Buddha way, is another layperson, like Vimalakirti is a layperson, it doesn't say explicitly that he is a bodhisattva.

[29:55]

And again, the first three, the bodhisattvas, are fictional. They're like a lot of the bodhisattvas. I don't believe... if there was ever a person named Avalokiteshvara or a person named Manjushri. But there was a person named Sudhata, also known as Anattapindika, who was a lay person in the time of the Buddha, who was very famous. But he's in the chapter about the reluctance of the bodhisattvas. So I think he's kind of like Vimalakirti, in a way. He's a lay person, but he's a bodhisattva. Anyway, he's in this chapter. But at first, the Buddha said to the Bodhisattva Maitreya, that's why I wanted the Lotus Sutra. See? My big mistake not bringing the Lotus Sutra with me. Sorry. But you can find it in there.

[30:56]

It's a lot of fun. If you have the Gene Reeves in my note here, I was going to read it, but I'm going to spare you. But if you have the Gene Reeves translation in page 73... It talks about Maitreya's past lives. And it's kind of cute. Do you know who Maitreya Bodhisattva is, was, is, is? A future. A future bird. Yeah, there you go. A future bird. What does that mean? I don't know. I don't know. How about you? No, coming next. Yeah, he's the next one. Yeah, he's coming up. He's the next one what? Buddha. Buddha. So sometimes we say Maitreya Bodhisattva, sometimes we say Maitreya Buddha. If it's Maitreya Bodhisattva, it means he's still up there. Where? Tushita. Thank you very much.

[31:58]

Tushita heaven. Tushita heaven, which is like the grooviest heaven of all. It's just There are many heavens. There are many hells in many realms in Buddhist cosmology. But Tushita Heaven is the grooviest heaven of them all. It's the place to be where Maitreya can be found awaiting his next birth when he is next born on earth because why would he do such a thing? Because he's a bodhisattva. Come on. That's what bodhisattvas do, right? That's what bodhisattvas do. very important so they make a vow to be born and serve humans to serve suffering beings to bring them to liberation before themselves carry others across before themselves that's what bodhisattvas do and

[33:06]

Maitreya's name means Maitreya. Yes. Sanskrit for metta? Maitri is Sanskrit for metta, which means loving kindness. And Maitreya is the loving one. That's what his name means. He's the bodhisattva of love. And the thing I was going to read you from the Lotus Sutra about the past lives of Maitreya is kind of cute. He was a playboy. He was kind of a ne'er-do-well. He kind of like didn't take things too seriously, ran around, was just kind of a playboy, kind of a fun person, fun person to be with, but not exactly a serious practitioner at all. Anyway, you can read about it in the Lotus Sutra.

[34:11]

I like that about Maitreya. He's kind of, you know, there are many other examples in Buddhism. You know, salvation's for everybody. So, the Buddha says to the Bodhisattva Maitreya, Maitreya, go to the Lichavi Vimalikirti to inquire about his illness. Maitreya replies, guess what? Lord, I am indeed reluctant to go to that good man to inquire about his illness. Why? Lord, I remember that one day I was engaged in a conversation with the gods of the Tushita heaven, the gods Samtushita and his retinue, about the stage of non-regression of the great bodhisattvas. That's the kind of conversations they have in Tushita heaven, or Tashara for that matter. At that time, the Lichavi Vimalakirti came there and addressed me as follows. Not another word of explanation.

[35:12]

What the heck was Vimalakirti doing in Tushita Heaven? He just wandered by, you know, just, hey, hey, how you doing? Yeah, and then I'm in Tushita Heaven. Yeah, what about it? Yeah, yeah. I love this sutra for this reason, you know? There's no other explanation. Just like, yeah, you know, I was in Tushita Heaven, and then Vimalakirti shows up. LAUGHTER And he starts, what, giving him a hard time, of course, because that's what Vimalakirti does. That's what he does so well. Vimalakirti addressed me as follows. Maitreya, the Buddha has prophesied that only one more birth stands between you and unexcelled perfect enlightenment. What kind of birth does this prophecy concern, Maitreya? Is it past, is it future, or is it present? If it is a past birth, it is already finished. If it is a future birth, it will never arrive. Oh, how zen is that? If it is a present birth, it does not abide.

[36:15]

For the Buddha has declared, Bhikshus, in a single moment, you are born, you age, you die, you transmigrate, and you are reborn. Okay, that's pretty zen. And then, the Vimalakirti just goes into this whole sort of page and a half sermon about the nature of enlightenment. But the part I want to share with you is, I think, very succinctly sums up and just delivers what the great vehicle is about. What Mahayana Buddhism is about. Mahayana understanding of enlightenment. Maitreya. says Bhimodhirti. Maitreya, whenever you attain Buddhahood, which is the perfection of enlightenment, at the same time, all living beings will also attain Buddhahood. Why?

[37:17]

Enlightenment consists of the realizations of all living beings. Maitreya, at the moment when you attain ultimate liberation, all living beings will also attain ultimate liberation. Why? The Tathagadas do not enter ultimate liberation until all living beings have entered ultimate liberation. For, since all living beings are utterly liberated, the Tathagadas see them as having the nature of ultimate liberation. So there you have it. We are all Buddha nature. We are all Buddha nature. And the understanding of enlightenment that excludes somebody else, excludes anything, is an inadequate understanding. We don't get liberated unless all beings get liberated. That's how it works. And then there's this other bodhisattva who's not very famous.

[38:20]

His name is Prabhavyuha, which means light array. And guess what? He's also reluctant. He talks about where he comes from, what is the seat of enlightenment. There's a lot of teaching in here, including the six paramitas and the four divine abidings, which show up over and over again in the Vimalakirta Sutra. Good Mahayana stuff. And then there's another... Bodhisattva named Jagatimdara, which I don't know what that means. And the Buddha asked him to go. Guess what? He says, Lord, I am indeed reluctant. This is another introduction of some fun and games.

[39:28]

Why was Jagatimdara reluctant? Because he says, Lord, I remember one day When I was at home, the wicked Mara... Mara's the bad guy, right? He's like snaggly whiplash. That's why I went like this. Mara's got a mustache. He's an ugly mustache. He's kind of like... I don't get in. He's a trickster. He's a bad guy. Mara is the one who's saying, Believe your thoughts. You should believe your thoughts. Yeah. Yeah. And he says, why, Lord, I remember that one day when I was at home, the wicked Mara disguised as Indra. So this always happens, you know. Mara looks like Indra's great, you know. We love Indra. Mara disguises himself as Indra. Very good.

[40:32]

Very psychologically potent. I'm going to leave that with you. Surrounded with, and here comes, you know, naturally, naturally, 12,000 heavenly maidens approached me with the sounds of music and singing. Having saluted me by touching my feet with his head, he withdrew with his retinue to one side. I then, thinking he was Chakra, the king of the gods, said to him, Welcome, oh Kaushika. You should remain consciously aware in the midst of the pleasures of desire. You should often think on impermanence and strive to utilize the essential in body life and wealth. Mara then said to me, Good sir, accept from me these 12,000 divine maidens and make them your servants. Well, he said, Oh, Kashika, do not offer me, who am religious and a son of the shakya, things which are not appropriate. It is not proper for me to have these maidens. No sooner had he said that than Vimalakirti shows up

[41:33]

And he says, give me those maidens. Vimalakirsa says, I'm cool with that. I'm paraphrasing. Vimalakirsa says, I'm okay with that, Mara, actually. I'll be okay. Why don't you give them to me? And he straightens out the Bodhisattva. He says, don't think this is Indra. This is not Indra, but the evil Mara who's come to ridicule you. So... He says, give him to me. Then Mara was terrified and distressed, thinking that the Lichavi Vimalakirti had come to expose him. He tried to make himself invisible, but try as he might, with all his magical powers, he could not vanish from sight. Then a voice resounded in the sky, saying, evil one, give those heavenly maidens to the good man, Vimalakirti, and only then will you be able to return to your own abode. Then Mara was even more frightened, and much against his will, gave the heavenly maidens.

[42:35]

Then the Li Chavi Vimalakirti received them. He said, now that you've been given to me by Mara, you should all conceive the spirit of unexcelled perfect enlightenment. So he reforms the maidens, exhorts them with discourse suitable for the development of their spiritual path, and He says, from now on, you should devote yourselves to find joy in pleasures of the Dharma and take no pleasure in desires. And they say, what is joy and pleasure of the Dharma? And he goes on about the joy of renunciation. This is another sermon. It's about joy. The joy of this, the joy of that. And thus, the Bodhisattva admires... and finds joy in the delights of the Dharma. Thereupon, Mara said to the goddesses, Now come along and let us return home. They said, You gave us to this householder.

[43:37]

Now we should enjoy the delights of the Dharma, and should no longer enjoy the pleasures of desires. Then Mara said to Vimalakirti, If it is so that the Bodhisattva, the spiritual hero, has no mental attachment, and gives away all his possessions, then householder, please give me these goddesses. Vimalakirti replied, they are given Mara. Go home with your retinue. May you fulfill the religious aspirations of all living beings. Then the goddesses said, householder, how should we live in the abode of the Maras? And Vimalakirti replied, sisters, there is a door of the Dharma called the inexhaustible lamp. Practice it. The teaching of the inexhaustible lamp is that when you practice, the way you practice is to share your practice with others. When you are free from delusion, when you are free from hindrance, the way you express that freedom is to share it with others.

[44:45]

A single lamp may light hundreds of thousands of lamps without itself being diminished. Likewise, sisters and sisters, A single bodhisattva may establish many hundreds of thousands of living beings in enlightenment. The more you teach and demonstrate virtuous qualities to others, the more you grow with respect to these virtuous qualities. This is the door of the Dharma called the inexhaustible lamp. And this is an important example of the positivity involved in the Vimal Kirti philosophy. is not just wisdom teachings. It's like, here's how you practice it. Practice with joy. Practice with love. Share your practice. So this is the shunyata plus positivity, the teaching of the inexhaustible lamp. And then, those three bodhisattvas, the Buddha said to the merchant's son, Sudhatta, the noble son,

[45:52]

go to the Lichavi Vimalakiriki to inquire about his illness. Suddata was a real person, but he's better known as Anata Tindika. Anybody here know who that was? Any Pali canon scholars know the story about the Jetavana Grove? Well, Suddata was a banker. He was like crazy rich. Name someone who's really, really rich. He was really rich. I don't know. The Koch brothers. Who? The Koch brothers. Koch brothers? Yeah. Okay. Trump. Donald Trump? Yeah. Yeah. I want to say Malcolm Forbes, but he's like long gone. I'll sort of date myself. Yeah. Siddhartha was a very, very, very wealthy person and very devoted to the Buddhists. And he was the foremost of donors.

[46:55]

He's called Anattapindika. His name, his religious name, means the benefactor of the downtrodden, the benefactor of the destitute. But his lay name is Sudatta. And it's interesting because in the sutras, in the Pali Canon, he's usually referred to as Anattapindika But there's somewhere, I think, in the Vinaya, one of the Vinaya stories, Suddata is happy when the Buddha calls him by his given name, Suddata. So in here is Suddata. What he's most famous for is giving the Jetuvana Grove to the Buddha. You all know that story? No? No? I have to tell it. It's so cool. It's so cool. The Buddha wanted a place to practice. Well, Suddhata inferred that the Buddha wanted a place to practice.

[48:02]

The Buddha wasn't so crass as to say, I need a place to practice or I need a place to hang with my Sangha and expound the Dharma. But somehow Suddhata picked up on that and he wanted a really nice place for the Buddha to have like a home base and expound the Dharma. And this is Jetavana Grove. Very, very famous. It's called Jetavana because it belonged to Prince Jetta. And the prince didn't want to sell it. He didn't want to give it up. He said, this is a really nice park. No, you can't have it. And Anathapindika Sudatta wasn't swayed. He said, what's it going to take? Write a number on a piece of paper. What do you want? And, really? No.

[49:04]

He says, if you can cover it with gold coins, you can have it. So he does. Allegedly, 1.8 million gold coins. He covers the Jetta Grove. And Prince Jetta's like... Okay, you have it. And he gives it to him. And then Sudhatta gives it to the Buddha. So he's known as foremost of donors. That's what he's famous for. And he says, I'm reluctant to go visit him. Why? Because one time he was celebrating a Dharma sacrifice, a big offering, a ceremony of offering. And... Vimalakirti tells him, well, what's a real Dharma sacrifice? And there's a whole sermon about that. And another miracle involving some pearls, which is pretty cool, but I'm going to skip over it anyway.

[50:09]

Move on to chapter 5. Finally, the Buddha said to the crown prince, Manjushri, Manjushri, Go to Vimalakirti to inquire about his illness. Okay. Who's Manjushri? Thank you. Where can you see an image of Manjushri? In the Zen Do. There's usually an image of Manjushri in a Soto Zen Zen Do or Soto. So a former Shuso here gave a talk about Manjushu's red pants. You know, he's got these really flashy red pants in that statue. He looks really good. And actually, he's a handsome lad. Iconographically, usually depicted as a boy of 16. Yeah. And good looking, actually. And he's got this sword, which is the sword of... What's that?

[51:18]

Dialectic. Discrimination. Knowing what's what. And then he also has a little, in the statue on the altar, there's a lotus, and on top of the lotus, there's a sutra. Sometimes, in the one in the city center, he's holding a scroll. So he's usually got a sword and a sutra. And the sutra is generally understood to be Parkinoparamita literature. all the Prajnaparamita teachings, the emptiness teachings. So that's Manjushri. He's the bodhisattva most renowned for wisdom. Yes? We have a statue, a couple of statues in the stone office of a bodhisattva with a sword, and I would think it would be Manjushri, but it's got four arms. Really? Yeah, any ideas?

[52:18]

Is that some unusual depiction of Magistri, or is that a different... No, but I want to come look at it. Yeah, go check it out. Yeah. You don't know? You don't know what you bought? No, I don't. Well, I don't think I bought it. It could be Fudo. Fudo, the immovable, one of the Dharma protectors, also has a sword. Yeah, City Center does something up to us. Oh, from the bookstore? Yep. Oh, okay, cool. I want to look at it. I have no idea. No idea. Uh... So, uh, he says to Manjushri, please, would you go to see, come on! And, uh, Manjushri says, he does not say, I am indeed reluctant. He does say, it is difficult to attend upon the Lichavi Vimalakirti. Uh, but he, he doesn't say, I won't do it. Uh, He has attained decisiveness with regard to all questions.

[53:21]

Ain't it the truth? I think we've pretty well established that by now. If you're not sure, then just read the whole sutra. Thus, although he cannot be withstood by someone of my feeble defenses, still, sustained by the grace of the Buddha, I will go to him and will converse with him as well as I can. Thereupon, in that assembly, the bodhisattvas, the great disciples, the chakras, the brahmas, the lukapalas, and the gods and goddesses all had this thought. This is going to be awesome! No. They said, surely the conversations of the young prince Mantushri and that good man will result in a profound teaching of the Dharma. Thus, 8,000 bodhisattvas, 500 disciples, a great number. You get it. It goes on and on. They want to see it. They want to be in on the action. So they're all going to come. And that's the scene. Here, this is Majutri calling on Vimalakirti. Chapter 5, The Consolation of the Invalid. Vimalakirti anticipates him coming and yet another miracle in this long miracle after miracle in the sutra makes his house empty.

[54:38]

Housekeeper hadn't come lately, so he just... makes the house completely empty. Even the doorkeeper disappeared. Except for the invalid's couch upon which Vimalakirti himself was lying, no bed or couch or seat could be seen anywhere. Then he says, welcome, welcome. And Manjushri, you know, just like the Shuso does in the practice period of somebody sick, he says, good sir, is your condition tolerable? Is it livable? Are your physical elements not disturbed? Is your sickness diminishing? Is it not increasing? Yeah. The Buddha asks about you. More or less, that's what the shuso says. It's not scripted. And Vimalakirti says, Manjujri, my sickness comes from ignorance and the thirst for existence and it will last as long as do the sicknesses of all living beings. So basically he's saying I'm sick because the world is sick.

[55:42]

What are you going to do about it? You ask me, Madjushri, whence comes my sickness? The sicknesses of the bodhisattvas arise from great compassion. For me, that reminds me of when we have Wayseeking Mind Talks. In the practice period, if it's your first practice period at Tassajara, you give a talk, 20 minutes, tell your life story. Tell what brought you to practice. I've been so lucky to listen to many, many way-seeking mind talks. Many people tell their story about what brought them to practice. What brings people to practice, in my estimation, is the sickness of the bodhisattvas. pain of the world.

[56:44]

Yeah. Yeah. And their great compassion. This is wayseeking mind. So then there's this great long dialogue between Manjushri and about how we should view the world, how we should view life, how we should view sickness, old age, and death. And a lot of good teaching there. And it goes up into chapter 6, The Inconceivable Liberation. So, so far... you know, they haven't really come to any resolution in a way.

[57:51]

But this is just sort of the consolation. Just, you know, Madhya Sri saying, finally somebody shows up, Vimalakirti's house, how are you doing? He says, I'm sick because the world is sick. And, well, how is that? And how should we practice? And a long sort of dialogue between the two of them about that. And that takes us up to chapter six, which is not bad. Could have done better. I think we're going to have to do two more classes if you're not bored. I'm really interested in your feedback. If you don't want me to teach this class anymore, I won't. Okay. Okay. So, well, you know, it's kind of story time, isn't it, in a way? Yeah. So, and it's about to get even more fun.

[58:52]

Actually, in the words of the great Jerry Lee Lewis, it's going to get good in a minute. So, it's 4.30, so we should stop. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our Dharma Talks are offered free of charge. and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click Giving.

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