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 indeed the last... class in the Vimalakirti Sutra class. I'm going to go over the last three chapters in the epilogue. And before I do that, as I promised, because the puppet shows today, I'm going to epitomize the epitomizing. In other words, just recap everything quickly. Recap everything we've got up to so far. Classes I teach, I like to tell people it's not important that they come to the previous ones and you're not committing to come to subsequent ones.

[01:07]

However, we have been following the sutra along, you know, chapter by chapter, chunks of chapters. So, I thought it might be helpful. Hopefully, increase your enjoyment of the Vimalakirti puppet show. So tonight in the retreat hall, I did the half-day sitting this morning, and I said, I feel like already it's been like a Vimalakirti Sutra kind of day for me. Because firstly, in the Zendo this morning, 83 people. That's the most people I've ever seen sitting Zazen in Tassahara Zendo at one time. Yeah, I saw that there were people sitting on the floor in all four quadrants, and so I actually, I had to do it, you know, I sit facing out, so I did a head count. It was 83 people.

[02:09]

And I thought, Vimal Acurity's room! There's always room for one more. Come on, room for all, room for all. And then, secondly, as you know, The second chapter of the sutra, when Vimalakirti is introduced, he manifests as being sick. And today I'm manifesting as being sick. So it's a Vimalakirti sutra kind of day for me. So the sutra, the introduction, brings in the whole concept of the Buddha field, the place of practice, why it would need purifying, and the practices of bodhisattvas. The second chapter, Vimalakirti is introduced.

[03:12]

Who was Vimalakirti, anybody? A businessman, that's right. He was a layperson, he was a businessman, he was a successful merchant, he was a householder, and he was the wisest of the wise. and a bodhisattva, a lay bodhisattva. And he manifests himself as sick, preaching impermanence, the impermanence of the body, and as a skillful means to get the Buddha's retinue to come visit him. So the Buddha understands this magically, He is preaching off somewhere else, and he asks his disciples to go and visit him, and very famously, one by one, the ten major disciples of the Buddha who are each known for... And these are all historic personages.

[04:19]

These were all actually people who existed and were the Buddha's disciples. Sariputra, Maggayana, Katayana, Upali, Ananda, etc., Each of them has got their own special skills, and each of them says, Buddha, Lord, I don't want to go visit Vimalakirti, and here's why. Because on such and such a time, I was doing such and such a thing, and the layman, Vimalakirti, rebuked me, and basically he makes them all look a little weak. This is kind of propaganda for the Mahayana. the great vehicle teaching, kind of making fun of the Theravada Nor, as they would say, Hinayana, lesser vehicle. But, then again, the Buddha happens to ask some bodhisattvas if they could do the same favor, go and visit Vimalakirti, and lo and behold, the bodhisattvas have the same problem, except for Manjushri, finally,

[05:28]

Somebody comes forward who's going to have the... Screw his courage to the sticking place. Say, yes, I'll do it. I'll go visit Vimalakirti and inquire about his illness. And everyone in the Buddha's assembly gets real excited about that. This is something we should check out. And so they all go. And Vimalakirti is on his sickbed in his sick room, which is very small. Smaller even than my cabin. All these disciples and bodhisattvas and other beings as well, they want to come and see this dialogue between Vimalakirti and Manjushri. And what happens? How do they all get in there? Well, Vimalakirti manifests all these lion thrones, and somehow they all fit.

[06:29]

Somehow they all can fit. This is one of the many miracles that happens in the sutra, which is well known for. And then Vimalakirti preaches the doctrine of the inconceivable liberation in the introduction where Vimalakirti is sort of introduced and explains what kind of person he was in chapter 2. It kind of sets up a theme for the whole sutra, which is... Well, the non-dual dharma. Did you see the playbill I made for the puppet show? I said the price of admission is giving up your dualistic thinking. So, the non-dual dharma, and the way... the non-dual Dharma is preached is by the reconciliation of dichotomies.

[07:34]

So this has all these things like, although he was a business person, still he wasn't swayed by the influence of money, although he was a family man, he was chaste, although he was that, that he was also but, and et cetera, and et cetera. Reconciliation of dichotomies, I was thinking this morning, yes, during the half-day sit, I admit, the layman vimalakirti, and I think this accounts for the popularity of the sutra, one of the reasons for the popularity of the sutra, He lives in a kind of yes and world. Yes and. He says yes and. Always holding up the other side.

[08:37]

Always holding up the other side. Never getting stuck in any point of view. But always using whatever comes to hand. Actually, what bodhisattvas do. What do bodhisattvas do? What does bodhisattvas do? Wait a minute. What does bodhisattvas do? Can anybody help me? What do bodhisattvas do? Save all beings. Yeah, thank you. Bodhisattvas work tirelessly to free sentient beings from their hindrances. They work tirelessly to help people get unstuck. to help people be liberated from their limited views. It's about wisdom and skill and means.

[09:45]

Right? Prajna and Upaya. This is kind of positivity. some of the Prajnaparamita literature is like, you know, like the Heart Sutra. No eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue. Negates, negates, negates, negates. But the Vimalakirti has this message of positivity in a way. Yes, and the reconciliation dichotomies, the non-dual Dharma. So, he preaches the Inconceivable liberation. And then this goddess shows up. Turns out she's been in Vimalakirti's house all along. Then she manifests herself. There's no real explanation why. She's just there. It's kind of wacky. Like a lot of stuff in this sutra. And there's a conversation between the goddess and Shariputra.

[10:54]

kind of the fall guy. If you've come to previous classes, you know, Shariputra is supposed to be the wisest in Buddha's assembly of arhats, of the saints, the disciples of the Buddha who are in the Pali canon. In this Mahayana scripture, Shariputra is kind of a sucker, kind of a patsy, kind of the fall guy. So there's this conversation between the goddess and Shariputra. The goddess makes all these flowers fall out of the sky. They stick to the disciples. They don't stick to the bodhisattvas. Why? Because the disciples are stuck in their views that they shouldn't be having these things, whereas the bodhisattvas are free of such views, and therefore the flowers don't stick to them. Chariputra asks the goddess, you have all this power, why don't you change yourself into a male form?

[12:03]

Because according to traditional Buddhist teaching, it is very favorable to be born as a man, to be born in male form. So Chariputra says, why don't you do that? And then you know what happens next, right? Well, it's a spoiler alert, but the goddess changes Chariputra into a woman. And that's pretty much the funniest thing that happens. And Sharipuch is very upset, although perhaps a little curious. Then she changes the back again. And there's a teaching about the... family of the Tathagadas, and the Dharma door of non-duality, which culminates the end of chapter 9, which is where we ended the last class, is the Vimalakirti's thunderous silence.

[13:15]

As opposed to Shariputra's silence earlier in the dialogue between Shariputra and the goddess, the goddess asks him a question, he's like, chokes. He can't say anything. And the goddess is teasing him. Why can't you say something? And then, other side, in the dialogue between Manjushri and Vimalakirti, all these bodhisattvas are explaining their definition of the non-dual Dharma, which is very rich, rich, rich teaching. Chapter 9. There's a lot there. We just glossed over it in the class. But I want you to know, If you study the sutra, pay close attention to chapter 9, because every Bodhisattva's exposition of the nondual dharma is darn good. Really good. But the last to come is, Manjushri says, we've all spoken. What do you say, Vimalakirti?

[14:17]

And Vimalakirti is just... Nada. Says nothing. So if this were a piece of music, which I think is a good way to think about it, Suzuki Roshi once said that about the Lotus Sutra. You could think of it as a piece of music, like a symphony. Yeah, a symphony. And you know, symphonies have movements, and they have like a sort of crescendos, and they build up to They have themes that the composer weaves in and out, Beethoven and so forth. He's very skillful in doing that. You could say the theme of Vimalakirti Sutra is nandual dharma, skill and liberative technique.

[15:22]

I'm not getting stuck. And culmination, the sort of crescendo or the... I don't know what you would call it. Are there any musicians here? It's like the... There's a sort of climax, the big part. It's kind of chapter eight, chapter nine. And then, like a lot of symphonies, it has music to sort of afterwards. It sort of takes you back down, and there's some more movements that sort of leave you feeling good. And that's kind of what the rest of the sutra is about. It's... a lot more teachings about the chapter 10 is something that should be dear to every Tassara student. It's about food. Yeah.

[16:24]

We have often been called a food cult. I think we should own it. It's okay. No, I'm playing a little bit. So, poor Shariputra, yet again. Actually, he doesn't come in for it so badly on this occasion. But because Shariputra is like a Hinayana monk, a Theravadan monk, who strictly follows the precepts, the Vinaya, the rules for monastic conduct of monks, he thinks to himself, If these great bodhisattvas do not adjourn before noontime, when are they going to eat? So here's all this great teaching is going on. And Shariputra's like, it's almost 12. How are we going to eat? Because they're not allowed to eat after midday, right?

[17:28]

I think it's legitimate. Poor Shariputra. Of course... Vimalakirti reads his mind. There's a lot of that going on in this sutra, a lot of mind reading going on. Knowing telepathically the thought of the Venerable Shariputra, speaks to him, Reverend Shariputra, the Tathagata has taught the eight liberations. You should concentrate on those liberations, listening to the Dharma with a mind free of preoccupations with material things. Just wait a minute, Reverend Shariputra, and you will eat such food as you have never before tasted. Then the Lichavi Vimalakirti set himself in such a concentration and performed such a miraculous feat that those bodhisattvas and those great disciples were enabled to see the universe called Sarvaganda Suganda. Sarvaganda Suganda. That's fun to say. Where the Tathagata name Sugandakutta resides.

[18:31]

And he gives them a vision of this other universe. In that universe, even the names disciple and solitary sage do not exist. In other words, Arhat and Pratyeka Buddha, which are considered the other two stages or vehicles of practice besides the Bodhisattva vehicle. This comes up in the Lotus Sutra over and over and over again, these three ways of practicing, Arhat, Pratyeka Buddha, and Bodhisattva. In the universe of Sarvaganda Suganda, there are no arhats and pratika buddhas. There are only bodhisattvas. Only bodhisattvas live in this universe. And as you can imagine, all the houses, the avenues, the parks, and the palaces are made of various perfumes, of course. And the fragrance of the food eaten by those bodhisattvas pervades the immeasurable universes.

[19:38]

So, what happens? The Lichavi Vimalakirti, without rising from his couch, remember? He's been lying on his sick bed all this time. All this time, he's been manifesting as sick. So, he's still empty. He's lying on his couch. Without rising from his couch, magically creates this emanated incarnation Bodhisattva. So he causes a bodhisattva to come into being out of nothingness, a body of a golden color, adorned with various auspicious signs and marks, etc., etc., etc., and he instructs the bodhisattva to go to that universe. Then the incarnated bodhisattva goes to that universe, And he says... When he reached the universe, Sarvaganda Suganda, he bowed at the feet of the Tathagata, and he said, Lord, the Bodhisattva of Vimalakirti, bowing down at the feet of the Lord, greets the Lord, saying...

[21:07]

May the Lord be gracious and give to me the remains of his meal in order to accomplish the Buddha work in the universe called Saha. What is the universe called Saha? You know, have you heard that before? The Saha world? That's this one. That's right. We live in the universe called Saha. That's this universe. The Sanskrit word Saha means endurance. This is kind of, compared to some universes, this one's kind of tough. But it's supposed to have just the right amount of troubles. But it has lots of troubles. So we call it Saha. Like right now, for example, my own case, body feels really cruddy. It's because I live in the Saha world. You know, if I was living in one of these other universes, that probably wouldn't happen to me Then those living beings who aspire to inferior ways may gain the intelligence to aspire to the great Dharma of the Buddha, and the name of the Buddha will be celebrated far and wide.

[22:20]

At that, the bodhisattvas of the Buddha field of the Tathagata Sugandakuta were astonished and asked the Tathagata Sugandakuta, Lord, where is there such a great being as this? Where is the universe Saha? And what does he mean by those who aspire to inferior ways? They're totally baffled. In inferior ways, what's that? Because there's only bodhisattvas in their universe. They don't even know about that. And eventually, the incarnation bodhisattva is granted the remains of their celestial meal. Just like we do in guest season, you know, we get the leftovers, right? Same thing. And goes back to Vimalakirti's house. And, of course, all the bodhisattvas from Sarvanda Ganda Suganda want to go with him to check out the teaching in the Saha world.

[23:29]

So they all want to be in Vimalakirti's house. No problem. Vimalakirti just manifests another 90 million lion thrones. They're all there. And then some of the disciples had this thought, how can such a huge multitude eat such a small amount of food? Then the incarnation bodhisattva said to those disciples, do not compare your own wisdom and merits with the wisdom and merits of the Tathagata. Indeed, there's enough food for everybody, which might put you in mind of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. from the Gospels, very similar. There isn't much, doesn't seem like there's much food. It's just a little vessel that he brought back, but it turns out there's enough for everybody. And when they eat it, they emanate all these perfumes. And the Vimalakirti addresses the bodhisattvas who'd come from that Buddha field, and he asks them,

[24:37]

how does the Tathagata Sugandakuta teach his Dharma? And they said, the Tathagata in our world doesn't preach the Dharma by means of sound and language. He disciplines the Bodhisattvas only by means of perfumes. So he just uses perfumes to teach. And, you know, why not? From the moment they smell that perfume, the Bodhisattvas attain the concentration called Source of All Bodhisattva Virtues, And all bodhisattva virtues are produced in them. And then they ask Vimalakirti, how does the Buddha Shakyamuni teach the Dharma? And Vimalakirti replies, these living beings here are hard to discipline. Therefore, he teaches them what discourses appropriate for the disciplining of the wild and uncivilized. What discourses are appropriate?

[25:38]

Here they are. This is hell. This is the animal world. This is the world of the Lord of Death. These are adversities. These are rebirths with crippled faculties, on and on and on. And actually, the teachings that Vimalakirti is relating to the bodhisattvas from the Sun of the Universe are all the first turning of the wheel. actually. They're all the Hinayana teachings and the Abhidharma, and they're not putting it down in this case. He's saying, this is what's appropriate for the wild and uncivilized. This is how we discipline beings in this universe. The first turning the wheel, very important. The Bodhisattvas all said, thus it has established the greatness of the Buddha, Shakyamuni, It is marvelous how, concealing his miraculous power, he civilizes the wild living beings who are poor and inferior.

[26:44]

And the bodhisattvas who settle in a Buddha field of such intense hardships must have inconceivably great compassion. So you could say that's another theme in the symphony called the Vimalakirti. Great compassion, Mahamaitri, great love. What is the root of great compassion? Intense hardships, strong practice. Vimalakirti says, so be it, good sirs, it is as you say. Et cetera, et cetera. Chapter 11, we're kind of winding down. But now, the sort of finale is... As you may recall, if you've been tracking, the action has gone to different places, different universes, but primarily we've been in Vimalakirti's sick room with Vimalakirti on his couch.

[27:50]

And then at this point, I don't know how many millions of bodhisattvas and other beings in the room with him. And chapter 11 begins, Meanwhile... the area in which the Lord was teaching the Dharma in the garden of Amrapali, the Lord being Shakyamuni Buddha, expanded and grew larger, and the entire assembly appeared tinged with a golden hue. Thereupon the venerable Ananda, Ananda was Buddha's jisha, right? Ananda practiced side by side with the Buddha for, what, 30 years? I want to say 30 years. Long time, was Buddha's attendant. Lord, this expansion and enlargement of the garden of Amrapali and this golden hue of the assembly, what do these auspicious signs pretend? The Buddha declared, Ananda, these auspicious signs pretend that the Lichavi Vimalakirti and the crown prince Manjushri, attended by a great multitude, you can say that again,

[29:02]

are coming into the presence of the Tathagata. So instead of the Buddha going to see Vimalakirti, Vimalakirti is going to come to see the Buddha. This is kind of the finale of the Sutra. They're all going to come together. As a side note, do you know about Amrapali and her garden? Anybody? You know, when we had... we used to chant her name. When we chanted the women ancestors, there was a list that we used to chant, and now we chant a different list that's got Indian and Chinese and Japanese. The old list that we used to chant only had the Indian, you know, the Terigata, the nuns and practitioners from the time of the Buddha. primarily.

[30:02]

And Amrapali was one of them. But then she got bumped. So we don't chant her name anymore because mostly she was famous for giving the garden to the Buddha. And mostly she was famous for being a beautiful courtesan. Beautiful, beautiful, famous for her beauty from a small, small child. And like Helen of Troy, A war was fought over her, actually. And she lived in Vaishali, where Bhimala Kirti lives, at the time of the Buddha. And Bimbisara, another prince from a neighboring kingdom of Magara, fell in love with her. Anyway, it's a pretty cool story, if you ever check it out. And... when we started chanting the other list, a monk here, Melissa Gilbert, wrote a poem about Amrapali of the mango grove.

[31:10]

It means born under a mango tree. Anyway, a very nice, a very sweet poem about the great beauty, Amrapali. And that's where they were. They were in that mango grove. And it got bigger and bigger because the Lichavi Vimalakirti, yet another miracle, places the entire assembly of I don't know how many millions of bodhisattvas replete with thrones upon his right hand. And then having transported himself magically into the presence of the Buddha, places it on the ground, bows at the feet of the Buddha, circumambulates him to the right seven times with palms together and withdraws to one side. And then all the bodhisattvas who come from the Buddha field of Sugandakuta got off their lion thrones and prostrated. And there's an interesting dialogue between Buddha and Shariputra.

[32:15]

The Buddha says, did you see the miraculous performances of the bodhisattvas, those best of beings? Shariputra says, I have seen them, Lord. What concept did you produce toward them? Lord, I produced the concept of inconceivability toward them. Their activities appeared inconceivable to me to the point that I was unable to think of them, to judge them, or even to imagine them. Oh, not bad. I feel like Shari Puja kind of redeems himself there, in a way. He is supposed to be the wisest of the wise in the original assembly, of course, in the sutra. It's Bhimala Kirti. I mean, it's Buddha, but Bhimala Kirti is pretty wise. And then Venerable Ananda asked the Buddha about this perfume. This is a very Indian thing. It's very sensual. It's very sensual. There's lots of light and perfume and beautiful things.

[33:20]

And Shariputra adds, Venerable Ananda, this same perfume emanates from all our pores as well. And they talk about the food, how long it will take to be digested. And the Venerable Ananda said to the Buddha, again, this is wonderful for Tassahara monks, I think. Lord, it is wonderful that this food accomplishes the work of the Buddha. There you go. It's right there in the sutra. The food accomplishes the work of the Buddha. And the Buddha says, yeah, as a matter of fact, there are Buddha fields that accomplish Buddha work by means of bodhisattvas. others that do so by means of lights, by means of the tree of enlightenment, by physical beauty, by religious robes, by means of food, by means of water, by means of gardens, etc., etc., etc. Why is it so? Because by these various means, living beings become disciplined. This is about skill and means, again. Doing what's appropriate. So sometimes you can teach by food.

[34:23]

That was in the other universe. That's 42 universes away. Did I mention that? Excuse me. No. It exists beyond as many Buddha fields in the direction of the nadir as there are sands in 42 Ganges rivers. 42 Ganges rivers. Yes. What were they smoking? You know? Yeah, it's kind of wacky. It's just to get you out of your limited thinking. You know? 42 Ganges rivers? Anyway, that's where the Tathagata Sugandakuta teaches by profumes. Well... Exactly. Why is it impossible?

[35:31]

The whole world is Ganji. The dreamer of the whole planet is Ganji, in a way. Why is it impossible? Did I say it was impossible? Yeah. Well, I did. Yeah, you said the world when they were swapping. I just think it's remarkable that it's 42... to sand some 42 kanji rivers maybe they measured it okay skipping around a bit okay I'm back then there's this exchange between the Buddha and Ananda The Buddha tells Ananda, if all the living beings of this 10 billion world galactic universe were like you, the foremost of the learned and the foremost of those endowed with memory and incantations, remember Ananda's famous for his memory.

[36:46]

He's the one who memorized everything the Buddha said and at the first council of elders repeated it so that we could have the teachings passed down to us. And were they to devote an entire eon, they would still be unable to understand completely the exact and extensive meaning of the three words Samyaksambuddha, Tathagada, and Buddha. In other words, perfectly enlightened Buddha, thus come one, and enlightened one. Thus, Ananda, the enlightenment of the Buddhas is immeasurable, and the wisdom of the eloquence of the Tathagadas is inconceivable. Ananda is pretty humbled by that, but Vimalakirti and the Buddha cheer him up saying, don't worry, actually, you're doing a great job, Ananda, and you should remain in equanimity with regard to the deeds of the Bodhisattvas. And then, the Buddha is asked to teach this teaching, which is the title of the chapter, chapter 11.

[37:56]

He gives a sermon on the Dharma door, the Dharma gate of liberation called destructible and indestructible. And he says we should train in this liberation. What is it? Destructible refers to compounded things. Indestructible refers to the uncompounded. But the bodhisattva should neither destroy the compounded nor rest in the uncompounded. So this, again, very important. Very important for why this sutra is highly, highly regarded in the Zen school. This is very good Zen understanding. You're not abiding in either place. So, the note here actually says excuse me, that is destructible equals

[39:02]

Sanskrit kishaya equals compounded. Samskirta equals the superficial. Samvirti equals samsara. Indestructible. Ashkaya equals uncompounded. Asamskirta equals the ultimate. Paramarta equals nirvana. So basically, we're talking about samsara and nirvana. Two sides of the same coin. Two sides of the same coin. You don't abide in either place. You don't get stuck in either place. And he goes on and on about the meaning of not to destroy compounded things. First thing he says consists in not losing the great love. Well, yeah. I'm down with that. It is a compounded thing. The great love is a compounded thing. And I personally feel like something we ought to push along.

[40:06]

I'm in favor of Mahamaitri. And apparently, so is the Buddha. So don't destroy that compounded thing. Don't give up the great compassion. Don't forget about generating high resolve, etc., etc. He says, among other things, considering immoral beings to be saviors. We went over this earlier. Maras are secret bodhisattvas. Immoral beings are saviors. Why? How could an immoral being be a savior? Without immoral, we know moral. That's what we see. Yes. That's right. What else?

[41:15]

No mud, no lotus. No mud, no lotus. That's right. We're supposed to be saving, us bodhisattvas in training, we're supposed to be saving sensual beings. So it's a lucky thing there's sensual beings for us to save. Anyway, that's the way it works out. We sound nicely that way. So we should regard immoral beings to be saviors. We complete each other. Sometimes moral, sometimes immoral. And we help each other. It gives you a chance to help. another one of these very very long lists and finally he comes down to what is not resting in the uncompounded the bodhisattva practices voidness but she does not realize voidness she practices signlessness but she does not realize signlessness she knows impermanence but she is not complacent about her roots of virtue get it

[42:31]

Sometimes we call this Zen sickness. To be stuck in extinction. Right? Does that jive with anybody here? Do you understand what I'm talking about? Yes? I mean, I have a little bit of a problem, I guess, with this idea. If you're really free, you can't be stuck in freedom. I mean, you can't get stuck in freedom because It's the exact opposite of stuff. But you can't abide in the absolute... Do you see what I'm saying? I mean, I think it's a beautiful description. Freedom, in this definition of freedom, is the freedom to move between the two. When it's appropriate to practice in dualistic way, we practice in dualistic way.

[43:40]

When it's appropriate to understand it's all one, we practice that way. But you don't stay on either side. You don't fall down on either side. This is the tension between nihilism and eternalism. Yes? No? Maybe? Again, this is the theme of reconciliation of dichotomies. Thus, noble sons and daughters, the Bodhisattva does not destroy compounded things and does not rest in the uncompounded. and that is the liberation of bodhisattvas called destructible and indestructible. You should also strive in this. Then those bodhisattvas, having heard this teaching, get this miracle.

[44:45]

Are you ready? Those 90 million bodhisattvas were so filled with rejoicing and happiness of mind. In order to worship the Buddha Shakyamuni and the bodhisattvas of the Saha universe, as well as this teaching, they covered the whole earth of this 10 billion world universe with fragrant powder, incense, perfumes, and flowers up to the height of the knees. That's such a great image. We're just wading around up to our knees in flowers and incense. It doesn't say. Fragrant powder, incense, perfumes, and flowers up to the height of the knees. Okay. Chapter 12. Vision of the Universe Abhirati and the Tathagata Aksobya.

[45:47]

So this is the ultimate chapter. It begins with a dialogue between the Buddha and Vimalakirti about when you see the Tathagata, how do you view him? And Vimalakirti says... Basically, he views the Tathagala with equanimity. He doesn't abide in any of the four elements, transcends the scope of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. He's reached the extreme detachment in regard to all things, yet he is not a reality limit, etc., etc., etc. And then, good old Shariputra chimes in, and he says, Lord, in which Buddha field did the noble Vimalakirti die before reincarnating in this Buddha field? And the Buddha says, basically, why don't you ask him yourself? So he does. Noble sir, where did you die to reincarnate here? And then Vimalakirti and Shariputra get into a really interesting dialogue about reincarnation.

[46:53]

That's, yeah, pretty kind of... something I can get on board with. There's a lot of talk about reincarnation in Buddhism. Some schools of Buddhism is very important. Sariputra says, Vimalakirti says, is there anything that dies or is reborn? Sariputra says, there's nothing that dies or is reborn. Maybe he's learned a thing or two in his dialogues with Vimalakirti. He's not going to get caught this time. And Vimalakirti says, Likewise, as all things neither die nor are reborn, why do you ask, where did you die to reincarnate here? If one were to ask a man or woman created by a magician where he or she had died to reincarnate there, what do you think he or she would answer? Noble Sir, a magical creation does not die nor is reborn. Since all things have the nature of a magical creation, why do you ask, where have you died to reincarnate here?

[47:58]

Reverend Shariputra, death, in quotes, is an end of performance, and rebirth is the continuation of performance. But although a bodhisattva dies, she does not put an end to the performance of the roots of virtue. And although she is reborn, she does not adhere to the continuation of sin. I kind of like that. Then... Surprise! The Buddha says the Venerable Shariputra. As a matter of fact, this holy person came here from the presence of the Tathagata Aksobhya in the universe Abhirati. So, anybody know about the Tathagata, the Buddha Aksobhya? No, he doesn't get much press, actually. Does anybody know about Amida Buddha and the Pure Land? Yeah, Amida Buddha, very popular.

[49:01]

Pure Land Buddhism. Big school of Buddhism, right? I think Aksobya got a lousy deal. Because actually, sometimes we talk about Amitabha, Amida, Pure Land of the West. Have you heard of that? Well, Aksobya comes from the Pure Land of the East. And that's called Abirati, which means Abode of Joy, Joyous. So it's the counterpart of Amitabha, actually. And I'm sure it's just as cool, just as groovy a place to be. And Shariputra thinks, you know, because this is the way Shariputra thinks, Lord, it is wonderful that this holy person, having left a Buddha field as pure as Abirati, should enjoy a Buddha field as full of defects as this Saha universe. And Vimalakirti says, Shariputra, what do you think? Does the light of the sun accompany the darkness?

[50:03]

Certainly not. Then the two do not go together? They do not go together. Then why does the sun rise over the world? To illuminate the world, to illuminate the darkness. Just in the same way, Reverend Shariputra, the Bodhisattva reincarnates voluntarily in the impure Buddha fields in order to purify the living beings, in order to make the light of wisdom shine in and in order to clear away the darkness. All right? That is your mission. Voluntarily. I think I need to read that again. Then why does the sun rise over the world? It rises to illuminate the world and to eliminate the darkness. Vimalakirti says, Just in the same way, Reverend Shariputra... The Bodhisattva reincarnates voluntarily in the impure Buddha fields in order to purify the living beings, in order to make the light of wisdom shine, and in order to clear away the darkness.

[51:09]

So, that's your manifest. This Bodhisattva Training Academy. That's what you got to do. You're all up for that, right? I know you are. We just had a full moon ceremony yesterday. What a lovely one it was. Then, of course, there's another miracle. Bhima Kiriti thinks, without rising from my couch, I shall pick up in my right hand the universe, Avirati. This time it's the whole universe. And he brings it into the Saha universe, into the assembly, in the presence of the Buddha. And they're all correctly studying the Dharma. and become companions of the Tathagata. Well, and then there's an epilogue. It kind of winds things down. The epilogue talks about Vaisadhyo Raja. Do you know him?

[52:12]

The Tathagata, Vaisadhyo Raja. That means medicine king. It's actually quite popular. If you ever see a statue of the Buddha and That statue, the Buddha is holding a little bowl right here. You see one like that? That's in the stone office. So you can find one in the stone office. There you go. That's in Japanese, yakushi nyorai. Nyorai means thus come one. And it's medicine, Buddha. So he's popular because he's the Buddha of healing. talks about the antecedents. It's kind of like a Jataka tale, you know, in a past universe, in a past life. They talk about the Dharma worship. And it ends with a description of what Dharma worship means, including the four reliances, the so-called Pratisarana,

[53:23]

relying on the meaning and not on the literal expression, relying on gnosis and not on consciousness, relying on the ultimate teachings definitive in meaning and not insisting on the superficial teachings interpretable in meaning, relying on reality and not insisting on opinions derived from personal authorities. So this is, again, a message of positivity, a very upbeat message. Trust your own practice, actually. What is Dharma worship? For my money, trust your own practice. And then there's a dialogue between Shakyamuni and Maitreya, where, again, something that's important to the Zen school. Shakyamuni, as you know, Maitreya is the future Buddha. Shakyamuni gives Maitreya Dharma transmission. Whoa. The Lord Shakyamuni said to the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the great spiritual hero, I transmit to you, Maitreya, this unexcelled perfect enlightenment, which I attained only after innumerable millions of billions of eons, in order that, at a later time, during a later life, a similar teaching of the Dharma, protected by your supernatural power, will spread in the world and will not disappear.

[54:43]

And he gives some good advice to Maitreya. For example... Two reasons why the beginner bodhisattvas hurt themselves and do not concentrate on the profound dharma. Well, I think since we're all beginner bodhisattvas, we should pay attention to this. What are they? Hearing this profound teaching never before heard, they are terrified and doubtful. Do not rejoice and reject it, thinking, once comes this teaching never before heard. They then behold other noble sons accepting, becoming vessels for, and teaching this profound teaching, and they do not attend upon them, do not befriend them, do not respect them, and do not honor them. And eventually they go so far as to criticize them. These are the two reasons the beginner bodhisattvas hurt themselves and do not penetrate the profound dharma. And after giving Maitreya some more good advice... The Buddha approves of his practice.

[55:43]

He says, excellent, excellent. Your word is well given. The Tathagata rejoices and commends your good promise. Because basically Maitreya promises not to have this teaching be cut off. And it ends with the Buddha saying, Ananda. Ananda says he's memorized this teaching. What shall we call it? And he says, the exposition of the Dharma is called the teaching of Vimalakirti, the Vimalakirti Nirdesa, or the reconciliation of dichotomies, or even section of the inconceivable liberation. Remember it thus. Thus spoke the Buddha and the Lichavi Vimalakirti, the Crown Prince Manjushri, the Venerable Ananda, the Bodhisattvas, the great disciples, the entire multitude, and the whole universe with its gods, men, women, asuras, and Gandharvas rejoiced exceedingly. All heartily praise these declarations by the Lord. The end. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center.

[56:48]

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.

[57:03]

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