The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra
Lecture I

With Commentary by Tripitaka Master Tu Lun
Translated by Disciple Bhiksu Heng Ch'ien

Those in the world who understand The Lotus Sutra can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Those who can explain The Lotus Sutra to others are fewer still. Even in Buddhist countries, cultivators are unable to read and understand it by themselves. So much the more it is a rare and wonderful event for you, here in America, a non-Buddhist country, to have met up with The Lotus Sutra, to have encountered one who can explain it, and to have the opportunity to sit in this Lotus Assembly.

Tripitaka Master Tu Lun has delivered more than 300 lectures on The Lotus Sutra during the past year and one half, all of which have been transcribed by the Sino-American Buddhist Association. A translation of The Lotus Sutra and of the Master's commentary are being prepared by Bhiksu Heng Ch'ien, and will appear here in English for the first time.

LECTURE I

In their explanation of sutras, some use the methods of the T'ien T'ai School and some use those of the Hsien Shou School. The T'ien T'ai School was established by Great Master Chih Che who divided the Buddha's Sutras into Five Periods and Eight Teachings. The Five Periods are:

1. The Avatamsaka Period
2. The Agama Period
3. The Vaipulya Period
4. The Prajna Period
5. The Dharma Flower and Nirvana Period (Saddharma and Mahaparinirvana)

Within the Five Periods, Eight Teachings are distinguished; they are:

1. The Store Teaching;
2. The Penetrating Teaching;
3. The Differentiating Teaching;
4. The Complete Teaching;

   and

1. The Sudden Teaching;
2. The Gradual Teaching;
3. The Secret Teaching;
4. The Unfixed Teaching.

The Avatamsaka Period:

After the Buddha' s enlightenment he first spoke The Great, Directionally Expansive Buddha's Flower Adornment Sutra (Avatamsaka Sutra). The text of this Sutra, which now exists in the human world, is the third of three volumes; the first and second are stored in the Dragon Palace. The first volume is made up by chapters equal in number to one world of fine dust particles, and contains gathas equal in number to the fine particles of dust of 13,000 great thousand worlds. The 1,200 chapters of the second volume contain 498,800 gathas, and the 48 chapters of the last volume contain 100,000 gathas. The Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, after having exhaustively studied all worldly literature, went to the Dragon Palace to get Sutras. He had the ability to remember anything, even if it passed his eyes only once. He read The Avatamsaka Sutra while in the Dragon Palace but brought back only the last volume, however, because the first and second volumes were too long.

Although the Buddha spoke The Avatamsaka Sutra for twenty-one days, only the Bodhisattvas heard. "Even though they had ears, they did not hear the complete sudden teaching." Men of the two vehicles, the sound-hearers and those enlightened to conditions, had ears but did not hear the Great Dharma of The Avatamsaka Sutra. Therefore, the Buddha spoke The Avatamsaka Sutra only to teach and transform the great Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas of the ten directions.

Moreover, the men of the small vehicle, the Arhats and Bhiksus, did not even see the Buddha. Therefore it is said, "Even though they had eyes, they did not see Rocana." Although they had eyes, they did not see the ten thousand-foot tall Rocana body which Sakyamuni Buddha manifested. The Rocana body is the complete, full, reward-body Rocana Buddha. We all consider this to be very big, but compared to Amitabha Buddha's reward-body it is very small, 'The white beam of light twists round five Sumerus." The white beam of light mark between the eyebrows of Amitabha Buddha is as big as five Mount Sumerus, "Violet eyes as pure and clear as four great seas, Amitabha Buddha's eyes are as big as four great seas. Most people are unable to imagine the size of one great sea, yet these eyes are as big as four great seas. Enlightened patriarchs of the past, who saw the fine marks and adornments of Amitabha Buddha, wrote gathas such as this praising him. Therefore, compared to Amitabha Buddha's white beam of light and violet eyes, everything else is small. The ten thousand-foot tall Rocana body of Sakyamuni Buddha was certainly not very big.

The Five Periods are described by analogy to milk products and to the course of the rising sun. The Avatamsaka Period is compared to whole milk first drawn from cows. It is also like the newly risen sun which first illumines the high mountains. The Dharmas spoken by the Buddha in this period are like the newly risen sun. High mountains represent the Bodhisattvas to whom he spoke first, because among living beings Bodhisattvas are the highest. The Great, Directionally Expansive Buddha's Flower Adornment Sutra was spoken in the First Period. Of the seven classifications of Sutra titles, this is the "complete-in-one". Great, Directionally Expansive is the Dharma; Buddha is a person; and Flower Adornment is an analogy. This Sutra employs the Sudden and also the Gradual Teachings.

The Agamas Period:

The Agamas were spoken in the Second Period. Agama is Sanskrit and translated it means "incomparable Dharma". All external Dharmas cannot be compared to this Dharma, for it surpasses all of them. In this period the small vehicle teaching was explained.

Whole milk straight from the cow is very powerful, very complete, so it symbolizes the Avatamsaka Period. The Agama Period is like skimmed milk, which is extracted from whole milk. Small children can drink it. During the Agama Period the Store Teaching was taught. The sun has risen 100 feet and its light reaches the dark places in the mountain valleys, where the light of the newly risen sun did not. The smallest small vehicle men and stupid men can understand the Dharma taught in the Agamas.

The Vaipulya Period:

The Third is the Vaipulya Period. Vaipulya is Sanskrit and translated it means "directions equal". Directions means the four directions. During the Vaipulya Period the Penetrative Teaching was taught. It penetrates the former Agama Period and also penetrates the later Prajna Period. It is comparable to cream, which both adults and children can eat without harm. Both small and great vehicle men can study and investigate the Sutras of this period. It is represented by the time between nine and ten o'clock in the morning when the sun illumines both the high mountains and the flat earth.

The Prajna Period:

After the Vaipulya Period follows the Prajna Period. During this period the Differentiating Teaching, which is the initial door of the great vehicle, was taught. It is just here that the teaching enters the great vehicle. The Differentiating Teaching differs from the former Penetrative Teaching, and also from the later Dharma Flower and Nirvana Teaching. The Prajna Period is represented by butter, which is made from cream. Adults can eat it. It is like the time following ten o'clock in the morning when the sun universally illumines the great earth but has not yet reached high noon.

Prajna is Sanskrit, and because it has three meanings and is an honorific term, it is not translated. What are the three meanings of prajna? They are:

1. Language prajna
2. Contemplative illumining prajna
3. Reality mark prajna

Language prajna is the prajna of all the Sutras, Vinaya and Sastras. You cannot say that this is worldly literature; it is world-transcending literature. Conversely, the knowledge gained from worldly literature cannot be called prajna, but only worldly wisdom, worldly knowledge or intelligence.

Contemplative illumining prajna. To contemplate is to visualize, and to illumine is to make bright. You use your wisdom to contemplate and illumine.

Reality mark prajna. The reality mark has no mark. Originally there is no mark: markless, but completely including all marks. All marks flow forth from the markless, and therefore there is reality mark prajna.

Language prajna gives rise to contemplative illumining prajna. You use contemplative illumining prajna to penetrate to your originally existent self-nature's reality mark prajna. This is called prajna.

The Dharma Flower and Nirvana Period:

The Fifth Period is the Dharma Flower and Nirvana Period. This is The Dharma Flower Sutra now being lectured. You should not look lightly upon it, because it is Sakyamuni Buddha's ultimate speech and also the ultimate speech of all Buddhas of the ten directions, the ultimate Dharma-Door. All that which he spoke previously during the Agama, Vaipulya, and Prajna Periods was "for the sake of the real, manifesting the provisional". The Dharma Flower Sutra "opens the provisional and manifests the real", it "nullifies the provisional, and establishes the real". All the former expedient and provisional Dharma-Doors are voided. This is The Dharma Flower Sutra: the Buddha's true mind and body. It is the Buddha's Dharma-Body, the Buddha's response-body, and also the Buddha's reward-body. If those who investigate the Buddhadharma have not penetrated The Dharma Flower Sutra, they have not yet obtained the true, proper taste of the Buddhadharma. The Buddhadharma's wonderful meaning is within The Wonderful Dharma Flower Sutra. Therefore this Dharma is called the Wonderful Dharma.

This Dharma, this Sutra, is compared to a Lotus Flower. The lotus flower is the king of flowers, the most honored of flowers. It grows from the mud but is not soiled. Although its roots are planted in the mud, it rises up through and out of the water. In the dirt it nevertheless leaves the dirt. The lotus flower is the wonderful lotus flower, the most honored of flowers; this Sutra is the ultimate among Sutras. So in Buddhism there are two lines which say, "The Shurangama opens wisdom; The Dharma Flower accomplishes Buddhahood." If you wish to accomplish Buddhahood, you certainly must study The Dharma Flower Sutra. In Buddhism The Dharma Flower Sutra and The Shurangama Sutra occupy the most important positions; however, all other Sutras were spoken for the sake of The Dharma Flower Sutra. It is the king of Sutras. Now we investigate The Dharma Flower Sutra and it is truly ineffably wondrous, most subtly wonderful.

The Dharma Flower Period is represented by the sun in mid-heaven, everywhere illumining the great earth. All the high mountains, mountain valleys, the flat earth, all places are illumined. This is the Dharma-Door of "opening the provisional and manifesting the real". What is the reason for the great affair of Sakyamuni Buddha's entry into the world? It is just for the sake of speaking The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.

Now we can hear The Dharma Flower Sutra and in the future we will be able to completely understand its wonderful meaning. It is surely because we planted good roots in previous immeasurable kalpas that we are able to meet this wonderfully inconceivable Sutra and hold this Dharma Meeting. So this is a most rare and wonderful Dharma Meeting.

The Buddha lived for the sake of preaching The Dharma Flower Sutra. Since we are now able to listen to The Dharma Flower Sutra, everyone should be greatly happy. Think about it. America began so many years ago, but what people have properly and truly listened to The Dharma Flower Sutra and The Shurangama Sutra? There aren't any. They have only looked at the translations. Looking at Sutras by yourself can be likened to an ant running back and forth on the outside of a watermelon, unable to obtain the sweet flavor within. Even if it runs about for a long time, it has no way to know the flavor. Now we have opened the melon, and we are people, not ants. So we can taste the flavor inside the melon.

Of the Five Period's five flavors, the last is ghee, the unsurpassed wonderful flavor of ghee. The Dharma Flower Sutra uses ghee to represent its teaching mark. This is the taste of The Dharma Flower Sutra. It is the world's most rare, most subtly beautiful flavor. Therefore, The Dharma Flower Sutra is like the very best food, nothing is as good to eat. Now we have opened The Dharma Flower Sutra and the flavor is here for each of us to taste.

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