Sutra text from last issue: The Fire-Ruling Spirit named Thunder Sound…universally contemplated all the multitudes of Fire-Ruling Spirits, and spoke the following verses.

Your study of the Buddha-Dharma should be lively, not stiff and dead. When we are investigating topics together, anyone who has an opinion may express it immediately. It shouldn't be that you would like to speak but don't dare, being afraid to talk even though you want to. For instance, Squash (Pasquali) didn't know which of two questions to ask, and ended up not asking either one. Those of you who have studied the Buddha-Dharma for many years should not hold back or retreat, so that when someone asks a question, no one answers. If you are that way, then the more you study, the more you retreat. That's known as turning back. If you turn back, then you will be overtaken by the newcomers. Therefore, all of you should ask yourselves if you have the intention to retreat. If not, then you should go forward with heroic vigor, not just wait. "If you stand still, you lose two-and-a-half miles." If, for example, the two monks doing three-steps-one-bow were averaging five miles a day, and they stopped for awhile, they would lose two-and-a-half miles. That's the meaning of, "If you stand still, you lose two-and-a-half miles," since you won't be going forward. So all of you should be courageously vigorous and not retreat.

Sutra:
You should contemplate the Tathagata's power of vigor.
For inconceivably vast, great kotis of eons,
To benefit beings he appears in the world,
Dispelling all obstructions of darkness.

Commentary:
I have somewhat "entered the door" now in lecturing the Flower Adornment Sutra, and so I can remember each passage of Sutra text upon seeing it once. I don't need to look at it many times; after one reading, I certainly won't forget it. Therefore, when Dharma Master Miao Qing came here a few days ago and saw that when the electricity went out, I didn't need a lamp and could keep on lecturing, he exclaimed, "You can lecture without having to look at the Sutra text!” and then he knew.

Right now I can glance once at the text during the Sutra lecture and remember it afterwards. This is through the aid of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Flower Adornment Assembly. When you lecture Sutras, you shouldn't just recite the commentary. I have noticed that when you lecture Sutras, you simply read the English version of what I have lectured. That's not right. You should develop your own wisdom. There are places in what I lecture which have not been completely explained, and you should use your wisdom to expand upon them more fully. Look at the meaning, and then, based upon what you have seen through your own wisdom, give your own lecture. You can't simply read what I have said. That doesn't count as lecturing yourself--it's still me lecturing, except that you are reading it aloud. I'll tell you something: when I lecture on Sutras, I don't look at any of the commentaries. Or sometimes I might look through them, but I don't remember them, unlike Kuo Hu. When he heard we would be lecturing the Shastra on Awakening of Faith in the Great Vehicle, he first looked at the Explanation of the Shastra on Awakening of Faith in the Great Vehicle. Of course, that is permissible. But if all you do is look at the works of others, they will never be your own, and eventually you will lose them. You will still forget them. When I tell you to develop your own wisdom, that doesn't mean taking an opposing stance, or protesting against what your Teacher has lectured, pointing out ways in which your Teacher's explanation was incorrect. Since you are so correct, you don't need to study with a Teacher. You can withdraw and set out on your own!

Hence, if you do look at commentaries, you should also add some of your own interpretation. In the present stanza of four lines, when it says, "You should contemplate," ultimately who is saying "you" to whom? And who should contemplate? When it says, "the Tathagata," which Tathagata does it mean? "You" refers to all living beings. Who is speaking? It is the Fire-Ruling Spirit named Treasury of Universally Blazing Light, who was previously discussed. He says, "You should take a look. All of you, look! All you living being should see this." What should you look at? At the Tathagata. Which Tathagata?

Shakyamuni Buddha, who is just Shakyamuni Tathagata. What about him should you look at? At his thirty-two hallmarks and eighty characteristics? No. You ought to observe his power of vigor. The Tathagata's vigor in cultivating the Way throughout limitlessly many past eons was far more energetic and formidable than Kuo Yu and Kuo Dao's vigor now. He could renounce his body, mind, nature, and life. He sacrificed everything, put everything down. He forgot about everything else and only knew how to be vigorous. He pushed out all thoughts of desire, sleep, and laziness, and drove away the Ten Great Demonic Hordes. That was how vigorous he was able to be.

He was vigorous in the daytime, vigorous throughout the night—constantly vigorous in the six periods of the day and night. He was able to cultivate like that without resting or slacking off, but instead applying effort and energetically going forward. He could do things others could not do, such as sacrificing his own body to feed a tiger. If you were to think about it, a tiger is an especially noxious beast, so why feed it? For the tiger to starve to death would mean one less tiger in the world, and one less menace for human beings. Why rescue one? But he was able to give up his own body to save a starving tiger. He was also able to cut off his flesh to feed a hawk. The hawk is also an evil predator which exclusively preys upon other creatures. It's a bandit among birds, the worst kind of bird. But he could slice off his own flesh to feed the hawk. See what kind of power of vigor he had! Which one of you could compare with him ? You just know how to be selfish and self-benefitting, and are unable to benefit others. You only know how to be selfish, and cannot manage to be public-spirited and altruistic-which means you are not vigorous.  

Observe the kind of power of vigor the Buddha has. Truly, for inconceivably vast, great kotis of eons, to benefit beings, he appears in the world. The kinds of doors of practice which he cultivated during vast, great kotis of eons, infinitely many kalpas, are all inconceivable. Why does the Buddha appear in the world? It's in order to bring benefit to living beings that he does so. Why do we appear in the world? We do so in order to harm living beings. Our intention is to take away the benefits which living beings obtain and make them our own. We only know how to be selfish and don't realize we ought to benefit others. We are only aware of ourselves and don't realize there are other people. Hence the Buddha appears in the world to benefit living beings, whereas we do so in order to harm them. Our attitude towards other beings is, "The sooner you die, the better! Otherwise, the things I should be using are all being used by you. If you were dead, I could enjoy a lot more of the material possessions of this world. More would fall to my share." This even goes so far that a son may think, "Father, you have so much money. You should die quicker so the money will be mine. Why haven't you died yet? This is truly a case of someone old who hasn't died being a thief!" You see--the son wants his father to die. Think it over. Isn't it the case that we appear in the world to harm living beings?

The Buddha appears in the world for the sake of living beings, dispelling all obstructions of darkness. He can demolish all of living beings' impediments of darkness and stupidity, their obstacles of afflictions and obstacles of what is known. When all such obstructions which living beings have, their impediments of darkness, are gone, then clarity comes forth and they attain wisdom.The Fire-Ruling Spirit named Treasury of Universally Blazing Light achieved that kind of door to liberation.

Sutra:
Living beings are stupid and give rise to views.
Their afflictions are like a torrent or a blaze.
The Guiding Master expediently extinguishes them completely.
Banner of Universally Assembled Light has this awakening.

His blessings and virtues, like space, are ending.
No limits or boundaries could be found for them.
This is the Buddha's unmoving power of great compassion.
Light Shining awakens to this and is delighted.

Commentary:
Living beings are stupid and give rise to views. Stupid living beings are in the majority, and intelligent living beings are in the minority. There's only one intelligent living being in ten thousand. The intelligent being has proper knowledge and proper views, whereas the stupid living beings produce various sorts of deviant knowledge and deviant views. When the text says, "and give rise to views," it refers to all the deviant views. When beings have deviated views, they have afflictions, but beings with proper knowledge and proper views don’t have afflictions. Afflictions are due to deviant knowledge and deviant views. Their afflictions are like a torrent or a blaze. What are those afflictions like? They resemble a raging torrent. They are like flood waters that flow extremely quickly, uprooting trees in their path and destroying houses and buildings. What else are they like? They are similar to a huge blazing torch whose fire bums things up. Stupidity and deviant views resemble a raging flood, and are also like a fire blazing intensely.  

~ To be continued