The Sutra of Recollecting the Three Jewels (Part 2)

by Khenchen Appey Rinpoche

What is the meaning of the word “Buddha”? There are two syllables in Tibetan for the word “Buddha.” These are sangs and rgyas. Sangs refers to awakening from sleep. Rgyas refers to the complete blossoming of a flower. Therefore, sangs.rgyas means awakening from the sleep of ignorance and increasing the understanding of knowable things. Therefore, in the Sanskrit language “Buddha” refers to either of those two syllables. However, in Tibetan “Buddha” is translated as sangs.rgyas.

Arya Asanga said that there are three qualities within the word “Buddha.” Since Buddha himself has awakened from the sleep of ignorance, he possesses the perfection of relinquishment. Second, the Buddha causes others to awaken from the sleep of ignorance. So, the Buddha possesses the perfection of compassion. Third, the Blessed One increases his realisation of wisdom. Therefore, Buddha possesses the perfection of realisation which sees all things as they are. In this way, Asanga has explained the term “Buddha” in relation to these three qualities.

Those who have not studied Buddhist philosophy think that studying the Dharma is a very difficult task. For this reason, some of you may think that you are not able to study the Dharma. However, it is not only the study of the Dharma that may appear difficult, but also any worldly matter that you have not studied will not be easy to understand at first. However, if you become accustomed to it, difficult-to-understand worldly matters as well as the study of the Dharma will become easier. There is no task you cannot accomplish if you apply appropriate diligence. We should all study the Dharma. Especially, it is immensely important for the monks and nuns involved in the practice of the Dharma to study the Dharma first. Generally speaking, the study of the Dharma is not something that should be done solely by monks and nuns. It is very important for all humans who aspire to gain happiness and who wish to discard suffering — whether monks or nuns, female or male lay practitioners — to study and practice the Dharma. Some people may have studied and understood the Dharma, but may not have actively engaged in its practice. Still, through the merit arising from merely listening to the Dharma, the seed of liberation is sown within your mind continuum.

The second section or latter part of The Sutra of Recollecting the Three Jewels concerning the Buddha reads, “The Blessed Buddha is the One Gone to Suchness. He arose through corresponding causes of merit and his root of virtue is inexhaustible.” The meaning of this is as follows: Generally, we will not be able to keep this human body forever. One day this body will perish. In that way, even the Shravaka Foe Destroyer who has gained great realisation will also die one day, and his ability to benefit sentient beings is limited. However, even though his physical body may not be present, the enlightened activities of the Buddha remain forever, without disruption, until samsara is emptied.

If someone were to ask, “Why is this so?” there are two reasons that explain why the Buddha’s enlightened activities will endure in this universe. The first reason is shown by the first sentence of this section of the sutra, which reads, “He arose through corresponding causes of merit.” “Merit” refers to virtue. The enlightened activities of the resultant Buddha are the results that correspond to the causes of multiple virtues. Commonly, it is said that there are five different types of results. Among these is “the ripening result of virtue.” It is said that some living beings in samsara may engage in virtues, such as maintaining moral conduct, for the sake of the attaining a human birth in their next life. If they engage in this type of virtue along with making the aspiration, “May I attain human birth in my next life,” consequently they will attain that higher rebirth. This is known as “the ripened result of that virtuous activity.” At that very time the result of that person’s virtue is complete, and it will not carry on further than the next lifetime, whereas at the time when the Buddha was a Bodhisattva, the virtues accumulated through his enlightened activities were not for the purpose of his simply gaining a human rebirth. Instead, he made an aspiration that the results of his actions would benefit all sentient beings. In this way, the Buddha’s activities resulted in “a ripening result of virtue.”

The meaning of the phrase “the result similar to its cause” in relation to karma is explained as [referring to] a result that is similar to whatever action was performed. This is known as “the result similar to its cause.” For example, whatever virtuous action is performed now will result in a similar virtuous action in the future. Likewise, whatever non-virtuous action is performed now will result in a similar non-virtuous action in the future. So, this is known as the result similar to its cause. Therefore, the Buddha accumulates merit by such actions as maintaining moral conduct for the purpose of continuing to perform similar virtuous actions in the future for the sake of all sentient beings. Then, whatever result was gained from that would be turned into an aspiration, such as “May I be able to continue to engage in the practice of generosity for the sake of others” or “May I be able to continue to maintain moral conduct for the sake of others.” The Buddha would make such aspirations so that he would continue to obtain the result similar to its cause.

Since the Buddha has made an aspiration not to waste the root of virtue, his virtue will never be  exhausted. Due to this, it is said that the Buddha and his enlightened activities are never spent. The merit arising from such selfless activities produces great merit that is endless. So, the second reason that explains why the Buddha’s enlightened activities will endure in this universe is shown by the words of the sutra, “his root of virtue is inexhaustible.” So, whatever virtues have been performed to gain Buddhahood for the sake of others are never exhausted.

The ultimate result that you gain by practicing on the path of the Hinayana is the result of a Foe Destroyer. After having attained the state of a Foe Destroyer, your root of virtue is exhausted when you enter into Parinirvana, whereas through practicing on the Mahayana path, you gain the state of ultimate Buddhahood. Having attained the state of a Buddha, the root of virtue never becomes exhausted. All this shows that even after attaining the state of a Buddha, your merit never becomes exhausted.

The subsequent words of the sutra read: “He is adorned with patience and is the foundation of the treasures of merit. His body is adorned with the noble minor marks and decorated with the flower blossoms of the noble major marks. Conforming to the stages of the field of enlightened activities, his appearance is not unpleasant to one’s sight and is delightful to devoted aspirants.” With respect to the Buddha, these six expressions show how he benefits sentient beings by manifesting the various kayas [i.e., enlightened forms].

The first two expressions, “He is adorned with patience and is the foundation of the treasures of merit,” illustrate the causes from which the Buddha’s enlightened bodies are produced. Mainly, there are two causes that are explained. These are the root or main cause and the lesser branch causes.

The root or main cause is the one that produces the overall body of the Buddha. The lesser causes mean those that produce the limbs of the body. The first phrase, “adorned with patience,” refers to the root cause. The second phrase, “the foundation of the treasures of merit,” refers to the cause of the limbs. Generally speaking, the word “patience” means that no matter what difficulties you may face, you do not become angry and your mind does not become disturbed. In brief, “adorned with patience” signifies that the beautified body of the Buddha arises from the cause of patience. Generally, if you meditate on patience, you will gain a beautiful body as a result. In contrast to that, if you display a black face with anger and resentment, you will be born with an ugly body as a result. Not only will that be the result in this life, but also in the next one. The beautiful body of the Buddha is a result of his meditating on patience again and again at the time when he was practicing on the path as a Bodhisattva. Due to that, his body is described as “adorned with patience.”

Anger is a very major fault. It takes us a long time to destroy anger from its roots. Understanding the faults of anger, it is therefore appropriate to think that you should overcome your anger. The practice of meditation on patience must start from today. How are you to meditate on the practice of patience? For example, even if you are being killed by others, you should try not to be defiled by anger. Instead you must try not to engage in harmful, non-virtuous activities of body, speech and mind. This was said by the Buddha. Even if someone robs you of all your belongings, you should reflect upon it with the thought, “By the merit of this generous gift of my belongings, may those robbers themselves become the treasure of generosity.” Instead of letting anger arise, you should try to produce patience instead.

The word “merit” in the phrase “the foundation of the treasures of merit” means virtuous action. The word “treasures” refers to the Buddha’s merit, or root of virtue, being inexhaustible. The word “foundation” refers to the Buddha being the source from which many other merits arise. In brief, this phrase shows that the individual limbs of the Buddha’s beautiful body are the result of the accumulation of numerous merits. It is said that ten times the merit of all sentient beings is equivalent to the merit that is the cause of producing one pore of the Buddha’s body. One hundred times the merit that is able to produce all the pores of the Buddha’s body will produce one of the minor marks of enlightened perfection. One thousand times the merit that produces all the eighty minor marks of enlightened perfection produces one of the thirty-two major marks of enlightened perfection. Among the thirty-two major marks of enlightened perfection, twenty-nine of them can individually be produced by one thousand times the merit that produces all the eighty minor marks of enlightened perfection. Now, ten thousand times the merit that produces each of the other twenty-nine major marks of enlightened perfection will produce the curl of hair located between the eyebrows of the Buddha. One hundred thousand times the merit that produces the curl of hair will produce the ushnisha [the protuberance at the top of the Buddha’s head]. Ten million times the merit needed to produce the ushnisha will produce the “conch of Dharma.” The conch of Dharma seems to signify the Buddha’s voice.

The phrase “adorned with the noble minor marks and decorated with the flower blossoms of the noble major marks” explains the very nature of the main structure of the Buddha’s body. The minor and major marks are the physical qualities that beautify the Buddha’s body. Among these two, the minor marks are the subordinate ones while the major marks are the principal ones. There are eighty minor marks, such as coppery-coloured fingernails. “Adorned with the noble minor marks” means that the Buddha’s body is adorned and beautified by these eighty minor marks.

The major marks refer to the shape of the wheels on the Buddha’s hands and feet, the ushnisha on the crown of the head, and the like. “Decorated with the flower blossoms of the noble major marks” means that, just as any physical body is beautiful when adorned with a garland of flowers, so those major marks, such as the wheels on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, make the Buddha’s body beautiful.

The first part of the phrase “conforming to the stages of the field of enlightened activities” indicates that the Buddha possesses the infinite perfection of enlightened activities.

The second part indicates that no matter what behaviour or activities the Buddha is engaged in, those who behold him always find him attractive, pleasing, and soothing to their minds. In brief, whatever action the Buddha is performing, such as walking, sitting, sleeping, talking, etc., his enlightened activities are calming to the mind of the observer. The second part of the phrase, “his appearance is not unpleasant to one’s sight and is delightful to devoted aspirants,” describes the enlightened activities of the Buddha’s body. When people see the Buddha’s body and observe his behaviour, not only do they think that this “being” is an exceptional one, but also a clear faith and devotion arises within them. Therefore, onlookers always see him as an agreeable sight and not displeasing to look upon.

The [next three] phrases of the sutra, “delightful to devoted aspirants,” “his wisdom cannot be overpowered by others,” and “his powers are invincible,” all demonstrate the types of enlightened activities the Buddha performs for the sake of the different natures possessed by his disciples. The essence of this conveys the idea that the Buddha receives seekers of the spiritual path in different ways. Generally speaking, there are two types of devotees who go to see him. One is the type who sees him out of devotion. The other type of disciple is the one who goes with the idea of competing with him.

The first type, the one with devotion, is further divided into two groups. The first kind is, for example, someone who has only heard about the Buddha but does not know anything about his qualities. So, out of curiosity, that person wants to see what the Buddha is like in actuality. Due to that thought, a seed is planted in his mind that, when ripened, enables him to see the Buddha later. As a result of this, he later goes to see the Buddha. That type of person is known as one who possesses what is known as “desiring faith.” That kind of faith, however, is not desiring faith in the real sense. The reason for this is that it is just a desire to see the Buddha.

Real desiring faith [that of the second kind of disciple with devotion,] is as follows: One hears of the qualities of the Buddha and comes to understand those qualities. Due to that, there arises faith in the Buddha. When this type of faith occurs within a person, it gives rise to the ripening of the root of virtue that already exists within that person’s mind continuum. For this reason that person now goes to see the Buddha. This is the true meaning of “desiring faith.” It is for this reason that two kinds of desiring faith are described.

These are the two types of people who possess desiring faith. When either of them is in the Buddha’s presence, they become very happy. For example, people who engage in meditation experience both great physical and mental joy. Similarly, at the time when people see the Buddha they become delightfully happy. Those people are acknowledged to be delightfully happy with desiring faith.

The subsequent phrases from the sutra, “his wisdom cannot be overpowered by others, and his powers are invincible,” indicate the people who go to see the Buddha with the intention to compete with him. They are also divided into two groups: the first is the person who wants to debate with the Buddha due to that person’s pride in his knowledge of logic among the five sciences. His intention is to defeat the Buddha through his knowledge. The second type of person is one who is physically very strong. This person has the intention of defeating the Buddha through the art of wrestling.

Among these two, the first, the person who wants to defeat the Buddha through his skills in debate, is unable to do so. The reason for this is that the Buddha’s wisdom cannot be defeated by the wisdom of any other living being. The second person is described in the sutra where it reads, “his powers are invincible.” Even though a person wants to physically compete with the Buddha, there is no way the Buddha’s power can be overpowered. The reason for this is that the Buddha’s physical strength cannot be defeated by gods or men. The Buddha’s body possesses matchless strength. There were many people who physically competed with him, but no one succeeded in defeating him.