Assignment 4 - Nancy Chu

The Land of Ultimate Bliss Is Right Before Our Eyes

A talk given on the morning of June 14, 1958

“I am going home! My fields and gardens are choked with weeds. Why should I not return? My mind has been my body’s slave; how sad and lamentable! I realize that the past is gone, but I can certainly rectify what is to come. I have not actually strayed too far from the path. I have awakened to today’s rights and yesterday’s wrongs.”

These sentences were spoken by Mr. Woo (Tao Yuan­ming). But I don’t know whether at the time he spoke these words he had truly enlightened to their meaning, because, when regarded in the light of the Buddhadharma, these sentences tally with the ultimate principle.

What does “I am going home” mean? We know that the self-nature of the Dharma body comes forth from the constantly tranquil light of the Buddhas of the ten directions. The Sutras say, “All living beings have the Buddha nature.” Our basic nature is not different from, not distinct from, the Buddha. If it were not this way, then it could not be said that “all have the Buddha nature.” Now we are unable to understand and become enlightened to our self-nature because we are defiled and scattered by the five desires and the wearisome dust of the Saha world. We state of no emptiness and join the dust. Therefore we cannot awaken to our own minds and recognize our own basic natures.

But we certainly should not continue to be so submerged and upside-down. We should return to our source: we should turn our backs on the dust and unite with enlighten­ment. Therefore, the words “going home” remind us to return to our original face, to our original home. Also, perhaps, the words “going home” can mean we rely on the strength of a Buddha or Bodhisattva; by means of the merit of reciting that Buddha’s or Bodhisattva’s name, we can be born in the Pure Land.

After one has awakened to one’s own nature and been born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, one makes great vows to turn the boat of compassion around and come back to the Saha world to rescue living beings. This is what is meant by “coming back again.” In the line, “My fields and gardens are choked with weeds,” what do the “fields and gardens” refer to? “Fields” refer to the field of the mind. The principle here is very obvious. We often use the phrase “suddenly clear away the underbrush” to refer to the gaining of new insight. If we do not cultivate the mind well, our minds become a thicket of scattered thoughts, just as fields and gardens become overgrown with grass and weeds if not tended. These scattered thoughts choke the good field of the mind. As long as you have not “cleared away the underbrush,” you cannot return to the source or understand your mind and see your nature.

(http://www.cttbusa.org/talks_on_dharma/ultimate_bliss.htm)

When I was away in college I sometimes visited the cttbusa website to read some of the Ven. Master's Dharma talks. It was like medicine; many times, when I was feeling down or confused or uninspired, I would read one of Shifu's talks and take heart. This particular excerpt is just one that I liked reading; there are many more on the website. I like being able to read the Ven. Master's teachings; unlike the recordings or watching a video, it is easy to do it at my own pace and on my own time, and I can look for passages/sections that are especially relevant, helpful, or interesting for me.