三宝功德 The Good Qualities of the Three Jewels

修学佛法必须依靠善知识，
In order to learn and practice the Teaching’s of the Buddha, we have to reply on good-knowing advisors.
善知识需要我们主动去希求
We get to take the initiative to seek good-knowing advisors,
必须要有强大的求法的心
and to keep a strong resolution to seek the teaching.
佛法是缘起法
Buddha’s teaching arises in dependence on many conditions.
善知识一心一意想把法传下来
While good-knowing advisors want to carry forward the Dharma wholeheartedly,
作为学人我们必须去求
we, as buddhist practitioners, must pursue and plead for it.  
没有广大的希求心法就传不下来
Without vast desire, we can not carry forward the Dharma.
  
The Master’s Daily teaching
       --- The Good Qualities of the Three Jewels
             Dec. 21，2017

The Buddha knows
all our karma, afflictions and circumstances
entirely, leaving out no details.
Day and night,
The Buddha’s great compassion arises constantly.
 
Be able to develop correct and thorough faith in
all good qualities that the Buddha owns,
and then be mindful of them and reflect them. 
 
If the teaching is not applied to our mind and body,
to our practice and cultivation,
the teaching is merely a principle,
a law,
and has nothing to do with someone like me.
    
The main good quality of the monks
is to practice the Buddha’s teaching,
by which the Buddha’s teaching can be passed on,
spread and carried forward.
 
Reflection:
What are the benefits of understanding the good qualities of the Buddha?
Why do we feel empty and nothing gained in our hearts?
  
(Main text)
What are the good qualities of the Buddha’s speech?
It is often said that
the Buddha explains the teaching with one sound,
and sentient beings each attain understanding according
to their capacity.
The Buddha’s voice
can be heard by every attendee, far and near.
At the opening of each sutra,
at least one thousand two hundred and fifty people gathered,
And there were more, sometimes thousands and tens of thousands in number.
There were also humans, non-humans and eight races of demi-gods and semi-devils , etc.
How did they listen?
Now look，
we have two hundred people here.
Without this microphone,
perhaps those at the back can’t hear me clearly. 
Consider a thousand people. What a large size it was!
How did they solve the problem at that time?
Difficult, wasn’t it?
How did the audience listen?
In the end, each attendee could hear the Buddha clearly.
There is a sutra in Buddhism
called The Sutra of Showing the Tathagata's Inconceivable Secret (Tathagatacintya-guhya-nirdesa-sutra),
which says,
Maudgalyayana, foremost in supernatural powers,
didn’t believe
that the Buddha’s sermon of the teaching with one sound
could enable all beings understand according to their own conditions,
and that the Buddha’s voice
was heard as the same in different places.
So Maudgalyayana used his supernatural power
to try many different places to listen.
Wherever he was, it was always the same
as the voice was spoken just in front of him.
The story is recorded in the sutra.
You see, wherever Maudgalyayana was, the voice was just as clear
as it was spoken before him.
Well, now, with technology.
in fact we can also
make it, am I right?
Now, with computers,
With computers, now,
here, for example, someone is speaking,
whether you’re in America or Europe,
if you contact him on line,
he can hear you in his place.
That is to say, at present,
we can make it even by human power,
Let alone the Buddha,
who is more likely to realize it.
It is easier to explain the point now,
of course, with the help
of technology.
In his day,
the Buddha had already possessed such a great ability.
 
What about the good qualities of the Buddha’s mind?
One kind of the good qualities of the Buddha’s mind,
is the good qualities of knowledge.
The good qualities of the Buddha’s knowledge, the sublime wisdom
that observes the real nature and the diversity of all phenomena
comprehends all all objects of knowledge.
The Buddha looks at the whole universe
as an amala fruit on his palm.
He sees it very very clearly.
The Buddha knows all sorts of karma, afflictions
And all circumstances of sentient beings,
 without omissions.
That is the good qualities of the Buddha’s knowledge.
What about the good qualities of the Buddha’s great compassion?
The Buddha’s compassion
is tied with all living beings.
Seeing all living beings
suffering in the cyclic existence,
the Buddha’s great compassion arises constantly,
day and night,
incessantly.
In other words,
if sentient beings, no matter from which realms
no matter taking what kind of form  
develop the spirit of enlightenment,
they can be consistent with the Buddha easily.
The Buddha knows it (these sentient beings develop the spirit of enlightenment) through ( the good qualities of ) his mind.
What is the good qualities of the Buddha’s enlighted activities?
The three enlightened activities of the Buddha--body, speech and mind, are both spontaneous and everlasting,
benefit all sentient beings，
and do whatever is necessary
to lead all living beings out of cyclic existance.
These are
the Buddha’s good qualities of body, speech, mind and enlightend activities.
Talking about these good qualities,
is for us to know clearly
that the Buddha really has countless good qualities
and countless supernatural powers.
After attaining Buddhahood,
He has benefit the sentient beings.
Since the Buddha has so many good qualities，
we should often be mindful of,
think about
and keep in mind these good qualities.
Then we can always develop faith--
clean and thorough faith
in all sorts of Buddha’s good qualities
Then we need to be mindful of them and reflect on them.
We revere the good qualities of the teaching
and that of the Sangha
in the same way,
with no difference.
Because both the teaching and the Sangha
have connection to the Buddha.
That is to say, only when there is the Buddha
do there exist the teaching and the Sangha.
And when it comes to the good qualities of the Buddha,
in some sense,
it includes the good qualities of the teaching and the Sangha
because the Three Jewels is a whole.
In this respect, it is rather difficult (to understand and practice).
.
It means that in our hearts,
only when we really find the feeling for
and the power of
all the good qualities of the Buddha,
do some kind of real faith come up.
Otherwise,
the Buddha might be just a symbol,
probably just a symbol.
In other words, “the Buddha” is seen just as a Chinese character,
or an English word,
or a Japanese character,
or perhaps an image
in the Great Buddha’s Hall.
What kind of an image
a symbol,
or a pattern the Buddha is ?
It is very possible for someone,
after learning for a while, to regard the Buddha as
a symbol, a character, or a pattern,
but with no idea of the Buddha’s good qualities.
If we don’t recognize the good qualities of the Buddha,
In our hearts we don’t gain anything ,
and our hearts are still empty.
Consequently, faith is unable to be developed.
What about the good qualities of the teaching?
“once you have made respect for the Buddha your primary cause”.
“ you should then recollect the teaching jewel as follows”,
“The Buddha possesses limitless good qualities.”
which is
 said
in The Great Treaties on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment(Lam Rim Chen Mo).
The good qualities of the teaching is the good qualities of cessation of suffering and path to liberation and
the good qualities of the doctrines and realization of the teaching.
The four truths--suffering, accumulation of karma, cessation of suffering and path to liberation
is what the Buddha taught in his first sermon.
The mundane teaching is about the suffering and accumulation of karma,
and the supermundane teaching includes the cessation of suffering and path to liberation.
Then come the doctrines and realization of the teaching.
The doctrines--the theory,
Realization of the teachings-- our whole process of practices,
dharma gate to practice all the teaching.
If we thoroughly understand
these theories and the doctrines we practices，
and genuinely put them into practice,
then our actions
manifest the core meaning of the teaching.
Of course, the teaching covers a wide range, doesn’t it?
The Buddha, the teaching and the Sangha.
Perhaps each sect
has its own explanation of the teaching.
However, if we could not apply the teaching
to our own
mind, body and cultivation,
if the teaching is merely a principle,
or a law,
then the principle and the law of the teaching
have nothing to do with us.
The law is just like the changes of spring, summer, autumn and winter,
or 365 days in a year, going round and round.
If we are not inspired
or enlightened by
the law, or if we can not learn something from it,
then the law
has little to do with us.
In Asia,
the Japanese have a strong idea of time,
measuring time by minutes and seconds,
Whereas some South Asian countries
hold a different idea of time.
People there do not have any sense of punctuality.
As for the good qualities of the Sangha
the good qualities of the monks,
the most important good quality of monastics is，
if they can practice the teaching,
the teaching will be passed on,
the teaching can be spread,
and can be carried forward
and that is the most important good quality of the Sangha