One of the Ten Titles about Buddha—Supreme-Scholar

 

Author: Tao Qing Hsu (Hsu, Tao-qing)

 

The definition and explanation of Supreme-Scholar

 

The Title Supreme-Scholar—its Sanskrit is anuttara-- is based on and derived from the title World-Understanding. The link is One of the Ten Titles about Buddha—World-Understanding.

 

In The Scripture of the Ten Titles Said by Buddha, it is mentioned that:

Moreover, all the two-legged, four-legged, many-legged and no-legged in the other world, the all heavens of desire and color, the heavens of thoughts and no thoughts, the heavens of neither thinking nor non-thinking, and supposing to be the mortal or the sage, in all these sentient beings, only the Buddha was the first, the most supreme and no grade. It was thus named the Supreme-Scholar.

 

This paragraph “All the two-legged, four-legged, many-legged and no-legged in the other world, the all heavens of desire and color, the heavens of thoughts and no thoughts, the heavens of neither thinking nor non-thinking, and supposing to be the mortal or the sage, in all these sentient beings” means the Three Realm and Six Paths – the Desire Realm, the Color Realm and the Colorless Realm. The Related introduction and explanation you can refer to the link: One of the Ten Titles about Buddha—World-Understanding. The meaning “no grade” you can refer to the link: Let heart in peace, no fear and affliction any more (Updated on 2019/07/11). The content what the link is very abundant, it needs to take time and patient to read and understand it.

 

Realizing the emptiness in the void of heart makes our heart beyond the world.

 

When we realize the emptiness in the void of heart, we will realize there is no grade, no comparison, no binary opposition, no confrontation, no fight, no argue, no competitive and no accusation in our true self-nature. It makes our heart beyond the world. Meanwhile, we will realize that the grade, comparison, binary opposition, confrontation, fight, argue, and competitive, any accusation and any definition are caused by any outside and inside conscious, mind and phenomena, even are to be manipulated by people with intention or cunning smart or scheming mindset. 

 

No matter the mortal or the sage was, in all these sentient beings, only the Buddha was the first, the most supreme and no grade. It was thus named the Supreme-Scholar.

 

Beyond the worlds, there is no grade in the vast, silence, emptiness and void. However, the Buddha was also one of the beings, his heart did not leave the worlds and was able to enter in and go out the worlds freely. Therefore, if we compare what the level of the mortal or the sage in any realm was, such as the ability of saving the self and others, and the blessing, wisdom, empathy, and sympathy, etc., the Buddha was the first and the most supreme. Then, we understand that the first and the most supreme are also meant to no grade. That is because there is no highest rather than it and there is no comparing to each other in the realm of the vast, silence and emptiness.

 

The Buddha’s mind is unattached, as pure and untainted as the void.

 

The Buddha can truly understand that the world of the Three Realms and Six Paths in which is the thought and non-thought, non-perception and non-non-perception, non-boundary and non-non-boundary, non-boundless and non-non-boundless, Buddha-law and non-Buddha-law (Dharma and non-Dharma), permanent and non-permanent, constant and non-constant, non-going and non-non-going, grade and non-grade, non-grade and non-non-grade, etc., and he also knows all transcendental Buddha-law (Dharmas) that it is beyond the worlds of the Three Realms and Six Paths. The Buddha’s mind is unattached, as pure and untainted as the void.

 

How to understand the word Supreme-Scholar?

 

The word Supreme-Scholar also can be understood or replaced by the word Supreme-Gentler, Supreme-Lady, or Supreme-Nobler. We can understand it by the metaphor of the Doctor or Master. For example, those who have graduated from a doctoral program in a university are respectfully called Doctor, and those who have graduated from Buddhist studies and learning Buddha are respectfully called Supreme-Scholar. How to learn Buddha and how to know the basic knowledge of learning Buddha, you can refer to the following link of various articles:

Talk about and Comment on Buddhist Scripture

 

What the wealth and noble the humankind have pursued and owned is visible and obvious, and is the impermanent.

Pursuing to graduate from a well-known university, engaging in an enviable job, earning a lot of money, having a good income, or having the prosperity and the high status in the career, it belongs to the visible wealth and noble. All of these things are impermanent and like floating clouds and bubbles which are easily disappeared at any time. Unfortunately, many people fall from the clouds into the abyss because of greedy and unjust in heart or because of unlucky fate caused by lacking of the good knowledge, wisdom and compassion.

Achieving the Buddhahood is the invisible and hidden wealth and noble, and is the permanent.

When we graduate from the examination of studying Buddhism and learning Buddha, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the sky and the void will show up and come to confirm us. That is, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who have appeared in the ten-direction worlds and beyond the worlds, these graduates, these senior brothers and sisters, will come to confirm us and congratulate us. At this time, we will be conferred the title of Supreme-Scholar. Then, we have the qualify to engage in the vocation of Buddha. Graduating from studying Buddhism and learning Buddha and engaging in the vocation of Buddha is an invisible and hidden wealth and noble. The Buddha indeed owned the huge wealth and noble. It is the permanent. Few people know this. If you are lucky to know it at present, it is good for you to cherish the opportunity to learn Buddha. There is a historic Chinese verse and I translate it from Chinese into English as follows:

 

All in heaven and on earth is not like Buddha,

The ten-direction worlds are also incomparable,

Everything in the world I have seen fully,

There is nothing which is like Buddha.

 

I hope we are able to learn Buddha together, be blessed by all Buddhas in ten directions and go on the path of Bodhi hand by hand, in our each life of the present and future.

All beginning teaching of Buddha is to reform and save ourselves.

 

Author: Tao Qing Hsu (Hsu, Tao-qing) 

 

To reform ourselves so as to save ourselves is difficult, let alone to reform others people and to save them. All the beginning teaching of Buddha is to reform and save ourselves. Only to do so, we are capable to reform human beings and save them.  

Why we want to reform and save ourselves? Do you know? In the world, there is more than a half of human beings who do not have such concept and conscious, let alone to ask the question. They are suffering from the oppression of life and worry about the livelihood day and night. Such events have made their mental seriously disorder. However, even though this, they still don't have a thought to reform and save themselves.

What surprises me is that the mental doctor in hospital and the counselor in university also could not burden their own psychological stress and then suicide. Why they can’t solve their own mental problem? That is because that they don't understand the fundamental problem of birth and death and its methods of resolving in the teachings of Buddha.  It is only when we can realize our fundamental problem of birth and death and its methods of resolving in the teachings of Buddha, it is possible for us to release us from our own mental problem. No matter what kind of religions and ideologies that you believe, and what kind of research or work that you are doing, it is possible for you to realize it from the teachings of Buddha, if you will.  

The "voice" from the void in Buddhism

 

Author: Tao Qing Hsu (Hsu, Tao-qing)

 

About the knowledge in astronomy, physics and science, I am lack of such knowledge. So, I can not explain the Buddhism by this realm. However, I can mention a little thing that still can not be researched or proved by science.

 

In Buddhism, the communication by mind to mind is generally mentioned in the Buddhist scripture. For example, a Bodhisattva might heard “sound ” from the air, from the emptiness, from the sky.

 

Such sound is not a meaningless voice. On the contrary, it is a meaningful guides, instruction, teaching or explaining. It comes from a sense mind, but seems without concrete body. And such sound could be identified clearly by our mind and it could be questioned or thought by us. Furthermore, we can “talk” with them by our mind. Such ability exists in everyone, but, only few people could experience it and understand its existence. According to my practical experience, it is truly no concern about any religion and it is also not any miracle.   

 

If a psychologist or a psychological doctor has no practical experience in Buddhism, they will treat it as a schizophrenic or a psychology disorder. The gods not necessarily talk with everyone, such as we are not talking to everyone. That is the same. Sometimes, we even do not talk with the stupid people. We think it wastes our time. So, do you think the God would talk with the stupid people? Not necessarily, right?

 

We, human beings, would talk to someone who we choose. Sometimes, it is existed some purpose in our mind. The Buddha, Bodhisattva, God, and gods are the same with us at this point. It is very interesting.

 

So, we might have one question, why we can “talk” with the Buddha, Bodhisattva, God, and gods by mind to mind? Or why they can “talk” with us by mind to mind? What? You never have such experience, let alone to think about this question.  

 

On Youtube, we can find many such video to discuss such object or theme about the talking by mind to mind. So, I have found that it is not a secret. Even the aliens also have such ability. In modern science, the scientists have invented a chip which could be planted in our head so we can “talk” with others by mind and without true voice. But, actually we do not need such chip because we already have such natural ability. I can not explain its principle to you because the shortage of my scientific knowledge.

Chapter 12 ﹝18﹞: According to conditions to reform people so as to save them is difficult. (Upddated)

(Chapter 12 ﹝18﹞ ) A Brief Talk about The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha

Co-translators in the time of Eastern Han Dynasty, China(A.D. 25 - 200) : Kasyapa Matanga and Zhu Falan (Who translated the said Scripture from Sanskrit into Chinese. )

Translator in modern time (A.D.2018: Tao Qing Hsu (Who translated the said Scripture from Chinese into English.)

Teacher and writer for explaining the said Scripture: Tao Qing Hsu 

Chapter 12: List the difficulties and exhort to practice   

The Buddha said,” There are twenty difficulties for people. Giving something to others is difficult when people are in poor. Learning the Dao is difficult when people are in the huge wealth and are the nobility. It is hard to the people when they must die because their lives have to be abandoned. Being able to see the scripture of Buddha is difficult. Being born in the time of Buddha is difficult. Enduring the erotic and desire is difficult. Seeing the self-interest and not to pursue it is difficult. No resentment when being humiliated is difficult. When having the authority and not to draw near to ordinary people  is difficult. When contact with things and no heart  is difficult. Learning widely and researching extensively are difficult. Removing the ego-arrogance is difficult. Not to despise the un-learner is difficult. Practicing the equality in heart is difficult. Not saying its right or wrong is difficult. Meeting the good-knowledge person is difficult. Seeing the Nature and learning the Dao are difficult. According to conditions to reform people so as to save them is difficult. Seeing the circumstance and unmoved in heart are difficult. Good at understanding the convenience is difficult.

Chapter 12 ﹝18﹞: According to conditions to reform people so as to save them is difficult. 

According to conditions to reform people so as to save them is difficult. It is the eighteenth difficulty in the twenty difficulties said by Buddha Shakyamuni in this Chapter.

All the beginning teaching of Buddha is to reform and to save ourselves.  

To reform ourselves so as to save ourselves is difficult, let alone to reform others people and save them. All the beginning teaching of Buddha is to reform and to save ourselves. Only to do so, we are capable to reform human beings and save them.   

Why we want to reform and save ourselves? Do you know? In the world, there is more than a half of human beings who do not have such concept and conscious, let alone to ask the question. They are suffering from the oppression of life and worry about the livelihood day and night. Such events have made their mental seriously disorder. However, even though this, they still don't have a thought to reform and save themselves.

What surprises me is that the mental doctor in hospital and the counselor in university also could not burden their own psychological stress and then suicide. Why they can’t solve their own mental problem?

There are four sufferings in human beings. That is the sufferings of birth, aging, disease and death.

Buddha Shakyamuni had mentioned that there are four sufferings in human beings. That is the sufferings of birth, aging, disease and death. In other words, human beings are fall into the cycling of birth and death in the Six Paths and are suffering within the cycle.

The Six Paths is classified as followings:

The Path of Bodhisattva

The Path of Ashura

The Path of Human beings

The Path of hungry Ghost

The Path of animal

The Path of hell

So, we are in the Path of human beings. And whatever who you are, how rich and how smart you are, we couldn't deny that we have to experience the sufferings of birth, aging, disease and death, not to mention those persons who are poor or sick. A wise doctor has said what is packed in the coffin is dead people, not elder people. To suffer the death is not the patent of the elder people. It is possible for humans of all ages to suffer a disease or death, including the infant. 

The generalized meaning of the suffering of birth includes the suffering of life. In the opinion of Buddha Shakyamuni, human beings make a lot of sins because of the surviving and the suffering of life, and also because of no-wisdom. For surviving, the human beings has no-wisdom and generate the heart of greedy, hatred and stupid infatuation, and thus to incur a lot of harm and disaster to oneself and others. That is suffering, too. 

  

"Board " means "save" in Buddhism. 

Let us image that there is a large river. The people live in the left shore are in the sufferings of birth, aging, disease and death. There are also a lot of people who fall into the river and struggling in the river and are also suffering the same. Meanwhile, the people live in the right shore have already liberated from the said sufferings.

There is a ship of wisdom on the river. The people on the ship of wisdom invite the people on the left shore to board the ship and take them into the right shore. In the river, they also put the rope and lifebuoy down to the people struggling in the river and help them board on the ship and also take them into the right shore. In Buddhism, such taking the ferry, such helping process, is called to reform and save others people. If we take the ferry by our own will and arrive the right shore, which is called self-reforming and self-saving. Such is the concept of imagining, describing and metaphor. It lets us easy to understand one of the meanings of Buddhism.

When we have completely reformed and saved ourselves, we then have the strength to reform and save others people.

How to reform and save ourselves? It depends on our own strength of wisdom, the Buddha-nature. That is what the Buddha Shakyamuni wanted to enlighten us and to teach us to know it. When we have completely reformed and saved ourselves, we then have the strength to reform and save others people. How to reform and save others people? It depends on our own strength of compassion and wisdom. In the methods of application, there are four methods said by Buddha Shakyamuni. That is as follows:

Give;

Express by love;

Benefiting action;

Work by together.

The above is called four assimilating-methods or four reforming-methods. To reform and save others people is not easy, because most of the human beings have the stubborn nature and the strong arrogance. When we have not yet been enlightened, we might be one of them and have no such self-awareness.

To practice the four assimilating-methods needs to follow the opportunity and conditions which are changed in the situation and environment, and also needs to follow the change of personal situation and the change of fate of the persons who are in the suffering. It is unable to force them, if we want to reform and save others people by the four reforming-methods. Furthermore, the four assimilating-methods should be based on our four immeasurable inner hearts of mercy, compassion, joy and abandon. 

 

All the teachings of the Buddha have one key point, which is to save all sentient beings and help them become Buddhas.

There is a very important principle that we should know. That is, to cope with the all changing under the unchanging, the Buddha-nature. When we practice the four assimilating-methods, we have to clearly aware our Buddha-nature, and not to be tied and turned by the outer situations or conditions. In other word, we are the master to hold the whole situation.

Some people think that the Buddhist are looked foolish and are easy to bully, or they mistakenly think that the Buddhist might be joyfully to help them. And they then ask the Buddhist to do a lot of things for them, including the things that they do not want to do, or the things that they even don’t use their mind to think how to do, because they think that the Buddhist might not reject their asking. Once facing such situation, we should use our wisdom and aware our Buddha-nature to think how to properly reject their unreasonable asking and how to help them actually.

All of the Buddha’s teaching has one key point that is to enlighten all sentient beings and help them achieve the Buddhahood. In other word, the Buddha’s teaching gives a direction for the sentient beings to learn wisdom so to resolve their own problem. Under the principle, the human beings should be independent to deal with their own problem with their own wisdom, not to dependent others people to resolve their own problem. This is what we should know when we practice the four assimilating-methods to reform and save people.

Let us introduce the four assimilating-methods shortly. That is as follows:

The first assimilating-methods -- Give

There are three kinds of giving. The first is to give the material things for human beings, such as foods, medical, clothes, shoes, houses, cars, money and so on. Such material things could maintain the basic livelihoods of human beings. Of course, it can be extend to give the technical of agriculture or medical, or to give our own time and strength to help people, such as to build a house or a bridge unconditionally. Only basic livelihoods are content, it is possible for them further to learn wisdom and to learn Buddha. Secondly, if people are fond of fortune, we could give them the material things so as to lead them into the wisdom of Buddhism. 

The second is to give human beings the Buddha-law (dharma), such as Buddha’s teaching. If people are fond of listening to the reasons and of thinking, we could give them the Buddha-law so as to lead them achieve the wisdom of Buddha. Furthermore, if we are capable to teach human beings the Buddhism and to teach Buddhism correctly, such merit-virtue is incredible and immeasurable, and is commend and appreciated by the beings of heaven and earth. Why? Because by Buddha’s teaching, it could enlighten the human beings, lead them in the path of light of wisdom, liberate human beings from the suffering in life and death, and finally help them achieve the Buddhahood.   

The third is to give human beings the fearlessness. That is, to help human beings avoid or get rid of any fear, such as in the classic drama, the hero saves the beauty when she is in danger. That is, the hero gives the beauty the fearlessness, and helps the beauty get rid of the frightened. If people are in danger or fear a lot in heart, or are timid, we could give them the fearlessness through the express by kindness so as to help them get rid of the fear.   

In Buddhism, the representative of the fearlessness-giver is Pusa world-sounds-perceiving, Avalokiteśvara. If you have not yet read the previous articles about Pusa world-sounds-perceiving and are interested in Avalokiteśvara, I recommend you to read the following articles: Pusa World-Sounds-Perceiving in Universally Door Chapter or The god of wisdom and benevolence to liberate human beings from suffering. It is one of the translated Buddhist-scripture and its explanation, which is done by me. 

The Second assimilating-methods -- Express by love

If we want to lead the people into the wisdom of Buddhism, we better to express by love, not by rough words. Express by love means to show a feeling, opinion or fact by compassion and kindness. Such express shows our care, is more acceptable by the people and would promote the harmony in the relationship in a group or of each other. When we express by love, don’t ignore the body language. Some body language would warm our heart, such as smile, embrace each other, gently pat the shoulder or gently wave your hand and say hello.

When people feel frustrated in career or feel sad when facing the death of a loved one, we properly express by love which would encourage them and let them feel comfort.

The third assimilating-methods -- Benefiting action

“Benefiting action” is meant to offer help or advantage for the acting of others or benefit the action of others, when we try to help people and lead them into the wisdom of the Buddha. For example, when a young man is goodness and is interested in learning Buddha but he doesn’t have a good career to earn money for maintaining his life, we could support him or offer him a good job so as to let him have a stable life and the capital to learn Buddha. Such act by benefiting is not only to support and benefit him to achieve the Buddhahood but also to support and benefit the all sentient beings to be good, including ourselves, because it is a good cycling of kindness. One day, when this young man has completely been enlightened and the wisdom of his Buddha-nature is also inspired, he would be capable to enlighten and support others and would also benefit the acting of others.

Secondly, giving the sentient beings the convenience or help is also the benefiting action, to benefit the acting of others.   

The fourth assimilating-methods -- Work by together

Work by together means that we go on the path as partner and by accompanying with each other so as toward the same goal and we do something together so as to attain the same purpose. What is the goal or the purpose? It is to reform and save ourselves so as to influence others through wisdom and mercy. By cooperating in the action or work, it is easy for us to know and communicate with each other. 

For the different people, we would offer the different Buddha-law so as to help them into the wisdom of Buddha-nature. There is a lot of convenient Buddha-law which could be applied to help people liberating from the suffering. The four assimilating-methods are one of them, and these are the good assistance.

So, the four assimilating-methods not only could be applied in Buddhism, but also could be applied in different realms, such as the non-profit organization, the group of the social or the international well-beings.

To profoundly learning Buddha, the four assimilating-methods should be practiced well by us. Through the four reforming-methods, it is not only to reform and save ourselves, but also to reform and save others.