After the successful World Peace Gathering on October 12 and 13, 2024, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the delegation of the Compassionate Service Society visited the ecological forest known as Penglai River Ecological Park in Nanzhuang Township, Miaoli County on October 16. This touristic site is renowned for its unique natural beauty, featuring streams flowing through beautiful pebbles, along with various animals, birds, fish, insects, and walking trails. Most notably, the forest is well-preserved and remains intact.
The following talk was given by Dharma Master Hằng Trường during the hike in the forest.
Look at the trees around you, each with unique shapes, sizes, and heights. Many of these trees are very old. The vines reach up, entwining around the neighboring trees. Look, that large tree stands strong, providing support for the others. Viewed through a spiritual lens, this forest symbolizes humanity in a microcosm.
In a sense, our delegation is like the trees in this forest. Some are tall, strong, and ready to lend a hand to those in need, while others are shorter and weaker, sometimes struggling to navigate difficult paths and seeking help. Their appearances are entirely different, and their personalities and social classes vary as well—some are rich, others are less fortunate.
In Penglai Forest, when there’s no wind, the trees stand still, motionless. But when the wind blows, all the trees lean in the same direction; they don’t jostle or obstruct one another but breathe together, all in harmony, with the same rhythm.
It’s common knowledge that at night, trees release what?
- Carbon dioxide
- And during the day, they release?
- Oxygen.
Thus, the forest acts as the lungs of the Earth, providing us with oxygen and refreshing the surrounding area. Trees don’t obstruct each other; each tree grows independently and allow others to live. Similarly, in our society, we shouldn’t think we’re smarter than others; we must understand that everyone has different life circumstances and unique lives. We must allow people to live their life without expecting others to live like us. Each time I guide a group visiting a forest, I remind them to practice like the trees in a forest.
Living together, we must know how to accommodate each other to achieve harmony, as if we were all living in the same forest. The Buddha said that larger trees absorb more water than smaller ones. Each tree needs just the right amount of water to thrive. Likewise, each person comprehends the Dharma differently. Some have studied with me for five, ten, or even thirty years, yet their understanding varies. Some grasp the teachings after only a few years, while others may study for ten years with little insight!
In a forest, if a storm approaches on one side, the trees will sense it and send signals through the underground network of fungi. The fungi transmit information underground, allowing all trees to know that a storm is coming.
• When one becomes a Bodhisattva of the Ten Abodes, one starts connecting with others, like a tree in the forest connecting with its nearby companions. The Ten Abodes Bodhisattva serves as a home where one connects with those around, similar to the parents and their children in a family.
• The mind of the Ten Practices Bodhisattva is broader, linking with many others to form a cohesive community. Though just a part of the community, one feels close to everyone, as if in a large family. If someone in the group is ill, the whole group dedicates their merits and sends love. Or, if someone is facing difficulties, the group gather to send her well wishes or check in with her.
The Ten Practices Bodhisattva has a broader concern, greater awareness of those around and extensive relationships. The whole group of Ten Practices Bodhisattvas can read signs (like trees in the forest reading signals transmitted through their roots), knows what’s about to happen to help each other’s lives improve.
In the forest example, the Ten Practices Bodhisattva sees himself as the forest, connecting with all the trees within it.
The Ten Practices Bodhisattva practices the Ten Paramitas (from the Avatamsaka Sutra): Generosity, Ethical Conduct, Patience, Diligence, Meditation, Wisdom, Skillful Means, Great Vows, Great Strength, and Great Wisdom.
• The Ten Transferences Bodhisattva identifies himself not just as the forest but the entire universe of all that inhales and exhales. The mind of the Ten Transferences Bodhisattva is highly sensitive, instantly connecting thoughts with everyone, creating a vast, profound, and subtle network, as if all beings in the forest are one entity. Sometimes, if a part of the forest is destroyed, the remaining part feels forlorn, or if the forest is disturbed, the bees will come to see who has harmed the trees.
The mind of the Ten Transferences Bodhisattva is so attuned that one’s mind connects with others. For example, when I think we should provide disaster relief services, instantly, sister Lani might dream that I urged her to go help. Sister Mai Ly might hear a message in her mind saying, “We should go help.” Sister Mai Beck might spontaneously think, “I should call sister Dan Thanh to see if she has any plan to provide relief.”
Thus, the idea of helping spreads rapidly among the Ten Transferences Bodhisattvas through thoughts. There is an invisible network connecting minds together. Therefore, when you meditate and attain deeper concentration, your mind connects beautifully with all others.
• The Ten Grounds Bodhisattva (or Ten Bhumis Bodhisattva) is even more profound because he connects not only with sentient beings but also with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. He helps us connect with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas so that they immediately manifest in our consciousness, preventing us from getting trapped in thoughts, emotions, or the physical challenges of existence.
That’s why I love creating Mandalas, as they represent the most important signature of the Ten Grounds Bodhisattvas, inviting the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to connect with all sentient beings. Without the Mandala, we remain ordinary people.
Hence, when you enter this forest, don’t think of it merely as a place to admire the scenery; recognize that you are still at the Ten Abodes level, meaning you are still concerned with the physical body and connecting over food and drink. At the Ten Practices level, connections are made through emotions and the heart, transcending the need for food, and physical presence; love and the Bodhi mind radiate, leading to a light and pure consciousness. At the level of the Ten Transferences, thoughts link together into a vast network. At the level of the Ten Grounds, one connects spiritually with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Thus, our practice ascends through levels, and we come to this forest to learn this lesson. Presently, you need to practice communicating with and befriending those travelling on this trip with you.
What do you see as essential for all these trees to survive?
- Soil, Water, Wind, Fire
- All answers are correct.
But without water, the trees will die!
Water!
Can you hear the flowing water? There’s plenty of rain and water here. So let’s rejoice, and once again, let us send the consciousness of the Ten Bhumi to all beings here.
What is that seed of light? It is the seed GA, and let’s chant the mantra with the tune that I have created.
Jye Meng. Om, Wa Dz La, Wei La Ye, So Po Ho.
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