Part Three - EXPLAINING THE SUTRA
Content
In studying Buddhist Sutras, some methods have to be used to analyse the nature of the teaching of each Sutra. According to Tien Tai School, the Buddha's Sutras are divided into Five Periods and Eight Teachings.
The Five Periods are:
Within the Five Periods, the Eight Teachings are distinguished:
The Five Periods are:
After the enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha, he spoke the Avatamsaka Sutra for 21 days, but only the Bodhisattva heard it. Those Arhats and Bhiksus of the Small Vehicle did not even see him. So the period of speaking the Avatamsaka Sutra was for the teaching of great Bodhisattvas. The Sutra expounds the Wonderful Dharma of infinite realm of "One Trueness" in the Buddhalands.
Agama, a Sanskrit word, means "incomparable Dharma", for none of the teachings of non-Buddhist religions can compare with it. So, the period of speaking the Agama Sutras was for the teaching of the Small Vehicle, and for those with the lowest root.
Vaipulya, a Sanskrit word, means "extensive". The Vaipulya teaching pervades the former Agama teaching and the following Prajna teaching. Both those of the Small Vehicle and those of the Great Vehicle can study the Sutras of this period.
The period of speaking the Sutras was for the beginners of the Great Vehicle. It is distinct and separate from the Vaipulya period and the Lotus-Nirvana Period. The teaching spoken in this period is basically collected in Mahaprajna Sutra.
This is the ultimate teaching of the Buddha. The teachings of the previous four periods are provisional, manifesting for the sake of the real. The Lotus Sutra was spoken in this period, which opened the provisional and manifested the real.
Sometimes, The Five Periods are represented by an analogy of milk products:
The Eight Teachings are:
The teachings in the Agama Period, i.e. teachings of the Small Vehicle, which is the beginning level of study of the Buddhadharma. From Storehouse Teaching, studying more deeply, one gradually process to the Vaipulya teachings and the Prajna teachings returning from the small towards great and entering the Great Vehicle Dharma door.
The teaching in the Vaipulya Period as it pervades the Agama teaching and the Prajna teaching.
The teaching in the Prajna Period, as it separates from the Vaipulya teaching and the Perfect teaching.
The teaching in the Dharma Flower-Nirvana Period, which is the teaching of One Buddha Vehicle represented by the Lotus Sutra.
The teaching in Avatamsaka Period. One is immediately enlightened in becoming a Buddha.
Also the teaching in Avatamsaka Period. One is gradually and slowly enlightened in becoming a Buddha.
It refers to Mantras. The teaching is transmitted from one person to the other so that each is unaware of the teaching the other has received. Thus it is secret.
The Dharma is taught in an unfixed manner, therefore it is so flexible and "alive" that it separates from all attachments, and is expounded according to the needs of a person.
The Five Periods and the Eight Teachings encompass all of the Dharma the Buddha spoke. After realizing Buddhahood, the Buddha taught the Dharma for forty-nine years in over three hundred Dharma assemblies, and it was all for the sake of The Dharma Flower Sutra. When he spoke the Avatamsaka Sutra, those with the dispositions of the Small Vehicle were unable to accept it. Later, he "hid the great and manifested the small." No longer did he expound the lofty, profound theories, but lead those of the Two Vehicles towards the Great Vehicle. After he spoke the Agamas, the Buddha spoke the Vaipulya Teaching. Progressing step by step, he next taught the Prajna Teachings so that his listeners might gain wisdom. With wisdom, they would be able to graduate to the wonderful Dharma of The Dharma Flower Sutra.
Shakyamuni Buddha labored for several decades, preparing to speak this Sutra. For the sake of the real he first bestowed the provisional teachings, but those provisional teachings were all given for the sake of the wonderful doctrines of the Perfect Teaching, the Real Mark, The Dharma Flower Sutra. The preceding Dharma assemblies -- Agama, Vaipulya, and Prajna -- were all spoken to pave the way for The Dharma Flower Sutra.
3.3 THE FIVE PROFOUND MEANINGS
According to the Tien Tai School, before lecturing the Sutra proper, one first examines its principles by means of the Five Profound Meanings. The five are:
Three of the seven classification are established by reference to either a person, a Dharma, or an analogy:
It is obvious that the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra is established by a Dharma and an analogy. The details in explaining the title of the Sutra has been discussed in the Preface Part 1 Section 1-4.
The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra takes the Real Mark as its substance and so all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Sound Hearers, Condition-enlightened Ones, and all living beings are born from this Sutra. But we have been away too long. We have forgotten our original home, we have forgotten our original mother and so we find the Sutra very new. Having the chance to study the Sutra is like finding the road which will take us back home. Thus, the Sutra takes the Real Mark as its substance.
Why is the lotus flower used as an analogy? Because the lotus blooms and bears fruit at the same time. The cause is the cause of Buddhahood and the effect is the position of Buddhahood. Thus, the Sutra takes the cause and effect of the One Buddha Vehicle as its doctrine.