28  Not Accepting and Not Seizing

Let’s now discuss chapter twenty-eight—Not Accepting and Not Seizing. Not Accepting means that bodhisattvas do not accept anything like money, fame, name, benefit, or gain—nothing material. Not Accepting refers to not doing anything to obtain the above. Not Seizing means that bodhisattvas do not seek or seize recognition, benefits, pleasure, or anything at all while performing acts of giving. A true bodhisattva acts without any motive, reason, or expectation.

After so long, we are still discussing merits and blessings,¹In this chapter, 福德 is translated as “merits and blessings” because by this point, its meaning encompasses both “merits” and “blessings.” In the first paragraph in chapter 28, 功德 is used and translated accordingly as “merit.” In subsequent paragraphs, 福德 is used and translated as “merits and blessings” instead of the typical “blessings” we use in earlier chapters, as this would convey the meaning more appropriately. Having that said, most people use both terms interchangeably, and don’t differentiate so clearly. using the sand in the Ganges River as an analogy. Sakyamuni Buddha asked,

“Subhuti, in comparison to a bodhisattva who performs an act of giving seven treasures that amount to the multitude of worlds as countless as the sand grains in the Ganges River, another bodhisattva who does good deeds without any notion of self will have more merit.”

In this chapter, the Buddha uses the act of giving to mean good deeds. In performing good deeds, a bodhisattva who comprehends that everything is essentially devoid of self will gain more merit than the one who does not.

What does it mean that everything is devoid of self? It is the dharma of no-self. A bodhisattva holds no notion of self. When I confer the bodhisattva vow, I always tell the precept holders, “By generating the bodhisattva vow, you will always consider others instead of yourself.” The fundamental requirement of the bodhisattva vow is always to think for the sake of others and never for one’s own sake. This is called the dharma of no-self. I remind the precept-holders to constantly keep the benefit of others in mind.

True merit arises when you don’t keep yourself in mind. Conversely, if there is self-interest, then there is no merit. Speaking of merits and blessings, how many merits and blessings are there? Does an act of giving seven treasures that amount to the multitude of worlds as countless as the sand grains in the Ganges River generate merit? Yes, of course. Moreover, if the act of giving is performed without any conditions, the merit generated will be even greater.

“Why, Subhuti? Because all bodhisattvas are not subjected to merits and blessings.”

Bodhisattvas do not think about merits and blessings; therefore, they neither accept nor seize them.

Subhuti asked the Buddha, “World-Honored One, why do you say that the bodhisattvas are not subjected to merits and blessings?”

“Subhuti, because the bodhisattvas are free from greed and desire when generating merits and blessings, therefore, it is said that the bodhisattvas are not subjected to merits and blessings.”

Although bodhisattvas generate merits and blessings, they neither seize nor grasp them. Thus, they are not subjected to merits and blessings. This passage is very simple and does not include the typical “the so-called merits and blessings are not merits and blessings. Because they are not merits and blessings, they are merits and blessings.” Usually Sakyamuni Buddha says it, but not this time.

The so-called merits and blessings are not merits and blessings because they are all illusory and dreamlike—without inherent existence. Due to their inherent nonexistence, they are [true] merits and blessings. By knowing that they are illusory and dreamlike, we neither accept nor seize them. Only then do we call them true merits and blessings. What use are these merits and blessings? They allow us to abandon our dreams and illusions. Ponder carefully!

For instance, I, Grandmaster Lu, have no greed or desire for anything in this world. But I drive a Rolls Royce, a high-end car. [One might think,] how can you claim to have no desire while driving a Rolls Royce? Although I drive it, I fully understand that it does not belong to me, and I simply use the car as a means of transportation. All things in this world are merely ours to use temporarily, and they are devoid of true reality.

I have a Maserati, too, so I have two cars. A disciple wanted to give me a Bentley as well, which they bought and drove to me, but I rejected it. Someone heard about it and said, “What! Why don’t you just accept it? After accepting it, you can resell it.” All I had in mind was that I already had two cars. The Rolls Royce is only driven between my home and the temple. It is parked only inside the garage at the True Buddha Tantric Quarters and the South Mountain Retreat, nowhere else. I drive the Maserati to other places because it’s less conspicuous. If I were to park the Rolls-Royce somewhere, I’m afraid it might disappear. [laughs]

It’s clear to me that this is all just a dream. In this dream, I may be driving such a car, but I have no desire for it, no attachment to it, and I don’t consider the car as mine. I own some valuables, such as a thirty-carat diamond that Marilyn Monroe once wore. I know they are all false, and I have no desire for them. I only occasionally wear these offerings from my disciples; otherwise, they might think I don’t like them, and they might give me even more things.

It’s been a while since I wore any of them, but I took them out recently. I am wearing a diamond Rolex with my name engraved on its face—a gift from the previous board of the True Buddha Foundation. The other day I wore a Patek Philippe platinum watch embellished with diamonds. Do you know how many watches my disciples have given me? For Piaget watches alone, I have ten of them. In addition, seven or eight gold Rolexes have been auctioned to support temples and their ceremonies. All these valuables will eventually be auctioned off for the benefit of True Buddha School temples and the Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation.

All these watches and valuables were offerings from my disciples, including the two cars given by Dharma Sister Hanifa. I have no desire for them and have never bought any. Never! Why not? Because I know they are only with you temporarily. It doesn’t matter how many carats they are; they are meant for temporary enjoyment. You can’t possibly own them forever. Even your own body is not yours. Nothing is yours. If you comprehend this, you will neither “accept” nor “seize.” You can see through the illusory nature of everything. You won’t be greedy for anything as you know it’s all false, with no [intrinsic] reality.

What is the Threefold Contemplation of Tiantai School?²Tiantai School is an East Asian Buddhist sect with an emphasis on the Lotus Sutra and Madyamaka of Nagarjuna Bodhisattva. The first patriarch of the Tiantai School was Venerable Huiwen, who transmitted it to the second patriarch Venerable Huisi who in turn transmitted it to its third patriarch Master Zhizhe. Their teaching is known as One Mind Threefold Contemplation. Why is it called threefold contemplation? Because it focuses on contemplating emptiness, falsehood, and the middle way. What are emptiness, falsehood, and the middle way? The Vajra Sutra, too, talks about emptiness, falsehood, and the middle way, as spoken by Nagarjuna.

Think about it: is the world not unreal and illusory? The world, too, will eventually become nothing. The Earth also goes through the four stages of creation, existence, deterioration, and emptiness, just like our bodies. Over time, everything will become nothing.

So why are you still grasping and clinging to anything? You want to neither accept nor seize. Are you clear on this now? A person with no notion of self knows that things like merits and blessings do not exist. Because you recognize that merits and blessings are nonexistent, you have [true] merits and blessings. These are the merits and blessings that allow you to break free from the emptiness and falsehood of the saha world.

All things will break down sooner or later. My first Rolls Royce, a gift from Master Lian Chuan’s father—Master Lian Xin—broke down, so we sold it. The second car was a Bentley from Dharma Sister Hanifa. I drove it for so long that its manufacturer no longer makes its parts. If it breaks down, it’ll be hard to fix. Although it’s huge, long, and very beautiful, it’s very old, so I returned it to her. [laughs] You can ask the translator, Dharma Sister Hanifa.

Will the current Rolls Royce age and break down? Yes, it certainly will! Then why are you so attached to it? Why do you insist that it is yours and will be yours forever? That is impossible. Cars break down. It seems that diamonds don’t break down, but I hear that some aspects of diamonds also deteriorate.

Why do I wear things like this bracelet and Rolex watch? I have been wearing more of them recently, but not for any reason; it’s just because I feel like it. Normally, I don’t wear any jewelry, but I wear some occasionally because they are offerings from my disciples. I especially wear these two because they have my name, Sheng-Yen, engraved on them. The bracelet, with Sheng-Yen engraved on it in big letters, was offered by a Chinese billionaire. The previous board of the True Buddha Foundation gave me this Rolex watch, also with Sheng-Yen engraved in gold. They are beautiful, right? I wear them because they have my name on them. [laughs] But the reality is, Sheng-Yen does not exist, and it is merely a name. Other than these, I don’t quite remember who gave me what. They were all offered by my disciples since I’ve never bought anything myself!

Grandmaster never desires these things; I know that intrinsically, they are all illusory. I wear them just to show my appreciation for your offerings. If I don’t wear them, you might ask, “Have you given away the things I gave you?” or “Don’t you like them?” Someone gave me a platinum watch, and because I didn’t wear it, they thought I didn’t like it. Then they gave me another Patek Philippe watch, also with my name engraved on it. Well, I liked the watch, but it’s very heavy, so when I did my prostrations, it pressed against my wrist and hurt.

Remember, everything is for you to use only momentarily. Nothing belongs to you forever. You now understand, right? The Vajra Sutra states it very clearly.

“Subhuti, in comparison to a bodhisattva who performs an act of giving seven treasures that amount to the multitude of worlds as countless as the sand grains in the Ganges River, another bodhisattva who does good deeds without any notion of self will have more merit.

“Why, Subhuti? Because all bodhisattvas are not subjected to merits and blessings.”

Of course they do not receive any merits and blessings, because inherently, there are no merits and blessings. Merits and blessings are empty—false, unreal. You can enjoy them while having them to make you feel a bit better and more comfortable, but they are just momentary.

Subhuti asked the Buddha, “World-Honored One, why do you say that the bodhisattvas are not subjected to merits and blessings?”

“Subhuti, because the bodhisattvas are free from greed and desire when generating merits and blessings, therefore, it is said that the bodhisattvas are not subjected to merits and blessings.”

They do not crave these things. Nowadays there are many billionaires in this world, like Bill Gates. He bought that large piece of land with exceptional geomancy, uphill from here, for Microsoft. Back then, we drove from Ballard to this land where the Seattle temple now stands, and we passed through the area. I said, “This land will belong to the world’s richest person!” As it turns out, it is Bill Gates. We drove by the wooded area before Microsoft was there, and I immediately knew that the lot had superior geomancy. I told the people in the car that whoever owned this piece of land would become the world’s richest person. You can ask the second and third [Chen] brothers about this; they were in the car with me.

Microsoft bought the land, and indeed, Bill Gates became the world’s richest person, just as I predicted. Microsoft is also getting bigger and bigger, buying all the surrounding land, and building more and higher office buildings. But do they really own all these things? No, they can only use them for a while. One day, they will belong to someone else.

The richest person is not the richest. Because he is not the richest person, he is the richest person.

Is there a benefit to being the richest person in the world? Not much—perhaps some small benefit. Even Bill Gates has realized this by now. He donates billions of dollars to charity and generates blessings accordingly, which will allow him to go to heaven. He knows that money is only useful in the saha world. Beyond that, it is meaningless.

I often give this analogy of the Moon: What are considered merits and blessings there? What are good deeds? What are bad deeds? What is the most precious thing there? Think about this example as if you are on the Moon. What is the most expensive thing there? What is the cheapest? All is irrelevant! What is good and what is bad? Nothing. What is buddhadharma? What is true dharma, and what is false dharma? It is irrelevant. On the Moon, who succeeds and who fails? Who wins and who loses? Nobody.

In fact, the same applies to the human world. It is just that humans are being deceived by their own eyes; they are creating their own reality. They think things exist, but the reality is they do not!

How should human beings cultivate spiritually to liberate themselves from these empty illusions of the world? Nagarjuna Bodhisattva told me, “Through the middle way.” Only by utilizing the development stage and the perfection stage in dual execution can one abandon the saha world to attain siddhi.

In the previous chapter, where Sakyamuni talks about No Severance and No Annihilation, he teaches us not to grasp onto either nothingness or existence. According to Nagarjuna Bodhisattva, one must maintain the middle way and use both existence and emptiness in dual-execution. Then through purification, one can liberate oneself from the illusory realm.

Such is the principle! But if you do not practice diligently and are lazy and not serious about purifying yourself, you will still be bound to the six rebirth realms—even though they are illusory. You will not be liberated from the bondage of the six rebirth realms and will never escape this illusory realm. This is karma—cause and effect!

Buddhadharma states that in addition to understanding, you still need to utilize this illusory human body to practice in the illusory realm in order to abandon the illusory realm. So one day when you abandon your body, you will also free yourself from the illusory realm. Buddhadharma teaches us how to reach this attainment. And only this is considered an attainment. Do you understand what I am saying?

[Someone asks a question about the Chinese character “ren” in the sutra text. It generally means endurance.] In this context, instead of “endurance,” this character refers to good deeds; it has a broader meaning. In the Vajra Sutra, the Buddha uses the acts of giving to represent all good deeds. As we know, both giving and endurance are part of the six paramitas, and so are precepts, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. But here, in this context, this character represents all goodness and good deeds.

We will continue tomorrow. Om mani padme hum.