眾生無邊誓願度
煩惱無盡誓願斷
法門無量誓願學
佛道無上誓願成

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Dharma Teachings

09 Nov 2020    Monday     2nd Teach Total 2772

All dharmas abide in their proper positions, and the marks of the world are ever-present.

The Four Noble Truths themselves are conditioned dharmas subject to arising and ceasing, but this principle exists perpetually. Whether or not a Buddha appears in the world, this principle exists. As long as there is the world of the three realms, there is the principle of the Four Noble Truths, and there is the principle of the twelve links of dependent origination. This perpetual existence is vastly different from the perpetual existence of the Ālayavijñāna, and the two must not be conflated. The Lotus Sutra (Saddharma-puṇḍarīka Sūtra) says: 是法住法位,世间相常在。This carries the same meaning. As long as the Ālayavijñāna exists, the marks of the world exist; with the arising of the Ālayavijñāna, wherever there is the Ālayavijñāna there will necessarily be the marks of the world, and there will necessarily be the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths and the twelve links of dependent origination.

As for permanence (常), there is the worldly permanence and the supramundane permanence. As for truth (真), there is the worldly truth and the supramundane truth. To discern exactly which permanence and which truth is meant, one must rely on the context and the semantics, and even more on judging by the meaning rather than by the words alone. Therefore, wise discernment is very important.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra (296), Part One

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Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (I)

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