The Complete Teachings

The term “complete” means completely marvelous, completely full, completely capable, completely sudden. Therefore, it is called the “complete doctrine.” That is to say, [the complete
doctrine embodies]:

  1. complete suppression [of the five levels of attachment],
  2. complete faith [in true reality],
  3. complete cutting off [of all illusion],
  4. complete practice,
  5. complete stage [embracing all other stages],
  6. complete majesty that is free [from karmic retribution in the midst of a causally conditioned world], and
  7. complete salvation of all beings

Based on the Lotus Sutra and the Yingluo Jing, the sequence of stages on the Bodhisattva Path are:

  1. The Five Preliminary Grades of Disciples
  2. The Ten Faiths
  3. the Ten-Practices
  4. Ten Merit-Transferences
  5. The Ten Bhumis
  6. Preliminary-Enlightenment
  7. Supreme-Enlightenment

We will begin with the Five Preliminary Grades:

  1. The Grade of Joy in hearing the Lotus Sutra
  2. The Grade of Reading and Reciting
  3. The Grade of Teaching the Dharma
  4. The Grade of Mixed Practising of the Paramitas
  5. The Grade of Perfect Practising of the Paramitas

Now within the first Grade of Joy one produces joy from hearing the Sublime Dharma of the Lotus Sutra as well as the contemplation that:

“This mind, the Buddha, and all sentient beings, have no essential difference.”

One contemplates thus:

“This mind is identical to emptiness,

It is identical to conditioned phenomena

It is identical to the Middle.

Enduring phenomenal existence is beyond form, enduring wisdom is beyond conditions.

There are no conditions, and yet everything is conditioned.

There is nothing that is beyond the threefold contemplation [of emptiness, non-emptiness, and middle].

There are no forms, yet everything is formed.

The three truths [simultaneity sameness and difference of emptiness, non-emptiness and middle] are all there is.”

When the mind first realises this it celebrates with joy and causes others to celebrate. Therefore it is called: The Grade of Joy.

Inwardly, by means of the threefold-contemplation, one sees all phenomena as the three truths. Outwardly, by means of the Fivefold Repentance, one is diligent and zealous to complete one’s understanding.

Fivefold Repentance

This has two aspects: one is the principle and the other is practice:

For principle this means that when one wishes to repent: they sit upright and concentrate their mind on True-Reality. Then

“All of one’s sins are like dew and frost that the Sun of Wisdom can evaporate.”

For Practice, during the six times of the day-night cycle, one purifies their thoughts, word, and actions, then faces an image of the World Honoured-One and does thus:

  1. Praise and Pay Homage to all Buddhas in the Ten Directions and Three Times,
  2. Confess of all sins committed since beginningless time up into the present. These include the Five Evil Deeds of killing one’s mother, father, shedding the blood of a buddha, breaking up samghas. As well as the Ten Wrong Deeds of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, abusive speech, speech meant to cause division, useless and timewasting speech, greed, anger, holding on to wrong views,
  3. Entreat the Tathagatas of the Ten Directions and Three Times to Turn the Wheel of the Dharma and Remain in the world for innumerable kalpas to save all sentient beings,
  4. Rejoice in praise of the good deeds done by all beings including from the Avici hell up unto Buddhahood,
  5. Transfer all merit that one has made in practice and in this repentance to all beings so that they may attain Anuttara-Samyaksambodhi,
  6. Make the Four Bodhisattva vows: “The limitless sentient beings I vow to liberate, the innumerable klesas I vow to extinguish, the infinite Dharma-Doors I vow to understand, and the unsurpassed Buddha-Way I vow to actualise.”