Dharma Outline????5-2 Do you think our body is more powerful than mind? 您認為我們的身體比思想更強大嗎

(English Subtitles) 佛法修學概要, Lectured by Master Jìng Jiè (淨界法師) from Taiwan.
Subtitles:
[70] What three methods did the Buddha use to preach the Dharma?
Let’s look at the second paragraph. Why is the Buddha’s dharma so difficult to understand? Because when the Buddha revealed the Dharma, he did so through countless expedient means. The Lotus Sutra states that the Buddha taught the truth through three methods, three expediency:
The first is to preach the Dharma through language. For simple principles, if you have a high level of aptitude, he will directly guide you through lecture. For example, when the Buddha spoke of the Four Noble Truths. What is suffering? What are its causes? What is its cessation? What is the path to liberation? The Buddha directly communicated with you through language and words. This is the first type of situation.
Second, the Buddha lecture on cause and condition.
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The lecture on cause and condition means that although some people understand the truth, they still have doubts in their minds. The Buddha then tells them stories from his past and some facts that happened in the past. For example, the Buddha said the principle that good deeds bring about joyful fruits, while bad deeds bring about miserable fruits.
The Buddha would explain that someone in a past life had done some good deeds, which led to his current reign; or someone in a past life had committed crimes, which led to his end in hell. He would give real-life examples.
For example, we see something in the scriptures where the Buddha wants to explain that our mind, have the greatest power among body, speech, and mind. The Buddha once said to a heretic: Which do you think is greater, the power of our body or the power of our mind? The heretic said that of course the body has greater strength.
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If I want to move a stone, I must take action and use my body to move the stone. Buddha said: You are wrong. The power of the body is limited, but the power of the mind is unlimited. The power of the mind is greater. The heretic was not convinced and said: Can you give me an example?
Buddha said: “For example, if you kill people with your body, you can only kill them one by one, but if you kill people with the power of your mind, you can kill a whole city of people in an instant.”
The heretic asked: "Do you have any basis for what you said?" At that time, there was a stone mountain in India, which was made entirely of stones.
The Buddha asked: "Do you know where this rocky mountain came from?" The heretic replied: "I don't know."
The Buddha said: In the past, there was an immortal who practiced the way in the mountains. He had already achieved the fourth level of meditation.
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He had a wife, and they were married before he began to practice. After getting married, the immortal practiced cultivation, and his wife supported him and cooked for him. The wife was very beautiful. One day, when the king was on tour, he saw the beautiful woman and forcibly grabbed her away. At that time, the immortal was in a state of meditation. Afterward, he came out of meditation and was hungry. Alas, there was no food today because his wife had disappeared.
He entered into a state of meditation, and as soon as he was meditating, he manifested divine power and he realized that it was the king who had abducted her. The immortal went to the palace and argued with the king, saying: “Please return my wife to me.”
The king said: “You are a practicing immortal, you don’t need a wife at all.”
He said: “I need to eat, so I still need my wife.”
The king refused to give her back, and the immortal got very angry.
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He went to his wife and said, "If you keep recalling my name in your mind tonight, you will be fine."
Therefore, one should not offend a spiritual practitioner. After he returned, he sat in meditation, and by evening he had entered the fourth level of meditation. You should know that when one enters the fourth level of meditation, his mental strength is extremely strong.
He recalled the city and the king's palace, and he used his mental power to transform stones. Then the stones fell from the sky like rain according to the scriptures, destroying the entire palace and the city.
Of course, this immortal committed a serious sin because of a single thought of anger. As a result, his wife was safe because she recalled his name.
This means that when the Buddha was explaining profound truths, especially when they contradicted our way of thinking, he would use past causes and conditions to prove the truth with facts.
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It is to use those past facts to prove difficult-to-understand theories. This is what the Buddha sometimes talk about cause and condition.
The third one is lecturing metaphor. The Buddha employed numerous metaphors to convey principles that are difficult to comprehend. For example, regarding the Three Realms, we live in this world and feel that it is a happy place.