Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Overcoming the Five Hindrances (超越五障 得成佛道)
Date: May.24.2018
“If we can deeply understand the marks of transgressions and blessings and causal practice, we will not see the dragon girl as marked by transgressions and suffering, nor will we see the Tathagata as marked by blessings and virtues. With thorough understanding, we will have faith that the dragon girl will instantly attain Buddhahood, without a doubt.”
We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. If we can “deeply understand the marks of transgressions and blessings and causal practice,” this means that the state [we are in] is equal to that of the Buddha. The Buddha’s wisdom is profound, subtle and wondrous. He completely understands all sentient beings’ capabilities, causes and conditions. When it comes to whether their capabilities are sharp, dull, good or evil, the Buddha knows this very clearly. Those sentient beings who do evil deeds suffer in the Three Evil Realms. Others do good and cultivate blessings or even form aspirations and make vows to practice the Bodhisattva-path. With such capabilities, lifetime after lifetime, they make vows to remain in the Six Realms to transform sentient beings. This is having great capabilities. The Buddha understands all of this very clearly. We need the Buddha’s wisdom to comprehend this equality, the nature of True Suchness that all possess which is equal to the Buddha’s. Thus, [the Buddha] did not discriminate against the dragon girl because she was an animal. He could see that the dragon girl was a being with great capabilities. The dragon girl had given rise to Bodhicitta and practiced the Bodhisattva-path. She had already achieved “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions.” Thus, the dragon girl did not have any marks of evil or transgressions. This is what the Tathagata is like; He has already attained Buddhahood. Having achieved the marks of blessings and virtues is to have attained Buddhahood. To attain Buddhahood is to penetrate [the principles]. Naturally, [the Buddha] understood that the dragon girl was not in the animal realm because of negative karma. That was not the case. In the dragon palace, she manifested an appearance so that she could influence the dragons there. The Buddha should have understood this. The Buddha had already attained Buddhahood and achieved the marks of blessings and virtues. Thus, He completely understood the dragon girl. She was not born in the dragon palace because of her karmic retribution, not at all. Thus, she had faith the Buddha could understand; Sakyamuni Buddha would believe “that the dragon girl would instantly attain Buddhahood, without a doubt.” Manjusri Bodhisattva told Wisdom Accumulated that the dragon girl was smart, had roots of wisdom and would attain the Bodhi-path in a moment. However, Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva did not believe it, so the dragon girl suddenly appeared before the Buddha. She praised the Buddha for deeply understanding the marks of transgressions and blessing and believing that the dragon girl had been expounding the Great Vehicle Dharma in the Six Realms. Everyone should still remember this verse. [From this] we understand that the dragon girl cultivated the Great Vehicle Dharma and went to the dragon palace to transform sentient beings. She appeared in the animal realm to transform sentient beings like her. We should understand it this way. This shows that we must understand the depth of the Buddha-Dharma. We have talked about the Five Hindrances that affect women.
Moreover, a woman still has the Five Hindrances: 1. Women are impure, ignorant and capricious. 2. Women are desirous, full of far-flung desires and conceit. 3. Women are weak and the source of many evils. 4. Women are jealous and destructive and envious of virtue and talent. 5. Women are filled with afflictions and dust-like ignorance.
Women have these Five Hindrances because they have many defilements and attachments. Women have habitual tendencies of ignorance and capriciousness. They are very vain. These are their hindrances, which stop them from developing great capacities. “Women are desirous, full of far-flung desires and conceit.” This is the way women appear. Since ancient times, if we look at the way people live in the world, people have created karma because of women. In ancient times, a woman’s charms were often described as leading to the toppling of a kingdom or city. There were also kings who “loved a beautiful woman more than their kingdom.” For the sake of a woman, they did not take care of their country. Women like these made people go astray; they used their seductive appearances to enchant countless people. Due to the [lust] between men and women, many families have been broken apart and fallen into ruin. There are many stories like this in the world, not only in ancient times but also in the modern era. These same kinds of situations are constantly seen in society.
“Women are weak.” They often depend on men for their survival. This is a weakness of women. They are also the source of many evils.
Some women’s mindsets are jealous and destructive and “envious of virtue and talent.” Jealousy is even more common [among women] then among men. Since women truly have such mindsets, whether in their own lives or [the lives] of everyone in the society, things cannot be peaceful and pure.
Women have many afflictions; there are dust-like delusions and afflictions in their minds.
There have been many [example of this] since ancient times. In the sutras as well, we often find such analogies. The Buddha was not belittling women. He was just describing how women tend to have these flaws in their mindsets and in the way they lived their lives. This was not a matter of the Buddha belittling women. See, the reason the Buddha did not want to allow women to join the Sangha was that when men and women live together, troubles easily arise. It was Ananda who was beseeched by the Buddha’s aunt and Yasodhara. The Buddha’s aunt brought maids from the palace. They all took joy in the Buddha-Dharma and wanted to follow the Buddha to become monastics and engage in spiritual practice. But Buddha would not allow them to do so. They begged the Buddha, but He refused. So, Ananda begged the Buddha. “You aunt raised You, the prince, to adulthood. Her kindness should be repaid. She has the aspiration to be a monastic. In Your compassion, please accept her!”
The Buddha told Ananda, “Ananda, it is not that I am unwilling. It is that if women join the Sangha, they will cause the Sangha’s determination to deteriorate.” But Ananda [replied], “Didn’t the Buddha tell us that all sentient beings are equal? There are many women in the world. If they too can engage in spiritual practice, can’t their state of mind be changed?”
The Buddha [answered him], “Ananda, since you have stated it like this, [I must consider] both compassion and the Dharma. According to the Dharma, it is not allowed. No Buddhas in the past allowed this. But the Saha World is hard to endure and full of suffering. This is where the Five Destinies coexist. So, there is nothing to be done; sentient beings in the Saha world have so much karma. It is very unfortunate. Therefore, He allowed it. However, the precepts for female monastics had to be more numerous than those for male monastics. Thus, at that time, the Buddha allowed it very reluctantly. Therefore, now in our time, we must be very earnest and work hard. As monastics, we must manifest the appearance of great men and carry out the work of great men in our actions.
Otherwise, it will be like what Sariputra told the dragon girl. “I am a great man. When I talk, I can persuade everyone to renounce their unenlightened mindsets and transform their states of mind to enter the door of the Buddha’s teachings. They can renounce the ordinary to become noble. But you are non-human and moreover female. With a female body, you have so many hindrances. Thus, to believe that you can very swiftly attain Buddhahood is truly difficult.” This is what Sariputra told the dragon girl. He was speaking of the Five Hindrances. These “Five Hindrances” actually refer to so many different hindrances.
In fact, we talked about this yesterday. The Buddha had made this arrangement for Wisdom Accumulated to stay so that Manjusri Bodhisattva could show everyone how he had transformed the dragon girl in the dragon palace. During the conversation between Wisdom Accumulated and Manjusri Bodhisattva, the dragon girl suddenly appeared. Wisdom Accumulated then understood that the dragon girl was not like others, and that she was not an ordinary being but a practitioner of the Great Vehicle. She spread the Great Vehicle Dharma and willingly transformed sentient beings in the Six Realms. Wisdom Accumulated understood this.
But do we understand it? We still do not understand. Because of this, Sariputra, for the sake of future [beings], helped everyone understand even more clearly. Why do women have the Five Hindrances? Why are they looked down upon? He brought up the matter of the Five Hindrances. This was something Sariputra did for sentient beings in the future. Unenlightened beings have the Five Hindrances, and amidst these Five Hindrances, women also have another Five Hindrances. Apart from what we mentioned just now, they also have the restrictions of mundane ethics. Women have had to comply with “the Three Subordiantions and Four Virtues.”
This means that in their family, they must obey their fathers. After marriage, they must obey their husbands. When their sons grow up, they must obey their sons. Thus, they do not have any freedom. They must always depend on someone. They depend on their parents, husbands and sons. Thus, they have no choice but to obey them. This is what referred to the above; women also have such hindrances. Later, there is another set of “Five Hindrances” due to women’s mindset. This [explanations] is intended to help women give rise to a mindset of vigilance. We women [should be] just like the dragon girl who manifested in a female body but practiced the Great Vehicle and spread the Great Vehicle Dharma.
By mentioning these Five Hindrances, he was hoping to get women to give rise to a mindset of vigilance. Once they know they have these hindrances, they must quickly give rise to Bodhicitta, engage in the practices of the Great Vehicle and promptly seek to attain liberation.
Being in the human realm, though we have female bodies and appearances, we can still practice the Bodhisattva-path. On the Bodhisattva-path we can see how Guanyin Bodhisattva, for the sake of transforming sentient beings, manifests in the form of a woman. When she manifests, she is often seen in the form of a woman. So, lay Bodhisattvas can also be women. How can we say they all have these Five Hindrances? The Five Hindrances we just mentioned might not always be present. Women can also be compassionate. They can eliminate affliction and bring purity to their minds. They can have firm resolve, willing to practice goodness and engage in spiritual practice. Female lay practitioners can also do many good deeds in the world, going among people. Women can also be free of desires and willingly help people.
Looking back at the construction of our hospital, if not for those women, those Bodhisattvas who all formed aspirations to work together, how could the Tzu Chi we know today exist? We began with 30 women; that is why Tzu Chi Foundation exists today. It was the same when we built the hospital. There were many female lay practitioners who listened to the sutras and had faith. They knew how difficult it would be for me to build the hospital, so they formed “the Heaven of the Thirty-three.” 33 women [worked together] to donate. Every month, together they donated enough to be named an honorary board member and took turns [signing the donation].
These are women; they had the wisdom to form such aspirations. Some women also [said], “I don’t have money right now, but Master wants to build a hospital and urgently needs money. I am willing to borrow money from people. If you can give me TW$300,000 now, I will work for you for three years.” This was how they accomplished this. Were they desirous? Were they full of far-flung desires and conceit? They were not! They humbled themselves to work for others. This was what these women did.
Who says that women are weak? When we first started doing international disaster relief, it was not just men who went there. Women went too. When we were in Cambodia for disaster relief, the government mobilized armored vehicles to lead the way because there were many landmines in the ground. Monastics such as De Rong also went there in person. Male and female lay practitioners alike graveled by jeep, following behind the tanks. This is how they went to do disaster relief.
There are also cold and snowy [places]. Qinghai province is so high in altitude that the men were afraid of altitude sickness. Several monastics and lay practitioners went there. I could name so many names. They stepped onto that cold and snowy landscape. They went there as well. How can they be said to be weak? They are just as resolute in doing good deeds. There is no evil in them; they solely do good deeds. This is how they have been able to pave a path on the vast Chinese mainland. Now, in China, many people have joined Tzu Chi. If, more than twenty years ago, these brave women did not go there with goodness, how could [Tzu Chi be there] today?
So, are women jealous and destructive? Are they envious of the virtue and the talent? They are not. They are also recruited and transformed a great many Bodhisattva. So many Tzu Chi commissioners go out to transform sentient beings, to recruit Living Bodhisattvas. They have recruited many virtuous and capable people from society to join them in doing good deeds. International disaster relief work and so on is done by male and female lay practitioners as well as monastic Bodhisattvas, who walk with them [on this path].
So, how can we say women have many afflictions? Now, everyone is united in the resolve to bring purity to people’s hearts. Think about it! Women are Living Bodhisattvas. In so many matters, everyone is giving of themselves in this way. We all just need to be vigilant. The Buddha and Ananda put their heartfelt efforts into warning women that they must be able to endure hardship, willing to uphold precepts and earnestly do their duties. When it comes to romantic relations, people must carefully safeguard their own minds.
[Becoming a monastic is called] “destroying one’s original form and leaving one’s family and loved ones.” When we become monastics, we destroy our original form and leave our families. After being ordained as monastics, we now serve within Buddhism. When we become monastics, our master is our closest relative. We leave our families and loved ones to enter the Tathagata’s door and take on the Tathagata’s mission. Isn’t this the work of great men? Is Sariputra really the only one who could transform people with the Dharma? This is not the case! In summary, we must constantly be vigilant of our own mind. So, knowing we have these hindrances, we must be earnestly vigilant, give rise to Bodhicitta, engage in the practices of the Great Vehicle and promptly seek to attain liberations. We must understand this.
Yesterday we talked about the boy named Brahma who was Bhadra Bhiksuni [in this life]. She engaged in spiritual practice in the Buddha’ Sangha. As she was sitting in meditation, she smiled. Everyone was curious and asked [why]. She told them about her past lifetimes, how in many lifetimes very funny things happened. [This started] when the boy Brahma saw how everyone’s attention [turned] to a very beautiful woman. “How come everyone’s gaze shifted from me to [that woman]? Fine, I shall make a vow that, for lifetime after lifetime, I will be a woman.” Because of this, he made offerings to the Buddha, he reverently made offerings to the Buddha and prayed for seven days and night. Thus, Vipsayin Buddha fulfilled his wish. He was born [as a woman] in the heaven realm. There, she created [a conflict] as some male heavenly beings kept pursuing this woman. Everyone fought to get her, fighting against each other. Later they said, “We should compete in the arts, instead of fighting with force. We should debate in writing.” In the end, one of them won [her].
At this point Bhadra Bhiksuni said that her hindrances were to have “enticed them to go astray and start fighting.” Women’s bodies truly have severe karmic obstacles. “It is what tempts us [that matters] but our giving in to temptation.” So, for this woman, she faced severe karmic obstacles and “enticed [people] to go astray and start fighting.” In this world, such things constantly happen. “The fall of a kingdom or a city can be caused by a woman in this way. Just for the sake of obtaining a beautiful woman for no other reason, [people] stir up great unrest. Bhadra Bhiksuni told many such stories. She told not just one story but many.
Then she said, “The boy at that time who made offerings of treasures to Vipasyin Buddha was none other than me, Bhadra Bhiksuni.” She felt her past lifetimes were very amusing. She went through all this for many lifetimes, always born as a woman. Finally, in this [life], she awakened and engaged in spiritual practice. She became a monastic and began to practice the Great Vehicle Dharma. This was Bhadra Bhiksuni, one of the bhiksunis in the Buddha’s Sangha. Thus, we can see and understand that a woman’s body can lead to very great troubles.
So, previously we said, “The path to Buddhahood is vast and long. One must undergo countless kalpas of diligence, hardship and cumulative practice and perfect the cultivation of all Paramitas before attaining it. Moreover, a woman” has “the Five Hindrances.”
To engage in spiritual practice takes such a long time of earnest and diligent spiritual cultivation. We must “actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions” in order to attain Buddhahood. Moreover, a woman has so many hindrances. We have “the Five Hindrances.” Apart from the Five Hindrances for women that we just discussed, there are also the Five Hindrances that prevent [women] from attaining Buddhahood.
“One, they cannot become King Brahma. Two, they cannot become Sovereign Sakra. Three, they cannot become Kind Mara. Four, they cannot become a wheel-turning sage king. Five, they cannot become a Buddha. How can you, as a woman, possibly say that you will swiftly attain Buddhahood?”
This is what Sariputra said. Women have Five Hindrances. They cannot become King Brahma. They cannot become Sovereign Sakra. They cannot become King Mara. Women cannot become any of these. They also cannot become a wheel-turning sage king. In addition, a woman cannot become a Buddha. “You are now a woman, and you say that you will swiftly attain Buddhahood.” So, Sariputra could not believe. Why are woman unable to attain these five positions? “One, they cannot become King Brahma.”
One, they cannot become King Brahma. This refers to how King Brahma in the causal ground upheld the precepts and virtues. He attained a superior retribution and became a heavenly king. As for women, the vessels of their bodies contain desires and defilements, so they cannot become King Brahma.
“One, they cannot become King Brahma.” This is because King Brahma in the causal ground “upheld the precepts and virtues.” He upheld the precepts and cultivated virtues, so “He attained a superior retribution.” This is why he was born as King Brahma. This was due to his causal practice. But how about women? Women cannot do this. “As for women, the vessels of their body, women’s bodies, have desires and defilements, great numbers of defilements. In the past, when people prayed to heaven, women were not allowed to hold the offerings. It had to be men doing the worship. In the past, this was the case. Because women’s bodies have defilements, they “cannot become King Brahma.” Because of this, they cannot become King Brahma.
“Two, they cannot become Sovereign Sakra.” This is because “Sovereign Sakra is courageous with few desires. [He] upheld the precepts and virtues, so he became a heavenly lord.” But women “have many vices and desires, so they cannot become Sovereign Sakra.”
Sovereign Sakra, when he was in the human world, was courageous and diligent; he upheld his precepts and cultivated virtues. He did many good deeds and strictly upheld precepts; this was how he could be born in the heaven realm. To become Sovereign Sakra, he had to go through this process, but women “have many vices and desires.” Their minds are complicated and have many desires. We talked about this before. Many consumer products in society are for women. Whether in street [markets], department stores and so on, all these retail outlets are for women. Thus, “women have many vices and desires, so they cannot become Sovereign Sakra.” They spend all their money on themselves. These consumers do not know the importance of doing good deeds. They are filled with desire.
“Three, they cannot become King Mara.”
Three, they cannot become King Mara. This refers to how in the causal ground, King Mara was replete with the Ten Good Deeds. He revered the Three Treasures and was filial toward his parents. Women are frivolous, arrogant and jealous and do not abide by the right practices, so they cannot become King Mara.
“In the causal ground,” King Mara was “replete with the Ten Good Deeds”. He especially “revered the Three Treasures and was filial toward his parents.” Because of this, he was replete with the supreme precepts and supreme goodness. What about women? “Women are frivolous, arrogant and jealous and do not abide by the right practices, so they cannot become King Mara.”
“Four, wheel-turning sage kings.” [They] cannot become wheel-turning sage kings.
Four, they cannot become wheel-turning sage kings. This refers to how wheel-turning sage kings in the causal ground practiced the path of the Ten Good Deeds and showed compassion to all beings. Thus, their retribution was to become wheel-turning sage kings. Women lack compassion and do not engage in purifying practices, so they cannot become wheel-turning sage kings. To become heavenly lords like these, one must perfect purifying practices. But women produce afflictions and all kinds of defilements contaminating their wisdom, so they cannot become [heavenly lords].
The wheel-turning sage kings, in the past, in the causal ground, must have cultivated the path of the Ten Good Deeds. They must have “showed compassion to all beings.” When a person is a king, to lead his people, he must feel compassion for them. He must help them live in peace and guide them toward the right path. Such a person is a “wheel-turning sage king.” “Women lack compassion and do not engage in purifying practices.” If we do not engage in purifying practices and also lack compassion, we cannot become wheel-turning sage kings.
So, it is said that women’s minds are very narrow. They cannot expand their minds to do good deeds. So, “to become heavenly lords like these,” one must “perfect purifying practices.” They absolutely must perfect purifying practices. What about women? They “produce afflictions and all kinds of defilements, contaminating their wisdom.” Thus, they cannot become the kings we mentioned. This is impossible for them, because they lack pure minds and pure practices. They still have many afflictions and defilements, so they cannot do this. So, it is impossible for them to become the kings we mentioned before.
What about attaining Buddhahood? They also cannot become a Buddha.
Five, they cannot become a Buddha. This refers to how Tahtahgatas practiced the Bodhisattva-path, had compassion for all beings with empathy and freed their minds of defilements and attachments. Thus, They were able to attain Buddhahood. Women’s karma of body, speech and mind remains entangled in passion and lust, so they cannot become Buddhas.
Why is this? “Tahtahgatas practiced the Bodhisattva-path, had compassion for all beings with empathy and freed their minds of defilements and attachments. Thus, They were able to attain Buddhahood.” The Buddha must uphold a single aspiration throughout countless lifetimes. His mind must be very clear and pure. He must engage in spiritual practice for a very long time. His mind must be free of discursive thoughts and defilements. He must have compassion for sentient beings and be of no defilements. To do this, He must engage in spiritual practice kalpa after kalpa with a very steady mind. He must be replete with actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. Only then can He attain Buddhahood.
And what about women? “Women’s karma of body, speech and mind remains entangled in passion and lust.” These are the tendencies women have. They like gossiping, instigating conflict, taking advantage of others and so on. Therefore, many subtle afflictions like these, defilements of ignorance, are found in women. In particular, women tend to be entangled in passion and lust. Some people describe women as snakes. If one is ensnared by a woman, one will be trapped. So, women “remain entangled in passion and lust, so they cannot become Buddahs.”
This is very lamentable. Life is truly lamentable! Are women really like this? In fact, we just talked about women. The Buddha often talks about equality. But women need to take action themselves. They create so much ignorance and so many afflictions for themselves. So, “how can you, as a woman, possibly say that you will swiftly attain Budddhahood?” There is so much ignorance and so many afflictions that women create for themselves and so many afflictions. Since this is the case, how could a woman attain Buddhahood?
How can you, as a woman, possibly say that you will swiftly attain Budddhahood?: Here Sariputra was attached to the provisional and the Small, so he found it hard to believe in the Wondrous Dharma of the Great Vehicle. He hoped to break through the doubts from the provisional and was willing to learn the true path.
This [shows that] “Sariputra was attached to the provisional and the Small, so he found it hard to believe in the Wondrous Dharma of the Great Vehicle.” The Buddha made use of Sariputra‘s biases to break through his doubts from the provisional. He still had this Small Vehicle hindrance of being attached to appearances. This is “the provisional,” meaning the Small Vehicle. Small Vehicle Dharma practitioners are still attached to appearances. They practice “emptiness” but lack “wondrous existence,” [They practice] emptiness but have yet to reach “true emptiness.” The Great Vehicle requires us to transcend this. The Buddha had surpassed the nine realms, so He no longer had [attachments to] appearances. All it takes only one thought of True Suchness. Then our nature of True Suchness will clearly manifest. The nature of this mind is that of a Buddha; how can we say we cannot attain Buddhahood? Thus, “He was willing to learn the true path.” [The Buddha] hopes we can hear the Tue Dharma.
So, [Sariputra] stated above that “Women are incapable of attaining Buddhahood.” Without engaging in long kalpas of spiritual practice, “it is impossible to attain Buddhahood.”
In summary, [Sariputra] stated above that women are incapable of attaining Buddhahood, and furthermore that without engaging in long kalpas of spiritual practice, it is impossible to attain Buddhahood. This was what Venerable Sariputra had learned when the Buddha taught the Three Vehicle teachings. Because he had yet to fully eliminate his dust-like afflictions, he was still caught up in this kind of discriminatory mindset and attachment to the Dharma.
[Sariputra] still had this mindset and those habitual tendencies.
This was due to Sariputra’s provisional teachings and his state of mind. Take Bhadra Bhiksuni, for instance; just due to the arising of a single thought, this boy, for lifetime after lifetime, was always born as a woman, passing through countless kalpas. This was truly very difficult. She kept engaging in spiritual practice, always bound to a woman’s body. This continued until finally she had the causes and conditions to make up her mind to enter the Buddha’s door, manifest the appearance of a great man and begin to practice the Great Vehicle teachings. She was also able to attain the Six Spiritual Powers. As she sat down, she could see her past throughout countless lifetimes. Thus, she felt it was very funny.
It was because [that boy] gave rise to a single thought, which caused what had happened to him, resulting in so many [afflictions.] Through countless kalpas, her bodily form caused so many afflictions and much ignorance in the world. Sariputra wanted us to know more of these things.
Thus, “[this was what] Venerable Sariputra had learned when the Buddha taught the Three Vehicle teachings. Because he had yet to fully eliminate his dust-like afflictions, he was still caught up in [discrimination] and attachment to the Dharma.” This was the case; he was still in the Three Vehicle teachings. He was still a Hearer.
Although the Buddha had bestowed predictions on him, he had not truly put [the teachings] into practice. He had begun to say, “I will form aspirations,” but he was not there yet. Thus, as these dust-like afflictions were not yet completely eliminated, he still lingered in a discriminatory mindset and in attachment to the Dharma.
The Samadhi Sutra says: By cultivating purifying practices and the four dhyanas, one will become King Brahma. Those who are excessively lustful and indulgent will receive female bodies. By being courageous with few desires, one will become Sovereign Sakra. Those who are vain and ostentatious will receive female bodies. By being replete with the Ten Good Deeds and making reverent offerings to the Three Treasures, one will become King Mara. Those who are frivolous, arrogant and defiant or disparage the right teachings will receive female bodies. By walking the Bodhisattva-path and having compassion for sentient beings, one will become a wheel-turning king. Those who do not engage in purifying practices will receive female bodies.
The Samadhi Sutra says, “By engaging in purifying practices and the four dhyanas, one will become King Brahma. Those who are excessively lustful and indulgent will receive female bodies.” They cannot become King Brahma. So, “by being courageous with few desires, one will become Sovereign Sakra while those who are vain and ostentatious will receive female bodies.” This is what spiritual practice is like. If we have limitless desires and lust, we will be born as women. “Vain and ostentatious” [describes] female bodies. They cannot become any of these heavenly kings. Therefore, “by being replete with the Ten Good Deeds and making reverent offerings to the Three Treasures, one will become King Mara while those who are frivolous, arrogant and defiant or disparage the right teachings will receive female bodies.” Female bodies come about in this way.
If they “walk the Bodhisattva-path and have compassion for sentient beings, they will become wheel-turning kings. But, “those who do not engage in purifying practices will receive female bodies.” “Those who do not engage in purifying practices” will become women. “Only by perfecting the Bodhisattva-practice will we be able to attain Buddhahood.”
Only by perfecting the Bodhisattva-practice will we be able to attain Buddhahood. Women who do not engage in these practices cannot become Buddhas. Upon hearing of these obstructions, women must renounce their female bodies and engage in spiritual like great men. Only then can they attain Buddhahood.
We must truly practice the Bodhisattva-path and “actualize it in all actions.” Then we can attain Buddhahood. Thus, it is because women lack these practices that they will always be women and “cannot become Buddhas.” If women have limited capacities, they cannot attain Buddhahood. So, “women must renounce their female bodies and engage in spiritual practice like great men. Only then can they attain Buddhahood.”
Thus, we must be very mindful. We must understand that women’s many hindrances come about when we have many afflictions. We often [display] appearances that truly entice people’s minds toward this world of sensual pleasures where [people’s] hearts are not tranquil. Thus, “it is not what tempts us [that matters] but our giving in to temptation.” This all [originates] with women’s bodies. These kinds of enchanting appearances entice [people] and bring about much confusion in their thinking. In fact, all we are saying is that these behaviors stop us from attaining Buddhahood. We are not saying that women cannot attain Buddhahood. If we engage in spiritual practice, naturally we will be transformed. Thus, we must continue to observe how the dragon girl transformed herself to attain Buddhahood. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)