Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Summoning Up Great Patience to Transform Beings (難可教化 當起大忍)
Date: June.06.2018
“Medicine King and the 20,000 Bodhisattvas diligently sought the Dharma. They were the cause for and the target of the Chapter on Dharma Teachers. Moreover, Great Joyful Eloquence was the recipient of the teachings in the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures. They heard the Tathagata proclaim that He was about to enter Parinirvana and that, for the sake of the Dharma, He sought people who would make vows to advance the sutra. Thus these great beings made vows.”
Dear Bodhisattvas, please be mindful! Medicine King and Great Joyful Eloquence, these two great Bodhisattvas, led “the 20,000 Bodhisattvas [to] diligently seek the Dharma.” We have discussed this previously. In the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, Sakyamuni Buddha treated Medicine King Bodhisattva as the recipient of the Chapter on Dharma Teachers. This was someone whose capabilities were [great] enough to teach the Dharma to. He used this Bodhisattva with great capabilities to narrate the Chapter on Dharma Teachers about the merits of upholding, transcribing, reading and teaching the sutras. “They were the cause for and the target of the Chapter on Dharma Teachers.” The Buddha had Medicine King as His target when He began teaching the Chapter on Dharma Teachers.
So, “Moreover, Great Joyful Eloquence was the recipient of the teachings in the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures.” In the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures, the stupa of treasures appeared and a loud voice came from within the stupa. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva really looked forward to seeing Many Treasures Buddha, who spoke from within the stupa of treasures. This was the request of Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva. The Buddha made use of Great Joyful Eloquence; to be able to promptly raise [the request], he had to be the “recipient of the teachings.” He possessed these capabilities. He asked the Buddha to open the door of the stupa of treasures. Then the Buddha said, “Before I open the door of the stupa of treasures I must first gather all of my multiple manifestations.”
This part was very exciting; He was gathering the Dharma, the Dharma-body. Everyone calmed their minds and contemplated, recalling the Dharma that [the Buddha] taught in the past. This represented the gathering of the multiple manifestations from the ten directions. The Buddha’s Dharma-body and many manifestations are the Dharma that the Buddha taught. When we listen to [the Dharma], take it to heart and are able to make use of it, [we are] the Buddha’s many manifestations; the Buddha’s Dharma and His Dharma-body have turned the Dharma-wheel into our hearts. He hoped for all people to gather their thoughts and return them to their place. This is why Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva promptly asked the Buddha to open the stupa door.
So, the Buddha gathered His multiple manifestations. These [events] are all closely interconnected. So, this is why this stupa can be so comprehensive. “They heard the Tathagata proclaim that He was about to enter Parinirvana and that for the sake of the Dharma, He sought people.” Whether in the Chapter on Dharma Teachers or the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures, the Buddha indicated He would enter Parinirvana, and that the Dharma must be transmitted. The Buddha-Dharma must be transmitted, and those who will shoulder the task of accepting the Dharma must also quickly come forward. They must have heartfelt sincerity and accept it willingly. Thus, this was what the Buddha had been hinting, that there was not much time left before He would enter Parinirvana.
The Buddha-Dharma, especially the Lotus Sutra, is the Buddha’s original intent. For the Buddha’s original intent, there must be people who can resonate with the principles and the Dharma, who can accept it and then transmit it. This is why the Buddha earnestly recruited people for the sake of the Dharma. For this reason, Medicine King Bodhisattva and Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva led these 20,000 people who shared the same mission and formed great aspirations. They were willing to sincerely make vows, to “make vows to advance the sutra. Thus, these great beings” truly and diligently “made vows”. They were willing to accept this sutra and transmit the Dharma to future generations.
This is why we must mindfully review [the teachings]; this is also how to gather the Buddha’s multiple manifestations. We must quickly gather all of the Dharma. In the Lotus Sutra, from the Introductory Chapter to the Chapter on Skillful Means, all the chapters are closely interconnected. We must constantly review them to comprehend their spirit and principles so that we can accept and transmit the Dharma. This requires us to be mindful, to be sincere and to make vows. Now we see how Medicine King, Great Joyful Eloquence and the Bodhisattvas who shared the same mission came before the Buddha to make vows.
A previous passage said, “We only hope that [the Buddha] will not worry.” This means that though the noble path is recorded in writing, the power to spread and advance it lies with people of wisdom. If these people could not be found, the words would fade away to nothing. If none of them could understand this sutra, then it would not be practiced in the world. All living beings would drown in the Eight Sufferings. This is what the Buddha was worried about.
Thus, a previous passage said. “Who only hope that [the Buddha] will not worry. Venerable Buddha, please do not worry. All of us are willing to make vows before the Buddha. We are willing to accept Your teachings and forever pass them down to future generations. Venerable Buddha, You do not need to worry! In the future, this Dharma, the noble path, will be recorded in writing. In the future, the noble path, the Buddha’s teachings, will be gathered and complied together. It will be recorded in the sutras and will be continually passed down for a long time.”
In the midst of all of this, naturally, “The power to spread and advance it lies with people of wisdom.” People who form great aspirations have this power. They hope that this Dharma will be constantly passed down thought this sutra to inspire people to form broad perspectives and make great aspirations and vows. These people with the power of great wisdom will be to continue to transmit this sutra generation after generation. Time and time again, such people with the power of great wisdom will be able to discover [the teachings] and will be willing to make great vows. So, the Buddha did not have to worry. “If these people could not be found, the words would fade away to nothing.” [He worried] about being unable to find people to “spread and advance it.” This requires an open mind and great wisdom. If He could not find such people, people would be unable to pass on the Dharma.
Therefore, He had to seek people with broad perspectives and the power of great vows. So, the noble path must always be recorded in the sutras. It cannot only be transformed verbally. In the future, the noble path must be recorded in the sutras for it to be continually passed down. Otherwise, if it is only transmitted verbally but there is no one who attains the teachings will gradually weaken and fade away. In this way, the words will fade away to nothing.
So, “If none of them could understand this sutra, then it would not be practiced in the world.” If this sutra is recorded in the world but no one attains such great wisdom and no one’s capabilities resonate with it, then it will be impossible for it “to be practiced in the world”. Although people may be studying the sutra, or, as the Chapter on Dharma Teachers states, transcribing, reading or teaching the sutra, if their capabilities do not resonate with it, they will not put the Dharma into practice. They may be able to teach or transcribe the sutra, but they will not put the Dharma into practice. While the sutra is in this world, if it just stays written down [on paper], it will be useless.
Indeed, when I see this passage, I think about how people print many copies of the sutras and store them in cabinets. Nobody takes them out to read, or they read them but do not take joy in them and are unable to put them into practice. Then, no matter how many copies of the sutras are printed, they will still be useless. This is because “The sutras are path,” and “this path is a road to walk on”. We must put the sutras into practice. So, the sutras are recorded, but they must resonate with people’s capabilities so people can put the Dharma into practice. Only then can they effectively manifest their function in the world. “All living beings would drown in the Eight Sufferings. This is what the Buddha was worried about.” Sentient beings drown in the Eight Sufferings of birth, aging, illness, death, parting from loved ones, meeting those they hate, the raging Five Aggregates and other sufferings. All these are sufferings in the human realm; this is what noble begins worry about, so we must work hard to be mindful.
Though we are 2000 years removed from the Buddha, the sutras are still recorded in black and white. We must mindfully accept and apply His teachings. Every word is a treasure, and every phrase is wondrous Dharma that nourishes our wisdom-life. Therefore, we can treat this sutra as the wondrous medicine for treating the world. If we do not know how to apply it, then it will be useless. So, we must mindfully seek to comprehend it, Why was the Buddha so worried? Since He was getting old, the Dharma had to be transmitted and preserved. To transmit and accept the Dharma, “these people had to be found”. They had to be willing to comprehended, understand and put the teachings into practice. They had to have virtue and the Dharma to be able to transform sentient beings. Otherwise, sentient begins would always be lost in confusion, drowning within the
Eight Sufferings.
Next, let us look at the previous passage. “The future evil age” refers to the future, the future after Sakyamuni Buddha. “In the future evil age, sentient beings roots of goodness will become few. Many will become overbearingly arrogant and crave offerings of wealth. Their roots of unwholesomeness will increase, and they will stray far from liberation.”
Medicine King Bodhisattva knew about this and Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva also knew about this. Although they asked the Buddha to not worry, they also said that the future world will be an evil world. Sentient beings’ roots of goodness will constantly become fewer. If their roots goodness become few, they will gradually develop unwholesome tendencies. They have the Five Great Hindrances, greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt are the great hindrances [that people face] in accepting the Dharma in the world. They are greedy, so they crave offerings of wealth. They have an angry and ignorance temperament, and indulge in offerings of wealth. When they attain a tiny amount of Dharma, they become overbearingly arrogant, with the eight kinds of pride and seven types of arrogance; many forms of pride and arrogance will appear. These are the great hindrances that [people face in] accepting the Dharma. So, when they renounce the lay life to engage in spiritual practice, they will still “crave offerings of wealth”. This sutra passage [is something] we spiritual practitioners must mindfully seek to comprehend. We must absolutely be mindful and vigilant. Otherwise, “Roots of unwholesomeness will increase, and [we] will stray far from liberation”. We must be very mindful.
The next sutra passage goes on to say, “Although it is difficult to teach and transform them, we will all summon up the great power of patience. We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound, transcribe it and make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives”.
Everyone heard the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, and knew that this sutra must be passed down continuously. In the human realm, sentient beings in the future will have poor capabilities and they will be stubborn and difficult to transform. So, those who have begun to make vows to advance the sutra and the teachings will also have to awaken first.
Therefore, they said, “We will all summon up the great power of patience”. These 20,000 Bodhisattvas began to say, “We are all mentally prepared. Sentient beings in the future will be stubborn and hard to train. We are prepared for this. We must be prepared with the power of patience. We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound, transcribe it and make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives. We will treat it as something more important than our lives”.
So, “although it will be difficult to teach and transform them” means that “No matter how stubborn or evil sentient beings of the future may be, we are not afraid”. Thus, “For people like these, although they are difficult to expound the Dharma to and are hard to train and teach, even if they feed the Ten Evils in themselves, no matter how much evil they develop or how difficult it is to train and teach them, we are not afraid”. So, “We will all summon up the great power of patience”. In other words, “All of us must summon up the great power of diligence and patience. We must all be more diligent. These sentient beings are so stubborn. They crave fame and offerings of wealth, have boundless greed and are unwilling to accept the Dharma’s teachings. With sentient beings such as these, we are all the more willing to summon up the great power of diligence and patience”.
We will all summon up the great power of patience: Sentient beings in this world are stubborn and difficult to transform. All of us must summon up the great power of diligence and patience. Summon up the great power of patience: Only deeply experienced Bodhisattvas who have attained the power of patience can read and recite [this sutra].
“Summoning up the great power of patience” cannot be achieved by the average person. Only “deeply experienced Bodhisattvas” [can do it]. This means that they must have been trained throughout many lifetimes. Only Bodhisattvas who form these aspirations, very experienced Bodhisattvas, will be able to do this. If they had not “attained the power of patience”, they would be unable to “read and recite this sutra”. There would be no way for them to have the patience to study and read this sutra. They cannot just read and forget about it; they must also deeply understand its meaning. So, they have had to mindfully comprehend and understand it. Thus, “We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound and transcribe it“.
We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound and transcribe it: 1. Teachers who read. 2. Teachers who recite. 3. Teachers who uphold. 4. Teachers who expound. 5. Teachers who transcribe. These are the five kinds of Dharma teachers.
This sutra must continue to be passed down, but in the Buddha’s time, there was no printing. So, it depended on people memorizing the sutra line by line, word by word, with constant mindfulness. The Buddha’s teachings had to be recorded. Therefore, first is teachers who read, and second is teachers who recite. Whatever the Buddha taught, we must keep it in our memory. Third is teachers who uphold. Not only must we memorize it, we must also put it into practice. We must take good care of the sutra. To take good care of the sutra, in addition to transcribing the Buddha’ teachings line by line, word by word, we must also carefully recite each line as well. Reciting is not enough; we must also put it into practice and constantly share the Dharma with everyone, “expound” it. The more we expound, the more familiar we are. We can help others apply the Dharma and also gain a deeper understanding of it. We can put it into practice. We must expound the Dharma in this way, and we must also transcribe it. These are the “five kinds of Dharma teachers”. Teachers who read, teachers who recite, teachers who uphold, teachers who expound and teachers who transcribe the sutra are the “five kinds of Dharma teachers”.
Thus, we “make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives”. This means we must have reverent sincerity as we expound, read, recite and transcribe the sutra. This represents our offerings. “Offerings” here refers to our sincerity in how we sincerely read, recite, expound, transcribe and so on. No matter how hard it is, we will not be afraid.
[We will] make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives: Those who advance and uphold [the sutra] must cultivate all kinds of reverent offerings, patiently endure all kinds of evils and horrific appearances as they undergo hardships to walk upon this path. So it says even at the cost of their lives. For the sake of the Dharma, they would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives or wealth.
There are “those who advance and uphold the sutra”. We need the sutras to have the Dharma to expound. Only when we have Dharma to expound can we teach and transform sentient beings. So, it is essential that the sutras remain in the world. For the sutras to remain in the world, we need people to willingly form aspirations to uphold the Dharma over many generations. Thus, “one must practice all kinds of reverent offerings”. This is essential. If we do not make all kinds of reverent offerings and have no sincerity, then we will be unable to put the Dharma into practice. Thus, we “must patiently endure various evils and horrific appearances”. Do we all still remember? Purna Maltrayaniputra made a vow to the Buddha He vowed to expound the Buddha’s Dharma and transform sentient beings of the world. Without any fear of mortal danger, he went among those people. Those people had horrific appearances. Their appearances were very evil. Thus, though he underwent suffering and hardship, he was still not afraid. That is how he expounded and spread the Dharma. Thus, we must form great aspirations and “patiently endure various evils and horrific appearances”. No matter what they looked like and no matter how much hardship he experienced, he was willing to put the Dharma into practice upon this path. He advanced without ever retreating on this path, constantly progressing forward, “even at the cost of his life”. This was all “for the sake of the Dharma. For the sake of the Dharma, [he] did not hesitate to sacrifice [his life] or wealth”. For the Dharma to continue to be passed down, he was willing to sacrifice everything to protect the Dharma so it could be passed on in the world. He did not even hesitate to give his own life. Since he did not hesitate even with his own life, He spread nothing. The “Six Evils” appear often as well. For the Dharma to be implemented in the world, we must be able to endure. What must we endure? When it comes to obvious appearances, there are the Six Evils.
Though people of the Six Evils are difficult to train and transform, we all must rely upon patience and perseverance to further summon up the strength to uphold the sutra. That which must be accepted and taken in, we must accept and take in; that which must be tamed and trained, we must tame and train. We must not hesitate to sacrifice our lives to uphold the Dharma.
“Though people of the Six Evils are difficult to train and transform, we all…”. “We all” refers to Medicine King Bodhisattva, Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva and the 20,000 Bodhisattvas. They said, “We are all forming great aspirations. We are making great vows that we shall persevere and endure through these Six Evils and further summon up the strength to uphold the sutra. The more evils there are, the more strength we will have to patiently endure.”
This is spiritual practice. When the Buddha encountered Devadatta, the Buddha still felt grateful because Devadatta’s evilness helped Him attain Buddhahood earlier. By the same token, the more evils there are in the human realm, the more we need the dedication of Bodhisattvas. To dedicate ourselves to this evil world, we need strength, which we gain from [experiencing hardship]. The Six Evils are not just outside of us; we must pay attention to ourselves as well. The Six Evils are hidden with us; there are called the “Six Thieves”. We have the Six Thieves by our side. These Six Thieves, the “Six Evils, what are they?”
The Six Evils: These are the Six Thieves. When we encounter the Six Dusts of form, sound, smell, taste, touch and thought, the Six Roots of our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind become the means by which we rob ourselves of our own treasure. Thus they are compared to thieves. For a person of the principles, their eyes do not see form, their ears do not hear sound, their nose does not smell fragrance, their tongue does not taste flavor, their bodies keep away from comfort and their minds are free of deluded thoughts. This is how they escape the Six Thieves.
In this world, “form, sound, smell, taste, touch and thought” are called the “Six Dusts”. All of us have “eye, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind”. If these connect to external states, then the “Six Roots become the means”. The Six Roots and the external Six Dusts come together. With these external states of forms and sounds, it is very difficult to control our minds. That is why we give rise to greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. It is all because our Six Roots connect to the external Six Dusts, giving rise to our greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. These are just like six thieves who constantly “rob us of our won treasure”. We all have an ocean of enlightenment hidden within us. When it comes to the hidden treasure with us, our innate enlightenment hidden in our hearts, our nature of True Suchness, our wisdom, we are innately replete. However, we let ignorance and afflictions [cover it]. Ignorance and afflictions arise when our Six Roots connect with the external Six Dusts. In this way, they disturb our minds and cause our minds to continually give rise to the states of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. Thus, they are compared to six thieves. These six thieves are the evilest, and that is why they are called the “Six Evils”.
There was once a spiritual practitioner engaging in spiritual practice beneath a tree alongside a river. He had already been practicing for 20 years. During these 20 years [of practice] in that place, he had a hard time controlling his chaotic mind. This caused him many afflictions. He wanted to engage in spiritual practice, but he could not control his mind. He could not put a stop to his worldly desires, and he had many afflictions. The Buddha knew about this. This person clearly could be transformed. He aspired to seek the Dharma, but he had discursive thoughts and could not eliminate worldly desires. The Buddha knew about this, so he walked toward this man and sat down next to him beneath the tree. They saw a turtle crawling around on the sands by the river bank. They also saw a jackal, which is similar to a dog. The jackal came closer, saw the turtle and immediately tried to bite the turtle. But the turtle was even faster, as it withdrew its head and feet into its shell. The jackal tried to bite the turtle, but its shell was just too hard. So, they [stood off] there for a long time. The turtle hid its head and feet within its [hard shell], safely protecting them. That jackal remained there for a long time, unable to [break through the shell]. The turtle did not extend its head or feet, so the jackal decided to leave. After it left, the turtle was safe, so it extended its head and feet again, hurriedly turned around toward the river and entered into the river.
At this time, the sramana, who was the Buddha, opened his mouth to say, “Although the turtle was a mere animal, it knew to protect itself. What about humans? They know to engage in spiritual practice but do not know how to protect their own minds”. When this spiritual practitioner heard this voice, he turned around to look. He saw a magnificent and dignified sramana who spoke in such a voice beside him. This called to his heart, so he promptly came before him. He saw that [the sramana] was a very cultivated person, so he asked, “The words which you just spoke seemed to have helped my mind focus. My mind is often chaotic. I want to seek the Dharma, but my mind cannot do it”. Thus the Buddha, the sramana, began to say to him, “Close your ear-root. Do not listen to the sounds coming from outside. Close your eye-root. Do not look at the sights outside. In summary, close the doors to all of your Six Senses. Then, you will not attract the Six Dusts into your mind. Naturally, your mind will be able to remain pure. Then, your tongue will not crave tastes and your body will not crave comforts, saying, ‘I want to wear pretty and soft clothes.’ You will not need them”. “If you can do this, your mind will be free of deluded thoughts You will naturally avoid the Six Thieves. When the Six Roots connect to external states, the Six Thieves will continually steal away your merits and virtues. No matter how your engage in spiritual practice, it will be of no use to you. As you practice, [what you cultivate] will leak away. So, you must carefully close” the door to the Six Senses”. These are the Six Evils. The Six Evils are the Six Thieves.
Therefore, we must know that. “That which must be accepted and taken in, we must accept and take in”. We must accept the Dharma. Once we are able to take in the Dharma, the when external challenges arise, “that which must be tamed and trained, [we can] tame and train”. [In response to] external challenges, we must know how to tame our own minds. It does not matter how evil the world is or how evil humans in this world are. Their roots of goodness have all decreased, and [roots of] evil have grown. In this evil world of turbidities, we spiritual practitioners must accept [the Dharma] when we can. We must constantly seek the Dharma. If we encounter challenges, we must promptly tame and train [our minds]. We must close the door to our Six Senses. We must not listen to the evil voices outside, and as for evil forms and evil appearances, we must see them without seeing them. We do not need to look at them, or be tainted by them. This is where we must be very mindful.
Thus, we must maintain our spiritual aspirations. Then, naturally, “We will not hesitate to sacrifice our lives to uphold the Dharma”. Our minds will be free of desires. “The mind is without hindrances; there are no hindrances,” so what is there to be afraid of? We will be very courageous and forget about ourselves as we give for the sake of the Dharma. This is why we must always be mindful.
So, when it comes to the “Six Evils,” in this world, in addition to raising our vigilance of those things which are related to us, among our external states there is also the “evil age,” “evil world,” “evil sentient beings,” “evil views,” evil afflictions and evil views. We are in an era of “faithlessness,” one completely lacking right faith. Especially in this era, when the world is so full of turbidities, people’s understanding and views are all incorrect. They are all like this; they do not accept the Dharma, the Right Dharma of the world, and they all follow unwholesome teachings. These “evil views” give rise to many evil afflictions. Is this not the case in our present world?
This “evil age,” which we just discussed, “refers to the kalpa of turbidity.” The first of the Six Evils: The evil age. This refers to the kalpa of turbidity, which is part of the Five Turbidities. It is the time when the other four turbidities arise, such as evil sentient beings and evil views.
Among the Five Turbidities, we often say that the kalpa of turbidity, this period of time, is “the era of chaos and the kalpa of turbidity, when sentient beings are heavily defiled”. This refers to our current time. So, “evil views” arise from the “Four Turbidities”. During this era, people have evil views and understanding and everything is very complicated.
The second [of the Six Evils] is the “evil world”. This evil world is referring to the Saha World. The third is “evil sentient beings,” which is the “turbidity of sentient beings”. The “turbidity of sentient beings” we usually speak of begins from the “turbidity of views,” which gives rise to the “turbidity of afflictions”. So, it gives rise to many evil views and “evil afflictions”.
The fourth [of the Six Evils] is “evil views,” which refers to the “turbidity of views”. Our “views” suffer from heavy turbidities; they are not pure. Our eyes are not accurate in judgement, and our mindset is incorrect. So, our views and understanding are very turbid. We have the “view of self,” “extreme views,” “deviant views,” “stubborn views” and “views of deviant precepts.” We have explained these before. The “Five Acute Afflictions” and the “Five Chronic Afflictions” are known as the “Ten Afflictions.” These are all afflictions around us. These “Five Acute Afflictions” serve as the “essence.” This is how it is. People all have the “view of self,” “extreme views,” “deviant views,” “stubborn views,” and “views of deviant precepts.” These five views quickly provoke reactions within our minds. People nowadays are becoming more and more like this. Thus, “these five acute afflictions” manifest very quickly.
The fourth of the Six Evils: Evil views. This refers to the turbidity of views. These are the view of self, extreme views, deviant views, stubborn views, views of deviant precepts and so on. The Five Acute Agents serve as the essence, these five afflictions that strike quickly.
The fifth is “evil afflictions,” which refers to the turbidity of afflictions. This is “connecting to the external conditions of the Five Desires.” We just discussed the Six Roots and Six Dusts. In fact, in addition to [mental] phenomena, that is, “the mind-root and the dust of phenomena,” there are the Five Desires in the outside world. The five roots of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body connect to external forms, sounds, smells tastes and touch. Just like this, the Five Roots connect to the external conditions of the Five Dusts and thus give rise to greed, anger, ignorance and other afflictions. That is how they arise.
The fifth of the Six Evils: Evil afflictions. This refers to the turbidity of afflictions. It means connecting to the external conditions of the Five Desires and giving rise to greed, anger and other afflictions. The sixth of the Six Evils: The evil times when deviance and faithlessness prosper. This is the general term for times when the Five Turbidities increase.
The sixth of the Six Evils is “the evil times of deviance and faithlessness.” During these times, there is much evil and much wrong. Good things are not transmitted, and instead, false and evil things arise from nothing. “One man’s lie becomes truth for thousands.” The “evil times of deviance and faithlessness” have already appeared in our present time. This is the time when the Five Turbidities increase. So, this is called “the evil world of the Five Turbidities.” It all arises from our minds. These are evil times. In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, [our minds] give rise to the “turbidity of views,” “turbidity of sentient beings,” “turbidity of” “afflictions,” “turbidity of life” and so on, one after another, on and on. So, we must be mindful in learning the Buddha-Dharma. We must first begin by eliminating the evils that are closest to us. We must close the door to the Six Senses. We all have the Six Thieves, six kinds of thieves in our minds. We are constantly tempted by external states, which render us unable to focus. Thus, when faced with “the evil world of the Five Turbidities,” to advance this sutra is not easy. To earnestly advance the sutras in the world and make use of them, we must close the door to the Six Senses and establish the resolve to earnestly collect and focus our minds. When we establish the resolve to promote and spread the wondrous medicine for saving this world among people, we must abandon all desires. We must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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