Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Four Attachments (四執)
All living beings have a certain attachment to their perceptions of the world. Earlier we talked about the Four Clingings. After “clinging” comes “grasping” and “grasping” is attachment. So the “Four Attachments cause all wrongdoings.”
In our daily lives, our views, reflections, and understanding are formed in response to external phenomena. We either grasp or we are attached to something, and that naturally leads to vexation and various misbehaviors. We are talking about external states and the mind.
So the Four Attachments are: Attachment to Existence. Attachment to Emptiness. Attachment to Both Existence and Emptiness. Attachment to neither Existence Nor Emptiness.
At times our thinking becomes clouded while in the midst of our practice. Sometimes our thoughts go astray and we may get lost. Before coming in contact with Buddhism, most people have “attachments.” This is quite common for ordinary people. It is something that already exists within us. Haven’t we all heard the comment “this person is so stubborn?” Yes, everyone can be described as stubborn because everyone’s interests and likes are different. If you’re interested in something, your mind will crave it and become attached to whatever it is you like.
Everyone has different interests, some love to drink tea and some love to drink coffee. When offered coffee, one who loves tea will say “I don’t want coffee I want tea. I don’t like to drink coffee.” If a person loves coffee he or she will find tea displeasing and ask for a cup of coffee. This is also attachment, or stubbornness.
This is a common example. We all have our own preferences. Thus it is inevitable for us to be attached. Regarding the little details of our daily lives, we have our habits, we have our attachments, and we have our likes. This happens every day. Within a family, even though the children are from the same mother, they each have different interests. At night when they watch television, some like dramas, some like documentaries, some like action films, and some like romance. So these four brothers and sisters all have different interests and will fight over what to watch. Despite having the same parents, their interests and views are different.
Society is even more complicated. Today’s society is filled with turmoil. This instability is not caused by society as a whole, but by individual mindsets. If we observe our present society, we wonder how all these events occur. This is because everyone has different interests and is subject to confusion caused by ignorance.
Thus, society is unstable and chaotic. This also applies to international relations. For example, in the early 20th century the Eight-Nation Alliance marched on China. At that time, Taiwan was constantly at war and suffered internal unrest. Moreover, other countries wanted to invade Taiwan too. That happened in the previous century. And when World War ll began, the relationships between countries became very complicated.
The world was like a stage set for war. Nations declared war upon each other, and events escalated until the nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Countless people died when that bomb fell. Entire buildings fell like dominos. Even well-built structures completely melted. The same happened to people. In a flash of light, their skin fell off. So many died instantly and many more were injured. More than 100,000 people died instantly. Millions still bear the wounds from the bomb. This happened in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
Three days later, on August 9, 1945 another nuclear bomb landed on Nagasaki killing tens of thousands of people as well. The long term effects were incalculable. At Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the nuclear fallout has never dissipated even to this day. The fallout still remains in the soil, air, and plants. When you take a sample, they all contain trace elements of radiation. That is very frightening. This was caused by individual mindsets.
So many countries continue to fight without knowing why they are fighting, they just keep battling. These wars have harmed so many innocent people and their effects remain to this day. This is “Attachment to Existence” and “grasping”.
Earlier we spoke of “Clinging to Desires.” Such a mindset is full of desires. Desire creates the urge to obtain. This arises from attachments. The idea of fighting for something arises from attachments. When you want something and I won’t give it to you, it creates conflict. So at the end, people with these attachments really suffer.
When the mind gets “attached to existence,” desires will arise. When we cannot fulfill our desire, it creates conflicts, causing unspeakable suffering.
Some are “Attached to Emptiness.” They believe in nothingness, that we come into this world naked and empty-handed. So they do not believe in the law of cause and effect in this world. “This is how I came, and this is how I live as long as I’m happy.” As long as they are living happily, they don’t care what others think.
In England there was a man who believed in living as naturally as possible. “If animals don’t need to wear clothes, why do humans? He wanted people to know that to live as naturally as possible, there was no need for clothes, so he often ran around the streets naked. The police had arrested him eight times, but he refused to give up and refused to let go of his ideas, because he felt the need to extol this natural way of life. So he made a vow. Even if he were arrested again, he said he still wouldn’t give up.
He only had one wish: to finish a journey (across the UK) before the weather turned cold. He was still afraid of the cold! If being naked is the natural state, it shouldn’t matter if it’s hot or cold. Animals, no matter the weather, exist in their natural state. He was so attached to “emptiness” that he wanted to show others that there is nothing to it. But he was still worried about the cold weather. He would have to wear clothes or freeze, since England’s winter is so cold.
His choice of lifestyle disrupts societal conventions. Civil society will be ruined by those who discredit the consequences of their actions. Those who lack ethics, morals, honor, and integrity will bring chaos to society. So attachment to Emptiness is wrong.
When the mind is Attached to Emptiness, one does not believe in cause and effect, and yields to one's desires without regard for others. This lack of ethics and morals will disrupt the order in society.
Next is “Attachment to Both Existence & Emptiness.” From a materialistic standpoint, some are attached to existence because “what is mine is mine, you can't touch my things. But what is yours is also mine.” Many people think that way. “Since everything is empty, why are you arguing? There's no difference between yours and mine, so it's all mine." I think these people exist as well.
If the mind gets “attached to both existence and emptiness there will be a double standard. Toward oneself, one applies the principle of existence: “what is mine is mine, and I do not need to share with others.” Toward others, one applies the principle of emptiness: “whatever is yours is mine, and you should not fight me over it.”
Some are attached to "neither existence nor emptiness,” “non-existence" is having nothing, "non-emptiness" is having something. Some people try to apply the biased concepts of "both" and "neither" toward existence and emptiness in their practice. When some try to uphold precepts, they violate even higher percepts.
In the Sutra of Parables, there is a story about a man who saw others planting and marveled, at their good harvests. So he asked, "How do you have such good harvests?" The farmer told him, "If you want to be successful, you need to fertilize and water your plants." So this man thought, "Now that I know what to do, I should do it." But then he stood and watched how the farmer fertilized his plants, and he thought to himself "That's not a very good way to do it. If you fertilize that area and then walk on it, won't you harden the earth? And when you're fertilizing the ground, your feet will get dirty when you stand there." So he thought up his own method. He thought it was unnecessary to fertilize and water separately, so he decided to mix the two into the soil before he planted the seeds. He felt what would be more efficient. When it came to planting, he stood there on both feet and felt he was hardening the ground.
He thought that was not smart, and didn't want to stand on the ground. What did he do? He sat on a bed while sowing the seeds. But the bed could not move, so he hired four people to carry it, while he sowed the seeds.
Let us all think, he was afraid to harden the earth with his two feet, but his solution put eight feet on the ground. There is an order to fertilizing and watering and he thought he could do it all at once. This is wrong.
Everyone, there is an order in practice, a before and after, especially in learning Buddhism. We need to be taught by a teacher; the teachings are passed from teacher to student. We must follow the teachings and practice. Do not be like this man who asked for advice, and after receiving it, created his own shortcuts. We have to adhere to the precepts carefully, and not stubbornly cling to our own views as self-absorption often causes problems.
The mind is "attached to neither existence nor "emptiness". When one vows to uphold the precepts, but subjects them to one's interpretation, one is not really following the Middle Way and easily makes even bigger mistakes.
So everyone should be aware of the Four Attachments. Do not be attached existence or emptiness. We need to analyze this with wisdom. Do not be detached from existence or emptiness. So we can lead our daily lives in a truly fitting manner.
We must care for our hearts. Therefore, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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