Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Eight Sufferings: Ten Faiths Part 1(八苦一)
Every day the sun rises and sets. All the days pass in this way. But at sunrise, those who rise early can feel the serenity and fresh air of dawn. To use time well is to get up early and enjoy these conditions.
Ordinary people pass each day in a daze, not using time well. Just as time passes, we let our lives pass by in unawareness. Pulled by karmic forces, we come and go in cyclic existence, passing our days as ordinary people.
If we want to engage in spiritual practice, we must lead our lives with clarity. Do not just pass the time, live your life well. In this lifetime, is there suffering? Yes, but ordinary people mistake suffering for joy. Buddhist practitioners need to explore where suffering and joy really lie. Let us think about the types of suffering that no one can avoid. There are eight types.
The Eight Sufferings: Birth, Aging, Illness, Death, Parting with What We Love, Meeting What We Hate, Unfulfilled Desire, the Five Skandhas.
The first is the Suffering of Birth. At birth, we are already suffering. Previously, we mentioned that before birth, we might have unknowingly created much bad karma. This karmic consciousness ended along with our previous life’s body. Karmic seeds then followed conditions to connect us with our parents’ sperm and egg at conception. In our mother’s womb, we are already suffering. The womb is like a tiny prison cell. It exists among the organs, in the small space inside the mother’s body. As the fetus gradually grows, the uterus accordingly expands. Sometimes it is hot or cold. The mother’s insides are unclear, and we are mixed in with all these organs. Digested food becomes waste inside the nearby organs. As we grow larger, our space shrinks and we are cramped. This is very hard.
Then at birth, we pass through an unclean opening, and are enveloped by the amniotic sac. We are like a ball of flesh being forced out of the womb. When the air touches our skin, it is unbearably painful. Immediately we are washed and cleaned. In that instant, we feel immense pain all over. It is truly suffering. This is the pain of birth. Before birth, one is imprisoned in an impure womb. Leaving the womb, one experiences pain. So it is called the Suffering of Birth. These kinds of physiological struggles are truly agonizing. But we easily forget about it.
As we grow up, from infancy to adolescence and adulthood, we do not notice the changes in our bodies. We see the rebellious stage of adolescence. Now people say the rebelliousness of adolescence is actually due to physiological changes. As the body changes, so does the mind. Why is this? You can say it is our karma. Our karma has manifested and is in development. We are born to parents who have affinities with us. This affinity may be with fortune, joy, or suffering. If it is a good affinity, then regardless of the environment, even if it is poor and difficult, we will still be dutiful to our parents. We will understand their hardships, and work hard to fulfill our duties in hopes of reducing their burden. This having good affinities with our parents, and repaying their kindness.
One day I saw a news report about a child in Guizhou. He lived in a dilapidated house. It was hard to imagine it as a home, but it housed his grandparents, parents, and young siblings. There were three generations living together in poverty. The grandparents were old, bedridden, and had hunched backs. The parents had to work hard, so they left the house early and did not return home until after dark. At home, the children cared for the grandparents. A six or seven-year-old child had to wash clothes. He washed with a bucket that contained only a little water. He washed these dirty clothes in dirty water. He small, tender hands wrung out a large shirt. As he spread it out, it was as dark and filthy as the water in the bucket, which was as dark as ink. The child was smiling. When he was asked why he was washing clothes, he said his parents were too busy, and it was too difficult for his grandparents to do. So he washed his own clothes and his grandma’s clothes. Look, a child like this accepted life as it was and was filial and dutiful toward his parents. Although the clothes were not wrung dry and were still dirty, as there was little water and it was filthy, the child was still native and pure. Can you say he suffered? No. The expression on his face showed the pure and genuine love that was so natural for him. This is how to live life. After coming into this world, the boy adapted to his environment without complaint. Experiencing life in this way, there is no suffering. In time, if he is willing to work hard, he will be able to support his parents.
But event in one’s prime, one will continue to grow old as physical changes continue to occur. When one is old, the body becomes weak. The aging process is gradual. Our eyes do not see as well. Our ears do not hear as well. Our physical reflexes are no longer as sharp. And our mental reflexes, especially, gradually deteriorate. These are all physiological changes. Even if our minds are very open, our strong bodies become weak over time. Once our old age manifests we will suffer its effects. Old age is truly suffering.
The second of the Eight Sufferings is Aging.
1 The Stage of Growth: From youth to adulthood, from adulthood to old age, one’s strength continues to weaken.
2 The Stage of Decay: From one’s prime to old age, one’s energy declines. The end of life approaches with gradual decay.
The third is the Suffering of Illness. Do we only get sick when we are old? Not necessarily. Take a look inside our hospitals; there are infants, teens, seniors, and those in their prime. People of different ages, all with varying illnesses, suffering unspeakable pain.
There is a child named Nian-heng, who became sick when he was two years old. His parents were well off and loved him dearly, so they were always at the hospital. What did their son suffer from? He had leukemia. Regardless of cost, the parents took him to all the major hospitals and tenderly cared for him. They constantly sought new treatments. The child suffered a lot of pain, but he always smiled. Why? Because he did not want his mother to be sad “My body hurts, but I don’t want mom to also hurt.” How understanding he is! But we are helpless seeing this adorable child battle with his disease. He suffers, but he is very wise.
Similarly, there was a woman in her prime who was well off. When she became sick, she should the best care. But she was still tormented by the cancer in her body. She arrived at the hospital on the same day as the little boy. Not only was she suffering from illness, she was distraught by leaving her family. She could not let go of her husband, children, and everything in her life. Her heart was in agony because she could not give up the many things in her life, and there was no way to cure her disease. That morning many people attended to her when she came to Guandu to ask me for words of blessing. But all I could tell her was to open her heart and let go, which is hard to do.
The adorable child ran up to her and said, “Auntie, you need to be brave. It will hurt, but you must endure it. Auntie, be courageous.”
She asked him, “And you, does it hurt?”
He smiled “It hurts, but I need to be strong.” It was heartbreaking for us to watch.
The third of the Eight Sufferings is the Sufferings of Illness, physical and mental disease. The fourth of the Sufferings is Death.
Natural End: Death from illness or old age.
External Conditions: Death from evil conditions or disasters like floods, fires, etc.
Life is full of suffering, the suffering of birth, old age, sickness and of course, death. Is death suffering? It is actually most painful when one is struggling between illness and death and cannot let go. One suffers from emotional struggles and the manifestation of Karma. Unwillingness to let go brings pain. We should learn to accept and let go. If we can let go, death is like falling asleep. If the actions we take every day are righteous, we can sleep peacefully at night. When the spirit leaves the body, it should feel light and at ease. The most terrifying thing is not letting go at the moment when the soul has to leave the body. This is very painful.
So to sum up, we need to learn how to live and how to die. We should learn to be born without carrying impure karma seeds. We need to learn how to die, by leading a good life, treating others well, and developing a good temperament. We prepare for our last moment, so that we will not be attached or afflicted. We can smile at everyone, wave goodbye, and plan to meet again on the Bodhisattva-path. If we can do this, we will be free and at ease. We can come and go as we please. We should seize the moment to treat people, matters and things with mindfulness. This lesson is very important.
Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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