Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Nine Ordeals Part 3(九惱三)
Our current life is closely related to our previous life, so the Buddha taught us about the Law of Karma. This is the truth of our daily lives. What we think, what we say and what we do are all caused by our reactions to external conditions such as people and things. Because of these people and things, certain thoughts therefore arise in our minds. “Because” and “therefore” are words that indicate an endless cycle.
We must know about cause and effect. Some ask, “Isn’t karmic retribution in Buddhism a form of superstition?” It is not a superstition. It is very scientific. If all of us apply the Buddha-Dharma to our daily lives, we will mindfully contemplate and realize that the concept of cause and effect underlies Buddhism, science, philosophy, psychology, and math. No field of study can contradict cause and effect. “Because” and “therefore” are words used when we conduct experiments to find answers as to why we did not get a particular result, or why we came to a particular conclusion. Because of certain causes, we discover certain things. This is the concept of cause and effect.
Dharma, science, philosophy, and psychology are all about cause and effect. “Because” of the existence of a cause, we “therefore” have a corresponding effect. This is the concept of cause and effect.
When Tzu Chi first began, we wanted to teach the rich and help the poor. But how? Taiwan’s society was very impoverished. If we asked people to give, they might think it would lower their standard of living. So we had to use a skillful way to teach them how they could help others without adversely affecting themselves. “Why help others?” “Because good deeds beget blessings Giving does not adversely affect your life, but created blessings. If you do good every day, your family has a cause for celebration.”
“This is a good cause and effect. It is a good seed.” People could understand these simple phrases. They wanted to plant good seeds without adversely affecting their own lives. So that was how we began with 30 members.
Then some people felt they should invite others to do good. If they found more people and collected donations, I simply said, “You should become a commissioner.” At that time we needed more members so that we could combine our strength to help others. As long as someone could invite others to do good, she or he was planting a good seed. So I would tell them, “Come, be a commissioner.”
Eventually, as more people joined, we needed rules. Rules in Buddhism are called precepts. When someone asked how Tzu Chi manages so many people around the globe, I said, “We managed with love.” “What system do you use for organization?” “We use the precepts.” Gradually, the system became rooted in precepts. Back then, we gathered those who were interested and called them “Tzu Chi volunteers.”
Managing with love, with precepts for discipline, Tzu Chi opens the door of goodness to those who have the affinities, so that they can do good every day and constantly create blessings.
Over time, we established and educated this group of Tzu Chi volunteers. After a few years, the organization was set up. Gradually, some lay people who studied Buddhism, saw the organization of Tzu Chi and its contribution to society. They felt a sense of joy, and wished to joined Tzu Chi. These students of Buddhism practiced good deeds.
Sometimes when they convened, they would talk about the Dharma, solicit and submit donations. Afterwards, they would release living creatures for merit. But afterwards, they went to a seafood restaurant. At the restaurant, our commissioner said, “We should protect life. We should not kill and eat animals.” These people said, “That’s why we released them for merit.” Our commissioners would then say, “That’s good, but we must also protect them.” They said, “No, after we release them, we hold a Transcendence Service, so we eat the seafood restaurant to help them quickly transcend this life.” That was their reasoning.
Then they ordered some wine. The commissioners said, “That is not right our Master said not to drink alcohol.”
They answered, “Says who? Wine is the Soup of Prajna, we drink it to develop wisdom.” Then they started smoking, and our commissioners told them, “The Master said we should not smoke.” They answered, “You people know nothing you just talk about cause and effect, let me tell you, the mind creates everything. Smoking is an offering of incense. Everything is created by the mind. Wine is the Soup of Prajna. If you believe it is Prajna, then it is the Soup of Prajna. After drinking it, we become wise. When we eat seafood, we think about helping these fish quickly transcend to the Pure Land. This is holding a Transcendence Service.” They believed that this was Buddhism, that it was the Dharma. This happened decades ago.
Some commissioners who were new to Buddhist teachings were trying to understand karmic retribution while also trying to be respectful to other Buddhists. Without a clear knowledge of Buddhism they were often perplexed. We should know that this is Hindrance by Knowledge. Some know a lot, but cannot grasp the true concept of cause and effect. Thus they obstruct themselves, which causes them to hinder others.
Learning and practicing Buddha-Dharma without understanding the Truth, one hinders oneself with ignorance and can even affect and hinder others. This is Hindrance by Knowledge.
This is the life of sentient beings. Over multiple lifetimes, we may have wanted to learn Buddhism, but we did not know it clearly. We wanted to abide by cause and effect, but we ended up criticizing others instead of working to understand causes and conditions. We only know to focus on others’ shortcomings. This is wrong and brings about many afflictions.
The Buddha often taught us that cause and effect cannot be avoided. So cause and effect is frightening. Causes beget conditions and result in retributions. So although the Buddha attained enlightenment, as we have talked about over the past two days, He also had Nine Ordeals. The Buddha was very open about the Nine Ordeals, also referred to as the nine difficulties, the nine unanticipated disasters, or the nine seemingly unjustified afflictions. Whenever He encountered something, He announced, “I did that in the past, so this is the retribution in this life, and I am very happy, open and at ease.” We spoke about the slander of Buddha by Sundari, a remnant of karma from His past lives.
This third Ordeal: Foot pierced by a wooden spear. The wooden spear that pierced His foot came from Devadatta who threw it from a cliff. It wounded Buddha’s big toe; what caused this? The Sutra on Causes and Conditions.
Next I will tell the story of the Buddha’s foot being pierced by a wooden spear. Although slight, the wound caused the Buddha much pain and discomfort for a long time. Many people visited Him, so the Buddha used His condition to teach them.
The Buddha said that when He lived at Venuvana in Rajagrha, He went to beg for food in the city. He lived in a rural area, away from the crowds. The area was sparsely populated. He had to walk through forests and properties from His abode to the city. Wooden spears suddenly came at Him from all sides. When the Buddha saw them flying at Him from all directions, a thought arose in His mind, “This is karma from a previous life, I should accept it.” Thus He did not dodge them and kept walking. At that moment, many Bhiksus were following Him. Seeing that the Buddha did not dodge the spears, they were scared for Him. Then a spear pierced the flesh next to the Buddha’s big toe. When Sariputra and others saw He was hurt, they treated Him with medicine. Although the spear only pierced His foot and it was quickly treated, the wound still became infected. The Buddha developed a fever, maybe due to what we now call tetanus. He was in a coma for a few days. During that time, His disciples were very worried. Many people came to see Him.
After the Buddha finally woke up, He said, “Why did this happen? There must be a reason why wooden spears came from all sides. It was my retribution.” In one of His past lives, innumerable Kalpas ago, there were two traders, each with his own group of men. They wanted to seek wealth at sea. Long ago, people made their living either on land or at sea, in the mountains or on the ocean. Many business deals required river or sea crossings. So there were two groups that joined together to cross the sea for trade. At that time, the water started to rise and everyone wanted to cross first. These two groups began to argue over the boat. As they fought, one of the traders suddenly threw a very long spear and pierced the foot of the other trader. The bleeding did not stop, and the man died. With the process of time, the retribution followed the attacking trader.
The Buddha said, “Sariputra, did you know that the trader killed the other trader with a spear, causing him to bleed to death? This karmic cause followed him through many lifetimes. I was that trader, and the trader who was killed is Devadatta. Devadatta always tried to hurt the Buddha and did everything he could to kill Him. When he saw the Buddha passing through the forest, he arranged for spears to be thrown at Him. In the Buddha’s lifetime, Devadatta always tried to make trouble and hurt Him, so he shot the wooden spears at the Buddha. This was the affinity I created with him in a past life. Because of this, I have endured painful retributions for long time.” Even after the Buddha attained enlightenment, He was still subject to remnants of affinity.
In conclusion, we must earnestly think about cause and effect and contemplate on it using wisdom. Do not use worldly cleverness to judge the Dharma; instead use a pure and sincere mind to understand the concept of cause and effect. In our daily lives, there are many “because” and “therefore”. There represent the concepts of cause and effect. We must remember karmic retribution when dealing with people and matters. A good word brings joy to everyone. That is a joyful affinity. If we create joyful affinity with others, we will have no obstacles in the present and future. All in all, we should always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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