Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Nine Ordeals Part 7(九惱七)
Everyone, the Buddha firmly taught us to practice and take care of our minds. Otherwise, we might say something harmful and create karma of speech. Karma of speech is easily created by our habits. If our habitual tendency is to not be mindful, we tend to act impulsively. So we should guard the door of the mind to prevent wrong words from rushing out and creating speech karma. We must be vigilant so our every action is controlled by our minds. This also applies to our habits and thoughts.
So we must always take care of our minds. Lately we have talked about the Nine Ordeals. Even the Buddha had these nine afflictions.
The Nine Ordeals: Sex years of ascetic practice; Slander by Sundari; Foot pierced by wooden spear; Horse fodder as food; Massacre of the Sakya Clan by King Virudhaka; Empty bowl after begging; Slander by Cinca Manavika; Boulder dropped by Devadatta; Asking for robes to block cold wind.
In the last few days, we have heard that when Buddha encountered difficulties, He would speak of the unexhausted karma from his past lives. He still had to face the remnants of karma. In past lives, not paying attention to body, speech, or mind resulted in the accumulation and continuation of karma. The Buddha had attained enlightenment before exhausting all His karma. He encountered afflictions and difficulties both before He left home and during His practice. After He attained enlightenment, He was still afflicted by slander and unexpected disasters. The Buddha repeatedly warned us by talking about the mistakes He made in the past. His speech and actions accumulated, and the karma was not yet exhausted. So it is not only ordinary people who have karma.
Thus, when we encounter situations, we need to be open and let go. Do not be petty. Accept it willingly and we will be fine. When it has passed, the karma will be exhausted. If we are unwilling to be open, let go, or be accepting, then we remain entangled in karma. If we accept the situation willingly, then karma will be exhausted.
It is said, “We must repay what should be repaid.” If we are unwilling, it causes great difficulties, and the debt continues to accumulate. We often hear people say, “How much do I actually owe you? Why do you keep doing this to me?” Yes, that happens between people. Among the Buddha’s Nine Ordeals, the seventh is Slander by Cinca Manavika. The Buddha spoke of how He practiced in past lives. Countless eons ago there was a Buddha named Always-Victorious Tathagata. In His time, He also had a monastic community. There were two monks. One was named Never-Victorious. His practice was strong and he cut off all afflictions and Leaks. Earlier we spoke of Leaks as afflictions.
What are Leaks? Education and wisdom are difficult to retain because they “leak” away as we get afflicted. We cannot retain the good, while the bad accumulates.
So if our Root Ignorance continues to exist and we do not eliminate it, the afflictions will remain forever. This is karma. When learning something, we must listen and contemplate. Do we put it into practice after contemplation? We must listen to, reflect on, and practice Dharma. After you hear Dharma, analyze it mindfully. What is the principle in that Dharma? Many present-day Buddhist scholars study Dharma, but do they practice it? No, they do not. Although they recite Sutras and know a lot of Dharma, they do not put it into action. They listen and reflect, but lack practice. Without actualizing Dharma in daily life, when we encounter afflictions we become entangled, and fall into the unending cycle of retribution.
Practicing is eliminating Leaks and afflictions. Not only must we eliminate afflictions, the dirt, defilement and mistakes in our mind, we must always receive good Dharma to prevent new afflictions from emerging after we eliminate the old. In so doing we can maintain our purity.
Leak is another name for affliction. The purpose of spiritual practice is to eliminate all Leaks. Only by completely eliminating all afflictions can we retain wholesome Dharma.
Never-Victorious had already eliminated Leaks. Because he eliminated all afflictions and he practiced well, he did not lack offerings. He had few desires and was content, so he never felt he lacked anything. He was satisfied by the offerings he received. He was content. The other monk was named Often-Joyous. He has not eliminated his afflictions. He still had many afflictions binding him. As we said, they both practiced with this Buddha. One’s heart was pure; the other listened to Dharma, reflected on it, but could not put it into practice. He could not eradicate the afflictions from dealing with people and things. He had not eliminated the bonds of affliction, they entangled his mind. So he felt he received meager offerings. No matter what he received, even if it was the same as others, he felt it was not enough. He always felt it was too meager.
When the monastic community came to Varanasi, there was a benefactor, the wife of the Elder Big-Love. She was well-off, lived a good life, believed in Buddhism, and enjoyed making offerings to Buddha’s and Sanghas. Her name was Skilled-Illusion. Often-Joyous watched her make offerings. Although everyone in the community received equal offerings, he was still jealous. He thought her offering to Never-Victorious was exceptional. Never-Victorious was dignified and well-cultivated. Buddhist disciples naturally became joyful in his presence. So when they made offerings, of course they looked reverent. But Often-Joyous was jealous. An impure thought arose in his mind, and he slandered them.
He said, “Skilled-Illusion didn’t make rightful offerings, meaning she did not treat them equally. She is having an affair with Never-Victorious.” He spread that gossip. He interpreted her solemn reverence as favoritism. This happened many Kalpas ago among the monastic community of a Buddha. There were two special monks, one had practiced well, and the other still had negative habits. When they received offerings, Often-Joyous became jealous, and his speech became improper. He spread rumors and slander. This happened far in the past.
The Buddha said, “Do you know?” “This story happened a long time ago” “But you should know, at that time I was Often-Joyous and Cinca Manavika was Skilled-Illusion.” Cinca Manavika slandered the Buddha after He attained enlightenment. So the Buddha said, “I accused Never-Victorious and that woman of having an affair, so this is my retribution. This is a remnant of karma. It is an unpaid debt. I am still subject to retribution.” It was a painful retribution. This woman often came to disturb the monks and spread rumors. Although He attained enlightenment, things like this still happened.
How did Cinca Manavika disturb the monastic community? Buddha said, “Every time I spoke the Dharma, whether to heretics, to my monks, to kings or nobles, the woman named Cinca Manavika would come and make a scene.” Sometimes she said a certain monk did something to her. Other times she said things to create conflicts. She lied and accused the monks of improprieties. That was one of the Buddha’s difficulties.
In the Buddha’s lifetime, there were six undisciplined monks within His Sangha. With so many people in this monastic community, some misbehaved and created difficulties for the Buddha. Then there was also Cinca Manavika. This was one of the Buddha’s afflictions, one of His Nine Ordeals. So we should know, when dealing with people and matters every day, we must hold fast to Good Dharma. The Buddha said, “Refrain from all evil, practice only good.” Even if it is only a tiny bit of good, we must do it at once. This shows the kindness of our hearts. If we refuse to do good deeds, help those who are suffering, or take part in benevolent activities while we claim to have a loving heart, is that right? No. We must always have compassion.
But when we do something, we should not ask for anything in return. Aren’t Tzu Chi volunteers like this? They give with gratitude without asking for anything in return. As spiritual practitioners, giving without asking for return is our basic responsibility. Being grateful while doing good creates good affinities, so our minds are pure and free from attachments. This is called “practicing the Dharma of goodness and maintaining contentment.” We should be content to participate in acts of kindness. We should face everything with contentment.
When dealing with people and matters, always practice the pure Dharma of goodness. Remain content, thus afflictions do not emerge and karma is not created.
We saw how Never-Victorious received offerings and respect, and how Often-Joyous was discontent. He did not practice the Dharma of goodness. That was why he was afflicted and created speech karma. His afflictions caused him to create this karma. When we practice, we must “benefit ourselves and others,” and “not differentiate between others and ourselves. We should cooperate. If we do that, we can combine our efforts to save minds and save the world.
Everyone, in learning Buddhism, we train our minds. After our minds are saved by the Buddha, we can save those of others. We must eliminate afflicted thoughts as they arise. Otherwise, our habits dictate our actions. Even if we engage in spiritual practice, these thoughts still emerge and cause conflicts.
Learning Buddha-Dharma is about learning to correct our habits and take good care of our minds. We must close the door to affliction so that we do not accidentally do something that we will regret. It is all about the mind. Please everyone be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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