Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Nine Bonds Part 7(九結七)
Paying respect to the Buddha and meditating in the early morning is a beautiful thing. I am reminded of a story about a man who joined the morning service at a temple. When he arrived, the attendant monk asked him, “Why are you here so early?”
“I want to be on time for the morning service.”
Looking closely, the monk asked, “Why don’t you carry a lantern? It’s quite dark outside and the roads are narrow. How did you get here without one?”
The man said, “No need. A lantern wouldn’t be helpful to me. I’m blind, so having a lantern makes no difference.”
Then the monks entered one by one and the man was able to clearly follow the dignified recitation of the Sutra. Then, afterwards, he asked a monk to explain the text in depth.
The monk asked, “How long have you been reading Sutra?”
He answered, “I never have. I’ve been thinking that life doesn’t last long, so now I must study the teachings of Buddha closely and seek the Truth. So today I came specifically to join the morning recitation.”
The monk said, “Since this was your first time, why did you arrive so early, and not bring a lantern? Weren’t you afraid of falling into a ditch or stepping on something?”
“No,” he said. “I know the way well. This is the first time I’ve attended morning recitation, but others have brought me here before, several times, so I know the way.”
The monk then asked, “How can you remember so much of the text if this was your first time? Have you read Sutra before?”
“No. I didn’t understand, but when I heard them recite the Sutra this morning, I listened carefully, so I would like to ask you some questions.”
The conversation continued. They ended up talking all day until it turned dark. When the sky darkened, the monk told him to go home.
Before he left, the man asked, “Can you lend me a lantern?”
The monk said, “Didn’t you say that a lantern was not useful? If you could get here before daylight without a lantern, why do you need it at night?”
He said, “In the early morning, I guessed there would be no one else on the road to run into me. But now it’s dusk, and it will be dark when I reach the village. Without a lantern, people may crash into me. So I need one on the way back to avoid a collision with someone.”
This is just a story, but isn’t life like this? We should all have wisdom. This man could not see with his eyes, but he saw through his mind’s eye. He had faith. He knew where he was going. He believed in himself. Although he was blind, he believed he could reach the temple without stumbling. He thought he could walk the roads safely, because he trusted himself. But why did he need a lantern to go home? He wanted to prevent others from bumping into him. He trusted himself but he was unsure of others, so he needed a lantern on the way home.
To trust ourselves as well as others requires a high level of wisdom. All in all, when people are suspicious of each other, they become confused and the road appears dark. Although the path is clearly broad and luminous, we obstruct our own path with our doubts. The Buddha admonished us because our minds are so full of afflictions that we cannot unravel the Bonds and truly comprehend His Dharma.
The seventh is the Bond of Doubt. Doubts bind the mind and lead sentient beings to become doubtful of the Treasures of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
The seventh of the Nine Bonds: In delusion, sentient beings become suspicious of the Treasures of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, so they do not practice Right Actions. They commit a wide range of bad deeds, causing them to continuously transmigrate in the Three Realms with no way out. That is the Bond of Doubt.
As Buddhist practitioners, we should believe in the Buddha, trust the Dharma, and respect the Sangha. The Buddha had wisdom and compassion. Because of His compassion, He repeatedly returned to save those in the Human Realm. Because of His compassion, He renounced all pleasures and devoted His life to spiritual cultivation. He manifested and set an example to guide us. So we must believe that He appeared in the Human Realm, and causes and conditions led Him to leave the lay life. After He attained enlightenment, He realized the Truth of life and the universe. He unlocked His wisdom to guide sentient beings. So, we should firmly believe in the Dharma that the Buddha taught.
How can the Dharma be spread and passed on? Through the Treasure of the Sangha. These people renounce lay life and take on the mission of Tathagata; this is very admirable. With pure body and mind, they become monastics and walk on the path toward Buddhahood, the path that He indicated. They proceed diligently on that Path. The Sangha are guides. When they seek the Path and find the direction, they can then lead others forward.
So we must have faith in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. But sentient beings sometimes doubt the Three Treasures. They refuse to believe. The Three Treasures are guiding us, but if we have doubts, we are unable to follow. If we do not follow the proper practice or the right path, then we stray and commit a wide range of bad deeds. If we do not walk the path correctly, it becomes a deviant path. We have to be proper to do good. If we are not improper and unkind, we stray onto a deviant and evil path. So, doubt is a type of darkness. If we do not let the light of wisdom illuminate our minds, we close our minds’ door to the light.
We should vigilantly remind ourselves to not doubt the Right Dharma. A small deviation can lead us far astray and bring us endless suffering life after life. We must take good care of our minds. Doubt confuses our minds and defies logic. When doubt arises in our minds, we are confused and deluded. Defying logic means going against reason. We may already be on the right path, but when we are confused, we turn our backs on it. We disregard Truth and go against reason. Why do we do this? It is because we are doubtful and indecisive. People tell us we are on the wrong path, but we refuse to believe them. Beings in the Desire Realm behave this way. Why is that? We know there is clearly a right path, but we are not free from the Desire Realm, so cravings again arise in our minds. When the conditions manifest, karmic affinity tempts us. As our desires stir once again, we lose control and begin to doubt.
Doubt is a form of darkness. It easily closes the door to our luminous minds. We must always be vigilant and not doubt the Right Dharma. Otherwise, a small deviation will lead us far astray.
Some cannot stay completely on the Right Path. Along the way they become lost and go in circles, because they have doubts. Doubt distorts Truth, so they lose the True Path and turn towards what is false and inappropriate. It is ignorance, affliction, and darkness that we turn toward. So, “confusion over Truth leads us to pursue delusions” and follow ignorance and karma. When we turn away from the path to enlightenment and toward the mundane, our minds become caught up in the maelstrom of worldly affairs. It is frightening. Thus “Doubts bind us to the Three Realms.” Doubts tie us down. Entanglements of karma, affection, desire and craving bind us tightly so we are unable to break free. Within the Three Realms, there is no end in sight. Escape is truly difficult because these Bonds tie us down and cause much suffering.
Doubters possess deluded minds and defy logic. Therefore they are doubtful and indecisive. Because of doubt, sentient beings in the Desire. Realm are confused about Truth and pursue delusions. They turn away from enlightenment and toward the mundane. With these doubts, they are tied to the Three Realms with no end in sight. This is called a Bond.
What kinds of doubt are there? There are many kinds. Let us discuss two of them. The first is self-doubt. We have doubts about ourselves. We have low self-esteem, maybe because we are short or have some bodily imperfection. So we fear interacting with others. Or we think we are less capable, so we are afraid of socializing. Thus we doubt every aspect of ourselves. If someone looks at us briefly while speaking, we suspect they dislike us or are judging us. We may often suspect that others are disparaging us or are doubtful of us. We constantly make assumptions about what others think of us based on our views, because we lack confidence in ourselves. Such thinking dulls our minds and causes us to close ourselves off. The darker our minds, the harder it is to be inspired by wisdom; thus we become even duller.
Such darkness and dullness causes afflictions to arise, suspicions to grow, etc. Then we develop low self-esteem, and become anti-social. We develop many incorrect perspectives, which can stir up trouble. We are confused about right and wrong, so we doubt ourselves. This results in incorrect behavior. Nobody looks down on us. It is we who belittle and give up on ourselves. This is self-doubt.
Another kind of doubt is “doubt about teachers.” “A teacher for a day is a teacher for a lifetime.” We must respect a teacher to respect his teachings. If we belittle him, we disrespect his teachings. If we look down on our teacher and become disrespectful and arrogant, thinking that we are better than our teacher, then we cannot accomplish our practice. Then we are not a vessel for enlightenment, because we cannot accept the Way. So we must always be vigilant. We cannot doubt ourselves or others. If we doubt others, we cannot learn anything. It is often said, “In a group of three, we shall find a teacher.”
Everyone, anyone can be our teacher, not only Dharma masters. We need to emulate Never-Disparaging Bodhisattva. Someone who throw rocks at us or hits us with a stick can still be our teacher if we respect him and his potential for enlightenment. Whether they are good and knowledgeable friends or unwholesome friends, they are part of our practical education. We should not turn disagreements into disputes. When conflicts arise, we must see them as a learning opportunity. Then naturally we are affirmed by our wisdom, and can distinguish right from wrong. Still, do not disparage or doubt others. Strengthen your wisdom; with this self-confidence, there is no self-doubt. Everyone, when we learn the Buddha’s teachings we must learn to maintain pure and clear minds. If we approach good and knowledgeable friends with a simple and pure mind, that is the right way. So, everyone always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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