Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Ten Fetters Part 1(十纏一)
Every day we think about changing our attitude toward life. But this is very difficult.
The Buddha came to this world and spoke the Dharma in order to help eliminate sentient beings’ afflictions and straighten out their confused minds. It is easy to say “eliminate afflictions and straighten out confusions.” It sounds simple. The Buddha taught patiently and skillfully for 49 years. Yet how many can understand the Buddha’s mind, accept His teachings, and transform themselves? How many? We can see, just from the Sutra, how tirelessly and patiently the Buddha repeated Himself. His words sound so simple, but change is difficult.
The Buddha taught us to purify our minds. Although this teaching, like a stream, washes away our impurities, these defilements quickly return. This is very frustrating. We just discussed the Nine Bonds; now we will talk about the Ten Fetters.
The Ten Fetters: No Shame, No Remorse, Jealousy, Stinginess, Regret, Sleepiness, Restlessness, Drowsiness, Anger and Cover-up.
We spoke about Bonds, which are afflictions. Fetters are also afflictions. Entanglements are also afflictions. All these afflictions arise from ignorance. Ignorance is another name for being unenlightened. Because ignorance arises, one falls into the state of ordinary existence. Now, let us examine the Ten Fetters.
Fetters are things that bind. All sentient beings are bound by these ten things, unable to be liberated from the suffering of transmigration and realize the joy of Nirvana.
Suffering comes from being bound. If we can free ourselves from these entanglements, we can attain happiness. If we cannot free ourselves, we cannot attain happiness. What binds us? The Ten Fetters bind us.
What are the Ten Fetters? The first is “No Shame.” If we do something wrong, as Buddhist practitioners it’s easy to say, “I’m ashamed.” Whenever we do anything wrong, the words on our lips are “I’m ashamed” Those words easily slip out of our mouths when we know we did something wrong. Does shame come from our mouths or our minds? Do we know the meaning of shame? Shame comes from within our minds. “Behind closed doors we commit all wrongdoings.” Behind closed doors is where no one can see us, that is where we slip up and make mistakes. When no one is watching, we allow ourselves to, make mistakes.
The First of the Ten Fetters is No Shame. Shame comes from within our minds. It is said people commit all wrongdoings behind closed doors without any sense of shame.
“A gentleman is careful even when alone.” We must be cautious when we are alone.
We should not think we can do something wrong just because no one is watching. That is wrong. That is having No Shame. Even when we are alone, we need to behave as if we are surrounded by eyes on all sides, as if people will point at us and say, “That’s wrong!” We must always be vigilant. Otherwise, we will do wrong when no one is watching. So if “we have no shame, we do not repent.” If we think no one sees us, we will not repent.
What does it mean that shame comes from within? It means we have a conscience. People say we need to be conscientious, to have that innate sense of right and wrong. Some cover up their conscience and create conflicts through rumors when they think others can’t hear them. They do things secretly when they think no sees them. These people have no shame. They “have no shame and do not repent.” They are unwilling to admit fault because they think no one heard or saw them. They refuse to admit their faults, so they “confuse their minds.”
Whose mind is getting confused? Others’ minds and their own minds. Actually, when we go against our conscience we will be extremely self-critical. We often say, “The worst punishment is regret.” If we are regretful but unwilling to admit fault, we become anxious that others may reveal our dishonest behavior. If someone exposed us, what would we do then? We worry about this.
When one does things against one’s conscience, one becomes extremely self-critical. In life, the worst punishments are a troubled conscience and regret.
Shame refers to the feeling of disgrace. We must have a sense of shame. If we lack a sense of shame, we bad-mouth others and do many wrong things. Although others do not see us, if we lack a sense of shame, we will not be afraid of others losing faith in our character. “Who cares if they find out?” That is being shameless. If we do not fear others finding out about our wrongdoings, that is even worse. So if Buddhist practitioners are shameless and lack a sense of honor, if their minds are impure, then they “indulge in passions and desires and violate precepts.” Therefore, we must be careful.
If we have no shame, we easily lose control. We do whatever we want, indulging our desires without restraint. Our actions and precepts will be compromised. Then, we are not qualified to be a teacher and teach the rules to others. So shame must come from within; we have to reflect on our innate sense of right and wrong. If we cannot self-reflect, we lack a sense of shame.
In summary, do not think it is alright as long as no one sees you. If someone sees us and we think, “So what! This is just the way I am!” this will hurt our integrity and damage our moral character. When we damage our moral character, we should be ashamed. People often casually say, “I am ashamed.” But shame has such a profound meaning. We must always be vigilant.
The second of the Ten Fetters is No Remorse. The first was No Shame, lacking self-reflection and doing bad behind people’s backs. The second is No Remorse towards others.
The second is No Remorse towards others. Even when others see us do wrong, we are unashamed.
We just talked of doing things behind people’s backs, not being self-aware and going against our conscience. With no remorse, we are unafraid of doing wrong in front of others even as they are watching us. This is even worse behavior. Those with shame may still admit mistakes. Those without shame dare to do bad in front of others. So whether they do it secretly or openly, everything they do is unwholesome. These people feel no remorse and cannot repent. Such an attitude will “confuse the mind.” When others say, “You’re wrong!”
They respond, “So what? I’m happy. So why not?”
Many people tell them they are wrong, but they say their minds are at ease. But really their minds are confused. Also, everyone else can see that they cause affliction in those around them. Clearly, they did something unreasonable. Clearly, they did something wrong. They feel miserable when they are with others and others feel miserable with them.
So a person who is disliked by others do not love himself, either “Afflictions follow those with no remorse.” Afflictions follow them throughout their lives. So, the first two Fetters are about the shameless. We split them into those who act against their conscience and those who do bad deeds in front of others. So people with no shame and no remorse commit more wrongdoings.
Life is suffering. The Buddha taught us in the hope that we will revert to our original nature. What is our original nature? Everyone is born with a good nature. It is difficult to return our minds to that state of goodness. We see old people in our hospitals every day. We ask, “Grandpa, do you have children?”
“Yes.”
“Do they come visit you?”
“No”
So, the grandpa is very depressed. It is said, “filial piety is foremost of all good.” If someone did something right or wrong, it may have been unnoticeable. But one thing people can clearly see is lack of filial piety. One day when the Buddha was walking on the street. He saw an old man with a hunched back and a cane, walking with great difficulty. He moved slowly inch by inch, holding a bowl to beg for food.
When the Buddha saw this, He quickly asked, “Sir, you are so old, why aren’t you at home? Do you have no children?”
“I do have a son.”
“If you have a son, why are you out here begging? You have a hard time walking and you are so old.”
He said, “Yes, I have a son, I have a family and a house, I have all that. But my son is not filial. After he wed, he threw me out of the house.”
Upon hearing this, the Buddha felt sorry for him. So He told the old man, “Let me teach you a passage to recite every day. No matter where you beg, recite the following.
“How does it go?”
“Listen and memorize it. A father happily accumulates wealth for his son, finds him a wife, then leaves home.”
“Leaves home” means he was driven out. He was “abandoned” by his son, so he had to leave.
“Enjoying his father’s wealth, the son turns on him. I was where I am today because I worked hard all my life to build a family. I had a house and land, and found a wife for my son. I was very happy when my son got married, and I gave him a lot of property. But now I am old, so my son does not want me. He heartlessly threw me out of the house. My son is enjoying the house and land I gave him. But he turned against me, his own father, and threw me out of the house. With human form and a demonic heart, he abandoned his old father.”
The son looks human, but he is a demon. He abandoned his old father. He drove out his honorable father. “The young son leaves this old father to beg.” The son was young, but his father was very old. Yet his father had to beg for fool, door to door. “This crooked staff is the best. My walking stick is the best thing, not the son who abandoned my love and affections. Unlike my son, this cane will not abandon my love and affections. “It keeps oxen away and keeps me safe from danger. This cane can keep vicious oxen away. When they approach, I drive them off with the cane. It works on both dogs and oxen. It also keeps me safe in dangerous places. As long as I have this cane, it will repel vicious dogs and help me walk in the dark. It helps me to navigate dark places.”
The old man began to recite this while he begged. Word of this spread through the village, and when his son heard about it, he felt ashamed that he did such an unconscionable thing, so he rushed to bring his father home. He bathed him and changed his clothes and took care to make amends.
The son was raised from birth by his father. When he took a wife, he suddenly lost his conscience and filial piety. But after people saw this and spread the word, he reflected on his actions and felt ashamed, so he changed his ways and brought his father home to care for him.
In life, if we make a mistake, we must make amends. If we do not, we go against our conscience. The worst punishment is regret. Why cause the pain of confusing yourself and disturbing others? The Buddha wanted to help us unravel all these knots from our minds, one be one. Do not fear mistakes fear your unwillingness to fix them. Everyone always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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