Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Eleven Universal Agents Part 7 (十一遍使七)
As Buddhist practitioners, we must always take care of our minds. We have been told this thousands of time, but are we taking enough care? Because we are ordinary people, we need to practice.
Since we have vowed to practice, we must follow the principles. They exist to target ignorance. Sentient beings are ignorant; they do not understand the principles. We often say, “The Way is the path to follow.” We should follow the correct path. This path leads straight to the state of Buddhahood. Then we are truly studying the Buddha’s teachings, moving forward according to the principles, directly to the state of Buddhahood. This is our objective.
Unfortunately, so many people are ignorant and have lost the principles. So we must always be looking for Truth and for the broad path. We look so hard. If we find it, we should make a vow to advance and to leave doubt behind. In life, there is often doubt.
The seventh of the Eleven Universal Agents is View of Doubt. Darkness is created because of doubt. It is like when a dark cloud is blocking the sun that hangs high in the sky. The sunlight cannot shine through. A cloud can also block the moon, so moonlight does not shine through. People’s ignorance is like the cloud, obscuring the radiance of our wisdom. This obscuring cloud of ignorance can cause doubt to arise. The ignorance of doubt most easily obscures the radiance of our wisdom.
Sentient beings’ ignorance is like a dark cloud that covers the light of wisdom. The dark cloud that blocks our wisdom the most is doubt.
The Eleven Universal Agents are the Seven Views, Two Doubts and Twofold Ignorance. There is Doubt of Principles and Doubt of Things, Root Ignorance and Branch Ignorance. Altogether there are eleven. These eleven kinds of afflictions exist universally in our minds every day.
They exist in our lives. If we are just a little careless, these Seven Views, Two Doubts and Twofold Ignorance can be created.
Now we will talk about the two kinds of doubt. The Doubt of Things is the eighth Agent. The other kind, the ninth Agent, is the Doubt of Principles. The Doubt of Things is like being in a daze, or like sitting for a long time in a dark cave. It is disregarding conscience, seeing what is right but not acting on it. So “being dazed” means not being diligent. The true principles are distorted by the ignorance of the world. In our daily lives, we cannot see what is right and wrong, so we get caught up in conflicts. We do not know how to take the correct path with perseverance to move forward. Doubt arises in our minds. Getting caught up in conflict and pettiness is “being dazed.”
Being dazed in the midst of principles is like being in a dark cave in your own mind. People say, “Bravely do what is right.” We must muster up the courage to do good things and keep moving forward. But with doubt, you cannot muster the courage, so it is like being dazed, sitting in a dark cave. This is our wisdom being obscured by a cloud of darkness. This also describes the ignorance from doubt, the Doubt of Things.
In human interactions, there are many things we must do. We have a saying, “when others hurt, I hurt, when they suffer, I grieve.” Take a look inside our hospital. Every day the volunteers are busy, whether in the clinic or the patient ward. They treat the patients, they help them adjust, assist them in walking and help them recover. If the patients are unhappy, they are supportive. This requires courage. When sentient beings are in need, our resolve must be strong. Without a strong resolve we cannot ease the troubles of sentient beings.
As Bodhisattva practitioners, when we face the suffering of all beings, we must have altruistic intentions and also vow to practice. If we only have the intent but do not practice, sentient beings will be unable to receive help. We clearly see people who really need our support, and our help. But doubt arises in our minds and we get caught up in darkness. “Will we be infected by their disease? If I tell him in this way, will he misunderstand me?” If it is physical labor, we are unwilling to do it, and we do not have the courage to inspire them with the principles. In this way, it is just like sitting dazed in a dark cave, just sitting there with doubts, unable to persevere.
With doubt, even if the broad road is in front of us, we are unable to walk on it. So we must not have doubt. This is the Doubt of Things.
If we have Doubt of Things, doubt arises when we see others in need. We ignore our conscience; we see what is right yet do nothing. Even if the wide path is before us, we do not walk it.
In addition to doubt of people and things, there is also Doubt of Principles. What is Doubt of Principles? When we indulge ourselves in entertainment, we do not adhere to the principles. Before, it was not daring to help, now it is just indulging yourself, living in illusion. People’s lives pass in vain. Not knowing that it is in vain, they continue to be undisciplined and cannot put benevolence, justice, propriety and wisdom into practice. This is laziness, lack of self-control. They feel that there is nothing to life but their own enjoyment. Everything is permissible, so it is easy to get off track. This is Doubt of Principles. In life, we must have principles. Only then do we have a path to follow. Only then do we have a path to follow low. We also need to stay on our path. We must adhere to rules and principles. If people doubt them, they cannot adhere to them. They just become indolent.
These kinds of people are living life in vain. Not only will they not accomplish anything, they also create karma. They are unwilling to help others or uphold the rules, so they take many missteps.
Those who have Doubt of Principles live aimlessly in self-indulgence and delusion. They do not follow any principles. Not only are their lives empty, they also create unwholesome karma, harming themselves and others.
In southern Mexico there was a group of educators protesting. It happened on August 22, 2006. In the news, this group of teachers kept appealing to other educators in the south to go on protest. They protested before school started. Why were they protesting? What was going on with these intelligent people? What was it they wanted? They wanted raises. They felt that their salary was too low, so they wanted a raise. These teachers are all public employees. They cannot get a raise just because they want one. So they went to the legislature and the governor to request one. But it was vetoed, so the group held a demonstration.
Not only did they protest, they seized eight television stations. They wanted the stations to broadcast only them, and to tell this story to the whole country, it was scary. Eventually almost the whole south of Mexico went on strike. Education almost entirely ceased. This resistance even become a riot and caused chaos in the community. Where did the chaos begin?
In people’s minds. Being teachers, they should teach, pass on the Way. Their mission is very sacred. Our hopes lie in education. Education is to develop people’s abilities. Students should have received an education, but because these teachers wanted a raise, through mutual influence and instigation, a huge crowd grew, creating chaos in the whole community. Since they are teachers, they are intellectual, but these intellectuals’ minds were obscured by ignorance. What kind of ignorance? Profit and self-interest, the view of a personal “self.”
This is View of Self or attachment to Self. It is all very worrisome. It is all ignorance. If there is a bit of ignorance, it will constantly attract more. Do you remember the seven kinds of ignorance? There are seven: seven kinds of Views. These Views are forms of ignorance. Look at them one by one, starting with the View of Self, being selfish or attached to self, then attachment to Eternalism, attachment to Nihilism, doubts, etc. Bit by bit they keep gathering, becoming this daze, this slackness. A teacher has a mission to educate children, not to be in daze. They should have love and pass their knowledge on to these children, help them understand the principles and lead them in the right direction. That is “to teach, to pass on the Way.” Only then can they practice.
The teachers have negated their own value. It is like sitting in a dark cave, without a conscience. They became powerful but made many mistakes. Not only did “things” cause them to doubt, they did not even know the principles or even their own mission. So they indulge themselves and derail themselves. This kind of derailment causes chaos in society. It is dreadful.
Everyone should uphold their responsibility and protect their minds. We should mindfully do what we have to do. We should have altruistic intentions and make vows. When we work with people our minds must remain in line with the principles. If our work can be in harmony with the principles, we must be in harmony with our responsibilities. If our relationships are harmonious, our conduct will be harmonious. Then we are in harmony with the principles. This all comes from our minds. Everyone, every day on our path, we must be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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