Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Eleven Universal Agents Part 8 (十一遍使八)
We who study the Buddha’s teachings find that there are many numbers in the Dharma. Actually, the truth can be separated into just “things” and “principles.” “Things” refers to everything in the universe that has form. But there is a principle behind everything.
We want to harmonize things and principles. Since there so many types of things, many numbers are found in the principles. Many things, many principles. They are actually all in our minds. I often tell everyone about the Three Sciences and Four States of Existence. This embodies all of the Buddha-Dharma. But how much do sentient beings really understand about these Three Sciences and Four States?
We should know that the Buddha taught people according to their abilities. There is a wide range of abilities, so the Buddha taught a wide range of methods. People have so many afflictions, so the Buddha provided many doctrines. I often say that the principles are the basics. In the simplest principles we find the most beautiful life. What a pity that everything is so complicated now.
The Eleven Agents we spoke of are universal. They drive our minds to get in contact with the outside world. These eleven Agents constantly let afflictions arise in our minds. When afflictions and ignorance develop and the mind connects to external states, we invert right and wrong. It all comes from a single thought. It is that simple, but it becomes complex.
The Eleven Universal Agents are the Seven Views, The Two Doubts and the Twofold Ignorance.
The Seven Views are:
Deviant View, View of Self, View of Eternalism, View of Nihilism, View of Precepts, View of Shortcuts, and View of Doubt.
The Two Doubts:
Doubt of Things and Doubt of Principles.
The Twofold Ignorance:
Root Ignorance and Branch Ignorance.
In the Eleven Universal Agents, we talked about Doubt of Things and Doubt of Principles. Next comes ignorance. There is Root Ignorance and Branch Ignorance. As I have said before, “An ignorant thought causes the Three Subtleties. External states lead to the Six Coarse Marks.” This means that we start with our pure nature, but one thought is stirred by external conditions and ignorance arises.
“External states lead to the Six Coarse Marks.” We are constantly connecting with external states. Life after life, external conditions influence us. It is continuous. This is how ignorance works. Ignorance in this life is a continuation from our past lives. It is born from our past habitual tendencies. Habits are born from ignorance, and ignorance is born from habits, life after life, constantly feeding each other. In this way, since Beginningless Time, ever since one thought of ignorance arose, it has been continually carried forward until now. Now, if we do not thoroughly rid ourselves of our habitual tendencies and ignorance, we will add to this life’s habits, which will carry over into our nest life. So the accumulation of habits keeps growing. It is like grime that builds up on a mirror. The mirror was originally clear. If there is steam, the mirror becomes foggy and catches dirt and dust from the air. So the mirror becomes grimy. If the grime is not wiped away, it will just collect more and more, until the mirror does not reflect anything.
Therefore, we must always wipe it clean. We should often clear our minds. Otherwise, ignorance will follow our pure nature, and constantly be in effect. Our pure nature will be unable to come forth. The Root Ignorance is always present. We should understand this. This is called Root Ignorance.
Root Ignorance begins with a deluded thought. As delusion and attachment accumulate over a long time, defiled habits become worse. Life after life, they continue.
Of Root Ignorance, the most serious is Stinginess. “Stinginess” means being without love. In our daily lives, there are many things we can give. Giving is very simple. Smile at people; give them a little smile. When you smile at other people, you express your good will. But some people always look serious, they are too stingy to even give a little smile, let alone other things. If you see someone carrying many heavy things, you should lend a hand to lighten their burden. This is helping through effort. If you are not willing to put any effort, that is also Stinginess. With these simple examples, we can understand. Every day, in all kinds of activities, even in simple conversation, some people are unwilling to speak to others. When a person is very troubled, one comforting sentence can open their heart. Yet at a timely moment, you are unwilling to give.
If someone says something without thinking, and we cannot stand listening to it, we quickly react. That is ignorance. When we open our mouth and start to speak, or when we start to think, or start to move, these actions are not always very appropriate. If we can give at the appropriate time, endure when we should endure, then that is the Dharma. If the Dharma is in our hearts, we will not be stingy. If we are stingy it is because of ignorance.
We may be too selfish, self-interested and stingy, but we may meet someone who is here to guide us. Though we cannot yet guide others, we encounter precious benefactors in our life. When they appear, the door to our hearts must be open so they can enter. If we are unwilling to even open this door, the people advise us, “You should practice some good karma. You are truly blessed. Knowing your blessing, cherish them & create more.”
When the door to our hearts is closed, we think, “These blessings are my own, why should I give to others?” We are unwilling to accept others or give them anything. This is also called Stinginess. There are many ways to be stingy in the midst of ignorance. People with this kind of Root Ignorance are selfish their whole life. Everyone has a benevolent nature. We were born with it.
But Root Ignorance closely follows our benevolent innate nature. Moreover, it contaminates and covers it. So before our innate nature can even manifest, Root Ignorance has already obscured it. This is the trouble with Stinginess.
Stinginess comes first in Root Ignorance. Being stingy, one does not have the heart to love or help others, and is not willing to give.
Next is Branch Ignorance. It is the last of the Eleven Universal Agents. Having Branch Ignorance is not only the unwillingness to give, it is even more terrible, and it poisons the mind. We just discussed how we carry the habits of our past lives into the present. They have already poisoned our thoughts. With Branch Ignorance, not only are we unwilling to helping others, we think of how to destroy things, how to destroy other people’s reputation, their success, or their families. Some think of destroying society or nations.
These are some poisonous ideas. Although we have a human body, we are more fearsome than any beast of prey when. Root Ignorance and Branch Ignorance combine.
Branch Ignorance is the afflictions that arise when Root Ignorance comes into contact with the Six Roots and Six Dusts. Then one is not only stingy, but also harms others.
Fundamentally, everyone has a benevolent nature. But that nature is constantly influenced by ignorance, life after life. This becomes very toxic. More than 2000 years ago in India, the Buddha became enlightened. Seeing sentient beings suffer so much, He responded and opened countless Dharma-doors, teaching according to people’s abilities, providing the cure according to the disease. But how many can truly accept His teachings? How many can truly make use of His miraculous cures? We are often looking for a cure.
In the Sutra there is this passage, “The Paramita of Giving is boundless.” The Buddha’s method, everything He taught us, is simply “to nurture others with loving-kindness.” We should nurture others with love and compassion. We should nurture or others with love and compassion. We should help provide them with a stable life, and give them advice from the heart. We should also “have compassion for evil-doers. In human interactions, evil and deviant views are inevitable. Every day for the past few days I have said, “Those with the wrong perspective go astray, but we should have pity for them.” This is called pitying all people.
“Rejoice with those who help others.” Seeing able people, we rejoice in their good deeds. Seeing how capable they are, we really like them. We should become close to them. If we see someone who is dull-witted, we should help them. We should rejoice in everyone’s deeds and success. We should “Protect and help sentient beings” and safeguard their abilities. We should support and protect them. As for relatively slow people, we should not let them go astray. This is the outlook we should have.
Next is love. We should not only love those around us, but also “sentient beings across the world.” “People spread Dharma, Dharma won’t spread itself.” This folk saying is very true. We should promote the teachings, and not only to those close to us. The Buddha was born in India and taught the Dharma there. And look, during the past 2500 years, so many practitioners of great virtue carried on the Dharma. They brought it to China, Taiwan and beyond. This is “across the world.” We must leap over heaven and earth, 1000moutains, 10,000rivers, to spread the teachings. “Be giving to all beings, feed the hungry.”
We are generous toward all sentient beings. If they are starving, we should give them something to eat. “Give the thirsty something to drink.” If they are thirsty, we should give them water. “Clothe all who are cold, cool who are hot.” When it is cold out, we should give them clothes. Do not let them freeze or catch a cold. When it is very hot, we provide them with shade. “Help the sick medicine” and “give to those who lack.” We should quickly give medicine to the sick, because when they are sick and poor, we must take care of them and give them supplies. We should treat a suffering person as if they were our own child. Think about this passage. Isn’t this what Tzu Chi volunteers do every day?
Nurture others with loving-kindness, have compassion for evil-doers, rejoice with those who help others, protect and help sentient beings across the world. Be giving to all beings, feed the hungry. Give the thirsty something to drink. Clothe those who are cold, cool those who are hot. Help the sick with medicine. Sutra on the Collection of the Six Perfections.
We who study the Buddha’s teachings must do so with regard to people, things and situations. We should not have doubts about people. We should be very clear about things and situations. We should expand our hearts to treat the whole as one family. All sentient beings in the universe are our loved ones. When there is love and affection, there is no stinginess or poisonous thoughts.
Everyone who studies the Buddha’s teachings should not, even for one day, allow the Eleven Universal Agents to take hold of their minds. We should reflect on ourselves. Only then can we eliminate ignorance bit by bit. We should bring forth the wisdom of our minds that is equal to the Buddha’s. The brilliance of our pure, innate wisdom is now obscured by ignorance. We should make use of external conditions by using the Dharma I am explaining in our daily lives. Only then can we gradually eliminate ignorance. Nurture good habit and get rid of bad ones. Therefore, in studying the Buddha’s teachings, we should often clean the mirror of our minds. So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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