Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Eleven Universal Agents Part 9 (十一遍使 九)
On the television program “Guardian of Love,” one of our Tzu Chi doctors was profiled. Growing up, his family was poor and his mother worked hard to raise and educate him. This is why we often say, “be grateful to your parents.” The determined young boy who grew up in that poor family is now a great doctor. He has not lost his initial aspiration to save others.
We also saw his kind father and compassionate mother reminding him of his resolve. Even though his parents are old and living in the countryside, as part of the TV program, “Guardian of Love,” they heard about how their son, this responsible doctor, saves lives. He spoke about how his parents are getting old and how he does not have time to see them. Then we heard the parents’ side of the story. They talked to their son from the countryside. We can see their conversation on television. The father told his son, “As long as you take care of your health and help others, I am very happy. I know you are busy.” His mother told him, “When I see you save others, when I hear others praise you, I am also very happy. Focus on your responsibilities there. We old folks can take care of ourselves. We will be healthy. Be at ease. Don’t worry about us.”
See, a kind father raises his child in hopes that he will be accomplished and make contributions to society. This is a kind father. With kindness, he hopes his son will be happy and create blessings for humanity. These are the qualities of a “kind father.” What about a “compassionate mother?” She gave birth to the child. So when the child is happy, she is happy. If the child is worried, exhausted, or one of any number of things, then the mother will feel the child’s pain in her heart. Mother and child are interconnected. The mother cares about the child’s body and the child’s feelings.
This is all-embracing compassion. This is the way of compassionate mother. This television show is truly heart-warming. We can feel the harmony between these people. We all do our best to give, to help society, to help humanity, to alleviate suffering, to provide education. We truly make this happen. When our profession is in line with our mission, we are all very happy.
During this time, we have often said that everything in our minds and in the whole universe is subject to the eleven kinds of ignorance, which are called the Eleven Universal Agents.
The Eleven Universal Agents are the Seven Views, Two Doubts and the Twofold Ignorance.
Seven Views: Deviant View, View of Self, View of Eternalism, View of Nihilism, View of Precepts, View of Shortcuts, View of Doubt.
Two Doubts: Doubt of Things and Doubt of Principles.
Twofold Ignorance: Root Ignorance and Branch Ignorance.
These afflictions obscure our minds. We cannot separate them from our mental states, form our lives. As soon as one ignorance thought emerges, these eleven kinds of ignorance follow. They appear in all our activities and interactions. The slightest bit of carelessness creates karma. So we should earnestly remember this. There are the Seven Views. Let us review them.
The first view is Deviant View. Do you remember? Deviant means incorrect. If our perspective is misguided, off by just a bit, our mistakes will be great. Adhering to heretical teachings, deviant views or complicated superstitions is very terrifying.
The second is the View of Self, which is being limited in our outlook, believing we are always right. We do not see things from others’ perspectives. A View of Self or an attachment to “self” causes people to suffer greatly. We cannot separate ourselves, we live among many other people. Everyone has their own views and perspectives. If everyone clings to their View of Self there is no way for their views to come together. If we cannot come together, our lives will be filled with suffering. So we cannot cling to a View of Self. If we see ourselves a s the center of everything, we will suffer greatly.
In the past we have discussed being rich or poor. We sometimes cannot get what we want. If we cannot get it, why do we cling so tightly? We cannot have a View of Self. We also should not have a View of Eternalism. The world is fundamentally impermanent. In the same world, there are different realms. Some places are blessed. The people who live there enjoy happiness, while others live in places without blessings where disasters strike. So we should not believe that just because others are certain way, we should also be that way. That is not necessarily true. Depending on the karma we carry, the conditions we encounter will not always be like this.
We do not know how long our lives will be, or what we will encounter in the process. We do not know any of this. We should always take care of our minds. We can train our minds to be open. No matter what kind of conditions appear, we can always adapt. Do not lose sight of the principles. Take hold of yourself and do not cling to permanence. Life is fundamentally impermanent. Although today is peaceful, we do not know what tomorrow may bring.
A minute went by, now it is a minute later; time is constantly moving. We are our causes and conditions in the next fifteen minutes? Who will we run into? What situations will we encounter? We do not know at all. This is part of impermanence. If we understand impermanence, then we must look after our minds. No matter what happens in fifteen minutes, people and things are always impermanent. We should always take care of our minds.
The fourth is the View of Nihilism. We cannot cling to permanence, but we cannot cling to Nihilism either. We should know that after this life, there is still the next life.
Some people cling to Nihilism and think that they can do whatever they want. They indulge in a life of luxury, enjoying everything they can, and arguing over everything they can. As long as they win, they are happy; the means do not matter. In this way, they disregard cause and effect. They do not understand that the cause determines the kind of effect they receive. They do not know everything they do in this life affects what they will receive in the next. They disregard the past and the future, and just cling to the present. That is the View of Nihilism. It is terrible. There is no evil that this kind of person won’t do.
We cannot cling to Nihilism. Next is the fifth, which is not wanting to uphold the precepts or follow the path, and thus taking heretical precepts. A few days ago I said that some beliefs are deviant, and that many religious conflicts lead to many disasters. This is the View of Precepts. Truly guard the precepts that the Buddha taught, “Practice all that is good, do no evil.” We must not do evil. Only having the five Precepts and Ten Precepts can we attend to our daily practice, and not do things that harm others. The Buddha wanted us to pursue all that is good. Precepts are meant to guard against wrongdoings. We should also practice good deeds. Upholding the Ten Precepts and practicing the Ten Good Deeds is the proper way to live.
If we can practice the Ten Good Deeds, everyone in our society, every family, will live in peace. This takes proper discipline. There are some who study Buddhism but do not follow the path. Some people who are not Buddhists take other religions’ evil and deviant views, which creates religious attachment. They even harm others to benefit themselves.
If we are the Buddha’s disciples, we must accept His guidelines. Do not abandon His Right Precepts to take up others. This is going astray. Trying to get better results by using others’ precepts will not work.
Next is the View of Shortcut. We do not always know the true and proper cause. If we know the proper cause, we naturally follow the proper path and obtain the proper results, the true results. Haven’t we discussed this? Doubt is not right, either Retributions are the result of practice or of how we treat each other. It is impossible to have others treat you well if you do not treat them well. If you treat people well, then they will naturally treat you well. These are results.
If you are unwilling to treat others well, and keep asking them for things, they will treat you poorly. Then you will be unsatisfied and troubled.
This is called the retribution of shortcuts. The result comes from the cause. The cause is what we must give. What we experience, or what comes back to us is called the result. They View of Precepts and the View of Shortcuts are all about what you give and receive. If what you give is correct, then what you receive will be correct.
The seventh is the view of doubt. Doubt is very troublesome. A doctor told a woman she had diabetes and gave her a prescription. She heard people say that one should not mix medicines, because if you do it wrong, it is not healthy and a waste of money. So she was unwilling to take the medicine, and did not control her blood sugar. People told her to watch what she ate, but she said, “My life’s not blessed if I cannot eat.” So she just ate whatever she wanted. First she did not trust the doctor and was unwilling to take the medicine, then she said, “I am only blessed if I can eat.” She did not consider the results. She trusted herself, not others. She doubted others.
The result came one day as she clipped her nails. She cut her finger and could not treat it. The cut became infected. She kept applying some medicine, but the cut got infected with bacteria. It got serious so she had to go to the hospital, but it was already too late. She died just a few hours after arriving. The bacteria had spread to her heart and lungs, and the doctors could not save her.
This situation was from Doubt. If you are sick, you should trust the doctor. You should take the medicine they prescribe. But she had doubt, she did not believe. She clung to a View of Self. She said, “Mu life’s not blessed if I can’t eat.” She waited until one foot was rotting, and when they tried to save her, it was too late. These were all problems from the Seven Views. You cannot always fix them. This was a summary of the Seven Views.
After the Seven Views, there is still Doubt and Ignorance . There are two kinds of Doubt, Doubt of Things, and Doubt of Principles. The Doubt of things is like that woman’s doubt. Doubting principles is like heretical practices. If we doubt things and principles, it is very hard for us to understand the present. If we doubt the principles, we will not be able to understand the future. We will not be able to understand the past or present either. It is like ignorance obscuring our minds; it is very dark. Those are the two kinds of doubt, Doubt of Things and Doubt of Principles.
Next is Ignorance. There is Root Ignorance and Branch Ignorance. Root Ignorance is like the trunk of a tree [rising from the root], and we are born with it. With that original seed, when causes and conditions come together, the seed grows into a tree. We often say that we all have a pure nature. This pure nature is originally wise and radiant. But ignorance and innate nature come together. When we practice, we practice to maintain our purity and remove our afflictions. Not only are ordinary people unable to remove their current afflictions, they also accumulate negative habits. These habits are continuously passed down life after life, to the point in each life people have more habits than they did in the last. So life after life, we carry these afflictions and habits. No matter where we are born, they follow us. As we are unenlightened ordinary people, though hear many principles and think that we know them, when habits and afflictions arise, we still are caught up in afflictions. Every day we are influenced by afflictions. This Root Ignorance is a type affliction that we cannot see.
When our habits emerge, it is like a tree. The tree grows up and out, the branches and leaves flourish, and you can the shape of the tree. This tree is a metaphor for our habits. Some people may tell you that the person you are with has bad habits or a bad temper. When people interact, one’s habits are always apparent to others. People may advise you about it, but to no avail. When they tell you, you will listen, but after a while, you will be the same. That is your habit.
Habits can be changed, so we say, “we have to practice.” We should start by getting rid of the branch afflictions and habits. Only then can we get into the root affliction and remove it. When we pull out the roots of afflictions, then our pure nature can emerge.
Spiritual cultivation is about eliminating Branch Ignorance. By eliminating our residual habits, we can then eliminate the Root Ignorance and recover our pure nature.
So those are the Eleven Universal Agents. The Seven Views, Two Doubts, and Twofold Ignorance. Add them together, and you get eleven. These Eleven Universal Agents, follow us in everything we do in our daily lives. If we are not careful and allow just one to emerge, habits will run wild. Then human interactions become very difficult, and we create much karma. Everyone, today I have summarized the talks in the past few days so that we can be clear. So please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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