Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Sixteen Views Part 3 (十六知見三)
The universe is vast and filled with countless beings. In the end, these innumerable lives, whether long or short, great or miserable, are all truly very complicated.
People exist in the world, but for what purpose? What is the point of coming to this world? People know only birth, aging, illness and death. At birth, the mother is joyful, but the baby only feels pain. What baby doesn’t cry at birth? It is obvious that birth is bitter and painful. In Chinese if you put the word “pain” before “bitter,” you get a word for “suffering.” At birth, as one enters the world, the first reaction is to feel pain, followed by bitterness. Life is very mixed-up. People hope for children to carry on the ancestral line, but what good is this, in itself? What meaning does it have? It is just one kind of attachment. This is the nature of the world. One generation begets another, that is how we fulfill our duty. Many people think like this. But living in the world creates many difficulties, many afflictions, and much suffering. This is because we are alive and are attached to life. Birth, aging, sickness and death are everyone’s greatest worries.
The Buddha said that life is indeed very precious. When the mind become fickle, it is easy to fall into the Destiny of Hell, Hungry Ghost, or Animal. It all depends on one’s thoughts.
Sentient beings throw themselves into the Three. Destinies. It is difficult to be reborn human with working senses, in a country’s center, where teachings exist, and to meet Bodhisattvas, have faith in Sutras, and understand them well. Sutra of Collective Stories of Six Paramitas.
The Buddha said, “Sentient beings throw themselves into the Three Destinies.” Thoughts arise in the minds of most beings. They don’t have good intentions or vows, so it is naturally easy to err. As humans, we encounter many difficulties. It is difficult to be born as a human. Even if we are born human, we may not be born in a country with access to culture. A “country’s center” means the capitol. Why is it good to be there? Because it is easy to receive an education and to hear the principles of the world. It is rare to “be born in a country’s center.” Even after being reborn human in a central area, there is still the difficulty of being reborn with “working senses.” It is rare to be born “working senses.” We hope all our five sense organs work properly. Having them all work correctly is rare. Haven’t we been talking about the Roots and Dusts? Our eyes may be good but when we see something we have a different mental interpretation.
When the Roots engage the Dusts, they cause thoughts to arise. All emotions are produced within the Six Dusts. Although discrimination, emotions and desires are all produced through the interaction of our Six Roots and the outside world, we still need our senses to work correctly.
It is not easy. It is rare to be born in a country “where the teachings exist.” Meeting Bodhisattvas is also rare. Having faith in the Sutras is rare, as is penetrating their mysteries.
The Sutras are deep. After realizing their profound depth, can we clearly explain them? When we hear a clear and simple teaching, can we penetrate deeply into the Sutras? These are all difficult tasks. The Buddha told us if we are born human then we should treasure it. We must know to respect our body. The view that only aging, illness and death follow birth really is pitiful. Being born as a human is rare. Being born in a great cultural center, in an important place is also very rare.
Moreover, being born with all of our Six Sense Organs intact and functioning is also rare. Being born with perfect working senses and consciousness is also very rare. Most rare is being born in a place where the teachings exist. In this vast universe, which place, which country has the most teachings? It is difficult to know. To be among Bodhisattvas and draw close to them is difficult. Becoming joyful upon seeing the Sutras is especially difficult. We can have faith and enter deeply into them, but explaining them clearly is difficult. So the Buddha said if we can overcome even one of these difficulties, we should be joyful and grateful. We should seize the opportunity and be mindful.
Therefore, in the Sixteen Views, the third is “View of a Lifespan.” The meaning of View of a Lifespan is found in the Five Aggregates, which are connected to the six senses we just talked about. Those with this view will suffer from delusions about this life. In this life, we develop many attachments. Confusion is another name for attachment. Many people talk about their life plans, what they want to do in life. Every person has a different life plan. This shows that each person has different attachments in life.
In life, we are attached to sensations. How long will these attachments last? For the length of this life. In this life, what do I want to do and what kind of results do I want? We are not just talking of karmic results. Actually in everyone’s day to day life, their life plans serve as the cause. Carrying out a plan, they only care about results. Everyone person is the same. It is called ambition.
Karma determines the length of everyone’s life. Whatever my plan for this time, once my time is up I get the result. After the first time period, there will be a second and a third one. No matter what time period it is, there will always be a result. But in this life we only care about how we feel. In this life, we want to achieve certain results. We have hopes and dreams that we like to achieve, so we are not concerned with the means we use to achieve them. This is the human lifespan; this is what we struggle for.
We do not consider the length of our life. Whether our life is long or short, we are living today, struggling today, planning for the future today. We lead this type of existence, committing both right and wrong acts. Very few people think about how long they will live. But no matter the length of their lives, people confusedly cling to all they have in life. This is existence; this is the “self.” Aside from our own success, we also want to pass on our current endeavors to the next generation. This is the modern view of a Lifespan.
We pass on the things we want in life to the next generation. We do not think that after this life we still have the next life, and the life after that. We only think about continuing our family line, without realizing that we will be reborn. Where will we end up? We don’t know. The Buddha warned us to be mindful of our View of a Lifespan. Do not take issue over its length, or be attached to its pleasures. Since we still have our lives, we must raise our awareness.
The Buddha talked of the Five or Six Destinies. Besides Heaven and Human Realms, there are the painful retributions in the Three Lower Destinies.
Since we have attained a human body, and heard the Buddha-Dharma, we should make good use of this opportunity. Otherwise, we allow thoughts to arise and create karma, and will easily fall into the Three Destinies.
As a human, you should think, “The choices I must make are not easy. With so many difficulties, even if I’m born human, there are still 20 Challenges. In the past we had analyzed and discussed that after obtaining human existence, one must still face 20 challenges. So now when we hear that the Buddha said that birth in a place with culture is rare, that birth in a place with culture is rare, we must realize that living in this country, with good health and working faculties really is rare.
In September 2006, I read an extraordinary article about a pair of twins in America. The babies were not only identical; they were Siamese twins. They were conjoined at the head, but they faced in opposite directions. One was born with a bad foot and a bent spine. So of these two twins, one could not walk and had to use a wheelchair, while the other was also forced to pull the wheelchair, while facing in the opposite direction. Why could the twins’ heads be surgically separated? American medicine is very advanced, but because the twins shared 30% of their brains, there was no way to separate them. These twins are still alive and are already 45 years old. They have never been able to look directly into each other’s faces, each growing in the opposite direction. If one wants to see her own face, she uses a mirror, but if she wants to see her sister’s face they must both hold up mirrors to see each other.
This must be terrible for them, especially for the handicapped one who must be pulled by her sister. Two people invariably have different interests and habits. For example, if one like to bathe in the morning, but the other likes to bathe in the evening, they must compromise. When one of them wants to take a bath, whether it is morning or evening, the other one must accompany her. When one of them bathes, they put a towel between them so that the other will not get wet.
Think about it. If two people are joined like this, but their habits are different, won’t their life be filled with suffering? This is suffering in life. Besides its length, we consider quality of life. Having one’s full faculties is very rare, but what about our Six Consciousnesses, are they all working well? When they are not working well, it is very miserable.
People get attached to having a long life. However, not every life is bright and happy. If one’s physical and mental health are not good, one’s life will be difficult. We should be grateful for our health. If we can maximize the great potential of our life, then it is truly a blessed life.
In short, human existence is difficult. To be so healthy and peaceful, to came together and share the same belief together, and work diligently together is not easy to achieve. So cherish your affinities. Always be grateful and respectful, and always have a loving heart. Respect one another. We need to make good use of our life in this world.
Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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