Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Sixteen Views Part 4 (十六知見四)
It is a blessing to live in peace. Living in peace is a blessing in this world. How do we experience the joy of blessings and the suffering of misfortunes? Disasters, blessings, suffering and joy all exist in this world.
In this world, human beings become involved with one another, oppose one another, and even kill one other, but for what? For our attachments, for our own existence, or our own preference. Whether we are fixated on religion, wealth, or status, we naturally become entrenched in our own positions. Then we oppose and hurt others. This is what humans do.
With life come so many disasters. So the Buddha told us that the fourth of the Sixteen Views is the View of Endless Life. I am alive, so I have a life. You are alive, so you have a life. He is alive, so he has a life. With life come self-delusions about the existence of a permanent self. We exist in the Five Aggregates, form, sensation, perception, action, consciousness.
Every day we function in our life with our Roots. The Roots are the Six Sense Organs. While alive, we use our senses within the Five Aggregates. Thus we become attached to our positions and reject those people who are different. If your mind does not work like mine, if you are not of the same mind, if you are not on my side, I reject you. This rejection hurts us both.
Humans often become attached to their lives. For the sake of their survival and preferences, they reject what is different from themselves, thus creating opposition and harm.
People treat each other this way, not to mention other sentient beings. Toward non-humans, like animals, people cling to the attitude that they have the right to use them in any way they want, whether for eating or labor. Look at how hard oxen and horses work for humans. Since humans began farming, we have whipped oxen if they slowed down a little. If a horse runs slowly, the human on his back whips him. We treat animals very differently from humans. We think they exist for our use. We even believe they exist for our consumption. We sacrifice living beings for our palates, and the deaths are incalculable.
People only know, “I am human, I am alive. I have a life and I have feelings.” In dealing with others, they do not understand that others are also alive, also have lives, also have feelings. They have no empathy; they just look out for themselves. If humans have no empathy for each other, how can they feel for other living creatures? Humans do not value animals, so they eat, use, abuse, and kill them. Many people are only aware of their own feelings and how to make themselves happy. People raise roosters for cockfighting. They let them fight each other until they lose all their feathers. This makes people happy. The same goes for bullfighting. They deliberately use red cloth to aggravate bulls. They anger them, then, stab them with lances. Why? For their pleasure. As long as it makes them happy, they don’t have to cherish the lives of other beings. That is how they create karma in their lives.
Human, for the sake of their livelihood, drive animals into hard labor. To satisfy their appetites, they eat all kinds of living beings in the world. They engage in various behaviors because they do not know to cherish other living beings. Thus, when they act only to benefit their own lives, they create karma.
We do not know the value of other lives. Whose life is without value? We always talk about respecting life. This means not only human lives, but other animals’ lives as well. Some animals have high IQs. Although their appearance is different, they are more wise than some people. They are also loyal to their owners and are very adorable.
When the Buddha taught the Sutras, He spoke about many animals with wisdom. There was a recent news report. There was a woman, a young wife living in England. She had a happy family, with a husband, a son and a daughter. She managed this family very well. Her husband went to work, and the children went to school. They were very blessed.
Unfortunately, she fell ill ten years ago, with multiple sclerosis. Her body stiffened and she lost many motor functions. It seemed like her blessed family suddenly and completely collapsed. She could no longer do anything for them, so how could they cope? Her children were young , her husband was working. What could they do?
Fortunately, there was a group, a charity that helped the handicapped. They trained various animals, such as dogs, to help people. They wanted to help maintain the good fortunes of this family. But this disease is not curable, even in a medically advanced country like England. People are helpless when faced with this disease. So “Dogs for the Disabled” helped her by providing her with a service dog.
The dog, named Juska, was a Labrador. The breed is particularly smart. So Juska changed this woman’s and her family’s lives when he arrived. He was smart, so he could do a lot for his owner. He was a great help in her daily life. For example, she was in a wheelchair. So when her husband and children needed their dirty clothes washed, there was no way for her to get up and do laundry. So, the dog helped her by carrying each piece of clothes into the washing machine. He even pushed the buttons to start it. When the machine stopped that meant the clothes were clean and ready to be dried. Then he would open the machine and pull out the clothes and lay them in the sum to dry. Afterwards he collected the clothes and folded each item very neatly. When someone rang the doorbell, he opened the door to let them in. When his owner was thirsty, he brought her a bottle of water and a cup.
Therefore, she was well served. The dog could do many of her tasks and served her well. He even pushed her outside to enjoy the sun and make friends. With this dog this woman did not lack anything in her life. He was her most loyal friend. He accompanied her and did many things for her. This dog, Juska, was her great benefactor. Look at how an animal can be a person’s benefactor. MS leads to loss of motor functions and the eventual loss of speech. Without the dog’s assistance, her husband would not be able to work and the family would lose their anchor. And what would happen to the children?
In short, we should treasure all lives. The Buddha told us that as well. The value of life is not measured in breaths, in luxuries and in eating and drinking. The true value of life is in giving.
The value of life is not in simply breathing and enjoying luxuries; it is found in giving to others.
There is so much suffering in this world. Helping those in need gives value to our lives. Some people not only avoid helping those in need but also harm them. Look at the cruelties of man-made disasters. After a natural disaster, people can recover and rebuild their homes and lead peaceful lives. The four seasons continue their cycle. Even if the sun is blazing, a light breeze will eventually bring gentle relief.
If everyone can use their lives in this natural environment to help each other, the world will be a delightful place. Natural disasters easily pass, but there is no end to destruction caused by humans. This is all created by human minds.
So the Buddha taught us in the hope that we will cherish our lives and use them well. In a world full of confusion and afflictions, He taught us to transform afflictions and eliminate bad thoughts. He taught us how to develop our innate goodness amid afflictions, and how to transform evil into goodness.
This is what the Buddha came to teach us. We should have a sense of mission in our lives. Our mission is to shoulder the Tathagata’s work. We need to spread the Buddha’s teachings and use His wisdom to guide sentient beings onto a path of luminous wisdom. This is our mission.
Buddhists should have a sense of mission and shoulder the Tahagata’s work. They should spread the Buddha’s wisdom and teachings to liberate sentient beings from afflictions, transform evil into goodness, and steer them toward the light.
So we must make good use of this human body. Didn’t we say it is difficult to obtain human form, to be born in central areas, to meet Bodhisattvas? With so many practicing Bodhisattvas gathered in this organization, we must cherish it. Everyone is a practicing Bodhisattva, so we must be respectful towards everyone.
Of course we must have a Bodhisattva-mind, make the Bodhisattvas-vow and practice the Bodhisattva-path. We must use this life, this world, and our relationships for spiritual cultivation. We must take advantage of this opportunity. We must know that as human beings, we have emotions. We know that we do not like to see this or hear that, so we have to understand that others may be similarly unhappy when they see us or hear what we say. This empathy is All-embracing Compassion.
We have to constantly offer Unconditional Loving-kindness. Even if someone is completely unrelated to us, we should still-wish them well. This is Unconditional Loving-kindness. Loving-kindness creates blessings. We need to practice All-embracing Compassion with each other. We need to strengthen our sense of compassion and be more caring to those we know. We should foster mutual-love, harmony and unity. So we must have All-embracing Compassion. If we can do this, if we have this empathy toward others, then we will not have any prejudice. So, Unconditional Kindness created blessings, and All-embracing Compassion shows understanding. Other people feelings are ours, their pain is ours, and their happiness is ours. We should treat each other with empathy. Wouldn’t life then be dull happiness?
Unconditional Loving-Kindness creates blessings. Having All-embracing Compassion shows understanding. Make the Bodhisattva-vow and practice the Bodhisattva-path. Treat others with empathy and try to benefit all sentient beings.
Everyone, make the most of your life. If we use our lives to benefit others, then our lives will truly be valuable. This not only applies to people, but animals as well. Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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