Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: End of All Leaks to Alleviate Afflictions (諸漏盡 煩惱輕)
All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas possess a serene state of mind. We practice Buddha-Dharma to attain that state. We hope that everyone can be free of afflictions.
There are many types of afflictions. Afflictions come from different kinds of views. We have previously spoken of the Sixty-two Views. There are also the Ninety-eight Tempters that driven us beyond our control. Are there only Ninety-eight Tempters? We also have the 108 Afflictions. 108 kinds of affliction! Is that all? No, the Buddha spoke of 84,000 afflictions.
You should all understand this very clearly, so you can be vigilant when your mind comes in contact with the outside environment. Troubling afflictions arise when certain views connect with external states. Are we always vigilant about our minds? To be vigilant, we must take the Dharma to heart. The Dharma is in our daily lives. So I always tell everyone to apply the Buddha-Dharma in daily living and become Bodhisattvas in this world.
Indeed, the Bodhisattva state can be reached in this world. Can we maintain a serene mindset, on par with a Bodhisattva’s mind? If our mind is the same as that of a Bodhisattva’s then we are close to the Buddha’s state of mind. Therefore, the Buddha-Dharma should be practiced in the world and in our lives. Otherwise, afflictions will continue to give rise to thoughts and ignorance that drive us, and we will not have a moment to stop and reflect.
The next verse reads, “Our minds burn day and night and we open the doors of Leaks to cause all wrongdoings.” The afflictions, such as the aforementioned Views and Tempters that drive us, are like a fire that constantly burns in our minds. Some people say, “I’m so busy my mind is on fire. I’m so angry my mind is on fire. I’m so upset my mind is on fire.” When the mind is ablaze, it cannot abide in peace. We lose our rationality and cannot be at peace. This is a mental sickness. It is called a “mind on fire.” Fire burns and destroys everything.
Driven by ignorance, the mind continues to give rise to afflictions. With fire burning in the mind day and night, the field of merits is destroyed.
Think about it, if the mind is fiercely burning, it is a very serious matter. And this is only one affliction. There are many types of afflictions that prevent our minds from being peaceful. Why is that? Don’t we always say, “The mind, Buddha and living beings are equal.” If our mind and the Buddha’s mind are equal, then why is ours filled with so many afflictions? Why can’t we quiet our minds? It is because our doors of Leaks are open. If you recall, I have said, “A deluded thought creates the Tree Subtleties. Eternal states lead to the Six Coarse Marks.” Originally, everyone’s mind was pure, but one deluded thought gave rise to Three Subtleties, to three kinds of subtle afflictions, greed, anger, and ignorance. They continued to grow until immeasurable and countless Views, Afflictions, Tempters, etc., arose. By opening the doors of Leaks, we create many wrongdoings.
What are Leaks? They are afflictions. Once the door of Leaks is opened, all wrongdoings are generated. We disturb the saints, sages, and beings of the Four Births that live in the Three Realms. It is terrible. When we open the door to afflictions, then our manner, conduct and speech harm others as well as ourselves. Not only that, we disrupt families and society. In the world, many wise, sagely and Bodhisattva-like individuals have appeared. They use different methods to teach us so that we can understand the principles and know that we should self-reflect when we see unwholesomeness. When we see improper situations, we can self-reflect right away. Many sages have served as role models to guide us.
But many people go against the sages’ teachings, so they are concerned. When people are not receptive to the teachings, the sages are very concerned for them. Human afflictions fill the Tree Realms and disturb saints, sages and beings of Four Births. You see, besides making Buddhas and Bodhisattvas feel helpless and sad, we harm beings of all Four Births.
We hurt other beings that are born from wombs. Like humans, cows, horses, deer, etc. are also “womb-born” beings. Besides womb-born beings, there are also “egg-born” beings, such as chickens, ducks and other birds. In addition, in wet areas there are “water-born” creatures. They also hatch from eggs, but the eggs are in the water or in wet places. Then there are “transformation-born” beings. So those are the Four Births.
Everyone, everything with life was born through one of these Four Births. All living beings are born in one of these four forms and exist in the Three Realms. Once our afflictions are formed, we take them everywhere. Think about it , we humans fight among ourselves.
Then, to fulfill our craving for taste, we kill so many living beings. Our actions also cause the environment to change completely. World climates are abnormal due to the negative karma of people’s afflictions. It is truly dreadful. We should know that if we do not correct our afflictions, negative karma will accumulate. Sometimes the threefold karma we create in one day can give rise to 108 afflictions. We must rectify this quickly. Otherwise, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Sages will worry about us.
When the doors to afflictions are opened, our speech and conduct become harmful to others and to ourselves. We must promptly correct ourselves to minimize our negative karma.
What does Leak mean? It is another term for describing afflictions. Thus, the word Leak means that people cannot retain the Dharma. We have just said that saints and sages came into this world to teach us. They guide us by using different methods. But we are stubborn, our minds difficult to tame. This is because we do not take their teachings to heart. I often say we must practice Buddhism in our lives. But have we done that? Have we applied the Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives? No? Why not? After being taught so much Dharma, we forget it. We listen to the teachings, thinking that they are correct and that we should change, but after time passes, we soon forget. When a situation presents itself, we return to the state of mind of ordinary people, which is filled with turmoil and afflictions. That is a Leak.
Our minds should be continuously cleansed with Dharma-Water to eliminate afflictions. But our minds accumulate a lot of afflictions, while we are unable to retain the Dharma-Water. This is the meaning of a Leak. A Leak is an affliction, because the water to wash our mind leaks away. So Leak is another name for afflictions.
Leaks are found everywhere in the Three Realms, where afflictions are also called the Three Leaks. Sentient beings usually possess all Three Leaks, especially the beings in the Desire Realm. The aforementioned 108 Afflictions or Ninety-eight Tempters are divided into The Desire, Form and Formless Realms. Beings in the Desire Realm are full of cravings, and create many afflictions and negative karma. Leaks are common in the Three Realms. There are Leaks of Desire in the Desire Realm, Leaks of Form in the Form Realm, and Leaks of Formlessness in the Formless Realm. So the Three Realms are filled with afflictions.
In the Formless Realm, how can there be affliction when there is no form? The afflictions are very subtle. This is just like when we are calm and in a quiet environment, and thoughts still arise in the mind. Even with no environment, we still have thoughts. These kinds of minute thoughts fill the Desire, Form, and Formless Realms. These realms are full of afflictions. It is very terrifying.
The Introductory Chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, “Having exhausted all Leaks, there are no afflictions." The Lotus Sutra is about the Bodhisattva-path. How can one take the Bodhisattva-path to approach Buddhahood? The only method is by eliminating afflictions, which means to be rid of all Leaks. Just like when there is a hole in a bucket, we have to mend it quickly to retain the water. If we have afflictions, it is like a leaky bucket that can only hold garbage, and cannot hold water. So we have to fix it quickly.
Because we have Leaks, we need to mend them. If we had a brand new container, would it leak? There would not be any leaks. Our original nature is pure, but we have damaged it. We continuously damage it. What causes the damage? Afflictions. One more affliction is one more Leak. If we add another affliction, we add another Leak. Thus, we have to repair them through spiritual practice. The Buddha expounded the Dharma, from Skillful Means to Bodhisattva’s methods. These teachings are about eliminating afflictions one by one. As one affliction is eliminated, one Leak is mended so it no longer leaks. Without Leaks, the Dharma can be retained. When the Dharma exists, afflictions are eradicated.
This verse in the Lotus Sutra is very simple, but to achieve complete purity and be free from Leaks is still a long way away. If you do not thoroughly understand the aforementioned afflictions, you will not “give rise to Dharma when encountering the worth.” Instead, you will give rise to thoughts. What kind of thoughts? Afflictive thoughts. After listening to the Dharma, time passed and afflictions return, because the Dharma is not retained; it leak out.
I hope everyone can exhaust all Leaks and not have afflictions. That is the Buddha’s greatest hope for us.
Spiritual cultivation is about maintaining the Dharma in the mind. Mend and fix Leaks appropriately so that there are no leaks. When all Leaks are eliminated, one realized the state of no afflictions.
Everyone, time passes quickly. We are in the Era of Decay, the end of the Dharma-ending Age. We do not know when the Dharma will disappear. If we do not take it as our mission to practice the Dharma in our daily life, how can we teach other living beings? Dharma that is taught verbally changes quickly. A phrase is not the same after it has been repeated by three people. We should practice the Dharma and use it to extinguish our habits in daily life. If we can teach through our actions, the Dharma will not change and disappear. We are now in the Dharma-ending Age, the world is in the Era of Decay, so we carry an important mission. Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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