Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Eight Worldly Winds (隨世八風)
In our spiritual practice, we should open our minds so that we can accommodate the entire universe. Can we achieve that? Yes, we can by diligently practicing all good Dharma. If we can improve ourselves and unceasingly cultivate goodness, we can see through all things. When we broaden our view, we can endure and withstand all evil temptations. Just being broad-minded can be very useful in our daily living.
Otherwise, as stated in the text, “With evil in the heart, afflictions of intolerance arise. With laziness and indulgence afflictions of lacking diligence arise.” These are all afflictions in our mind. We have been discussing them the last few days. It is all clearly stated in the texts. If our hearts give in to evil, afflictions of intolerance arise. We will have no way to be patient. When we allow evil to arise, it will cause many problems. Evil thoughts arise unceasingly. This happens because of lack of patience.
If we have open hearts, no matter what we encounter, whether different people or situations, we will be able to remain patient. Being tolerant is being open-hearted. If we can be patient, we will have no afflictions. “With laziness and indulgence,” one does everything very slowly. Because of laziness, people take their time to do things, and let themselves regress. Those who are impatient also lack diligence.
If we recognize that we have erred, we should correct our mistake promptly. We should not insist that it was minor and refuse to rectify it promptly. We say that big mistakes are easy to address, but minor ones are difficult to eliminate. This is how ordinary people are. We often say, “Do not avoid good deeds thing them slight or commit evils thinking them trivial.” If we want to have a pure heart, if we want to be diligent, we should value and seize every little opportunity to do good. “This bucket of water is heavy. Come, let me give you a hand.” Even if it is only a small act of kindness, we should still be diligent in carrying it out. If we see someone carrying a heavy load and do not offer to help, even though that is not a major evil, we are allowing others to suffer.
Some people have a lot of trouble lifting things. If we do not do anything to help, it becomes an affliction. We should have a heart that cannot bear to see others suffer. In this way, there will be no afflictions. If we watch others suffer without offering any help, this is also an affliction. It is the “affliction of intolerance.” Is it an affliction when we cannot bear to see others suffer? No. It is because we cannot bear to see others suffer that we are cultivating empathy. When we have empathy, we do not let others suffer without extending help. When we listen to the teachings, our understanding is sometimes off. In here, the “affliction of intolerance, refers to a lack of empathy.” When you lack empathy towards others, you do not care if they suffer or if you cause others to suffer. These are the afflictions of intolerance.
A lack of empathy will bring you many afflictions.
So we should strive to practice diligently every day. Always do good, no matter how minor it is. Against unwholesome things, we should always be vigilant. We must not let them obscure our hearts. When the afflictions of intolerance arise, they obscure our hearts; so we should be very cautious. This is especially true for laziness, for the afflictions of lacking diligence. We should be very diligent. If we are diligent, when we finish our work we can help others who have not finished theirs. “Come, let me help you a little to speed things up.” This is diligence.
If we are diligent, others are grateful to us. Our hearts will be at ease. So being “lazy and indulgent” is also the affliction of lacking diligence. Even if it is something minor, we should do it promptly.
Again, the repentance text states, “Being suspicious and restless, afflictions from lack of contemplation arise. Being deluded by sense objects, afflictions of ignorance arise. Following the Eight Worldly Winds, afflictions of differentiation arise.”
Everyone, listen well. When we practice meditation, we practice to realize the state of tranquility and purity, with vows vast as the void. When we realize this spiritual state, we are in the state of Samadhi. When we can remain unwavering for countless eons, this is meditation. Every single act in our daily living can be meditation, including drinking and eating. Our hearts should remain tranquil and unwavering. We should train our minds to be stable. This is the direction we follow in our practice. But sometimes doubts arise. Doubt is one of the Five Chronic Afflictions; the others are greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance. There are external conditions that cause us to be doubtful. When we are doubtful we may develop depression. So we should remain broad-minded. Do not have doubts toward people and things. This is the affliction of doubt.
Next, “Being restless is the affliction from lack of contemplation.” When we feel low, we do not have interest in anything. Our strength and power are all sapped by the doubts we have, leaving us with nothing but those doubts.
Some people, on the other hand, will rush to do things without properly distinguishing right from wrong. It is incorrect to do wrong things. We want to do things quickly, but we should consider them thoroughly to distinguish right from wrong. If it is right, we should do it with enthusiasm and diligence. As we just said, even if it is only a minor good deed, we should do it promptly. If it is not right, we should absolutely refrain from doing it. We cannot do anything that is not correct.
However, if someone is restless and cannot settle his mind, he may say, “How come you won’t do it? If you don’t I will.” Then after he has done something wrong, though he regrets it, it is already too late. So, when we are ignorant and deluded by sense objects, we may be easily influenced. Not distinguishing right from wrong, we have no awareness of what we are doing. This is the affliction from lack of contemplation. It is an affliction of our thought process.
Next is “being deluded by sense objects.” This means that when we connect to external conditions, we may become deluded and not see things clearly. Some people know they have made a mistake, and others may have even told them so. However, they still will not change. They feel that since a decision has already been made, they must go through with it. If I do not do what I said, I will lose face.” If there is some special interest at stake, even if they are full of regret inside, they will continue to do what is wrong. With such delusion over external conditions, one is dazed and has no self-awareness. There is no chance of enlightenment. This is ignorance. This kind of affliction results from ignorance. Being ignorant is really pitiful.
“Following the Eight Worldly Winds, afflictions of differentiation arise.” What are the Eight Worldly Winds?
The Eight Winds are also called the Eight Concerns. They are gain, loss, ruin [defamation], honor, praise, ridicule, sorrow and joy. They are what worldly people love and hate. They fan people’s passions, so they are called the Eight Winds.
These Eight Worldly Winds may cause our hearts to waver. The first one is “gain.” Gain causes one to become confused and deluded. Nowadays the pursuit of benefit and gain concerns us greatly. If the rich and powerful go even slightly astray, it can have repercussions for many. What remains is the suffering of sentient beings. This greatly concerns us. The power of gain may cause one to become deluded with no self-awareness. Pursuit of gain is very demanding. It may cause one to be condemned by others for thousands of generations. It may also cause pain and turmoil in the lives of others. This is from “gain.”
But will we always be successful, rich and powerful? No. Life is short. How much time do we have left? With the mistakes we have made, what can we expect to happen next? We encounter “loss” and failure. As our reputation and power weaken, it becomes difficult.
Next is “ruin.” Many things can happen due to a person’s decision. This decision can lead to economic depression in a country, which can destroy. Its people’s livelihood and deprive them of necessities such as water and food. This is “ruin.” When one’s power is too great it causes great havoc. Gain loss or ruin may all be connected to how one person uses his or her power. Some people are truly worthy of praise. When they do things to benefit others, people applaud them. But when people are ridiculed, or criticized behind their backs, they feel uneasy and hurt. Conversely, when they gain benefit or praise, they feel happy. The powerful and wealthy can do anything they desire. But others will still criticize them behind their backs. But, they really do not see it that way. They usually are unaware of this. This is the affliction of delusion.
When in contact with external conditions, one is deluded, oblivious to the influences. Let us see if there are eight of them. Gain, loss, ruin [defamation], honor, praise, ridicule, sorrow and joy. Indeed, there are eight things that affect people’s behavior. So when we have great power, we must wield it very carefully. A little carelessness may fan the Eight Worldly Winds and cause hearts waver. That would be very painful. We should practice Dhyana, which means that we want to reach the state of tranquility and purity, with vows vast as the void. We should practice so that our hearts can be open and tranquil. When we have chosen the right thing to do, we should do it with diligence. If we do, the Eight Worldly Winds will not cause turbulence in our minds.
In this world, these Eight Evils are “what people love and hate.” In pursuit of power, fame and gain, people come into conflict and struggle. In order to gain praise some people act high and mighty, not realizing that afterwards they will experience the suffering of loss and ruin. They do not know. So as we go about our daily living, our hearts often get stirred up. Whether by love or hatred, it is the result of these eight kinds of influences.
“They fan people’s passions.” With something to gain, one acts quickly, and without restraint. These Eight Evils can easily be carried out by everyone in this world. A slight carelessness can allow these evils to provoke our hearts and easily cause us to transgress. So, these are the Eight Winds.
Everyone, the eight Winds can lure us into transgression. We should always take good care of our minds. We must not allow these Eight Evils to remain in our hearts. If they obscure our hearts, we may create afflictions from lacking empathy. Because we lack empathy, we will do many things which we will regret. If we are lazy or restless, the coarse afflictions that arise will be apparent to others. Doubt causes us to err in our thinking. It could be an error in our contemplation or affliction arising from ignorance. If we continue on in this way, we are easily moved by the Eight Winds, constantly pulled between love and hate. This is suffering beyond words.
We should always have faith and be mindful of the Buddha-nature within. Each of us should always remain open-hearted and diligently do all that is good. We should patient when facing the lure of evil. We must not be enticed into doing things. Once we are lured by gain, we will create regrets that torment us for thousands of lifetimes. This kind of suffering will not end, even if we are reborn in Hell. And when we return to this world, we will still have to face the future suffering caused by our actions in this lifetime. This is what we need to be very vigilant of. So, everyone please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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