Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Tear Down Arrogance and Deplete Desire (折驕慢 竭愛欲)
We must always restrain ourselves to prevent making mistakes. If we do make a mistake, we should promptly repent and ensure that our mind is not contaminated by greed, anger or ignorance. We need to constantly remain self-aware.
Next the text says, “In the Six Realms and Four Births, today I openly and completely repent to the Buddhas and sages of the Ten Directions.”
We mentioned earlier that the chaos in our minds disturbs the sages, and causes us to give rise to innumerable afflictions and remain in the Six Realms and Four Births. We all know the Six Realms. They are the Heaven, Human, Asura, Hell, Hungry Ghost, and Animal Realms. Within the Six Realms, there are four types of births, egg-, womb-, moisture- and transformation-born. Reincarnation within the Six Realms is inseparable from these four types of birth. Even within the Human Realm, we can witness all the other Realms.
The Six Realms exist within the Human Realm. We see people who indulge themselves as if they are heavenly beings. They get whatever they ask for, and are able to fulfill all their desires. Some of these people, however, lack grace and common courtesy. They have bad tempers and are unkind to their subordinates. This is typical of Asuras.
Humans are a mix of good and evil. Even those who are bad have a good side, and those who are good have many bad habits. The Human Realm is a mixture of good and evil. But there are some people whose behavior really makes you doubt their humanity. You may say they are like an animal that does not even have basic human decencies. People who live like animals do exist. We can see animals and many other sentient beings that are different from us. They belong to the Animal Realm. In the Animal Realm, these is Hell-like suffering. Humans may suffer the same hardships. We can witness this in the Human Realm. We see many instances of extreme suffering.
So we say that the Six Realms all manifest within the Human Realm. You might say that you cannot see Heaven or Hell, but you should have faith. The Buddha would not lie or speak untrue words. We should believe what the Buddha said. Transcending the Six Realms is the state of sages and saints that we aspire to. Sages are Bodhisattvas. Saints are Buddhas. If we attain the state of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, then our minds will no longer be easily constrained or influenced by karmic forces. Otherwise, we will be continuously trapped within the Six Realms with no escape.
The only way for us to avoid falling into the Six Realms and Four Births is to maintain a heart of repentance. Sentient begins have so many afflictions that make the sages and saints very concerned. Bodhisattvas are compassionate toward all beings. The Buddha sees all beings as His children; when He sees sentient beings creating bad karma, or ignoring good teachings. His heart goes out to them. He follows sentient beings in the Six Realms with the singular thought of rescuing them, but sentient beings do not make a genuine effort. In this way, they continue to be entangled. This is what disturbs the sages and saints.
Within the Six Realms and Four Births, we are disturbed as well. We cause problems in our relationships, and sometimes have confrontations with others. Sometimes matters have nothing to do with us, yet were often the ones who create conflicts. These disturbances in the Six Realms and the Four Births result in even more bad karma. Some of us might see an animal, such as a cat or a dog, and decide that we do not like it. So we kick it or yell at it. Within the Six Realms, we are all disturbed due to “all of these wrongdoings.”
Starting today, we need to have reverence. Every day I speak of being vigilant and reverent. We should remain vigilant of our own minds. We need to be very careful. In daily life, we must be vigilant of our words and actions when interacting with people and handing things. We should maintain vigilance in every aspect of our lives. We should be very careful. In dealing with people, events and things, we should be courteous and respectful. We should develop these habits in our daily lives. When we form the habit of offering our love to others within the Six Realms and Four Births, we form good relationships with them. The meaning of being vigilant and reverent is gratitude, respect and love.
We should develop this habit so that we do not disturb the sages and saints, or transgress in the Four Births and Six Realms. Although we now understand, we still must repent because we did not know this in the past. Perhaps we have already formed grudges within the Six Realms and Four Births. So at this time, we should quickly untie the entanglements we have formed and refrain from being entangled in vengeance. We should maintain a heart of repentance.
Where do we start? Every morning we repent to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In our daily life, we use the Buddha-mind to see everyone as a Buddha and the Bodhisattva-mind to see everyone as a Bodhisattva. When we have the mind of a practitioner, we see the practitioner in everyone. We “should be respectful and repent to the Three Treasures of the ten directions.” This is the mindset we should always have.
Next in the Repentance Text is, “May all disciples repent for all the afflictions that arise from greed, anger and ignorance.”
We sincerely repent in front of the Three Treasures. We must give rise to a mind of repentance. Vows are essential to repentance. If we do not make vows, then we do not have a mind of repentance. So we make a vow and set our intention. We do not know about the past. Perhaps we already made some bad connections which will result in vengeance and tragedy. Perhaps there has been much of this. From this moment onwards, however, we make a vow. “May all disciples”, meaning we ourselves and everyone around us, “give rise to repentance.” This means that at this time we gather together to repent. At this time, our mental karma is most important. What we are now repenting are all the afflictions caused by greed, anger and ignorance.
Every day we talk about “the heart.” The heart is the mind. When a thought arises in the mind, it comes from within our heart Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt cause afflictions to arise. In addition to greed, anger and ignorance, there is also arrogance and doubt. There five problems are all in our hearts, These five problems are all in our hearts, forming and fading from one moment to the next. When these types of afflictions become very difficult to deal with, we react without thinking. So we should engage in prayer, with a sincere and reverent heart. Without the power of a very sincere heart, we cannot eliminate the afflictions of greed, anger and ignorance.
We need the power of our vows, the strength of that determination to fully eradicate all afflictions of greed, anger and ignorance. We remind everyone that true repentance means making a vow. It requires determination. If you are not sincere in your repentance, you cannot eradicate your negative karma. How can merits arise if we cannot eliminate karma? From where do merits arise? From many lifetimes’ worth of “breaking the banner of arrogance.”
Merits arise life after life, from breaking the banner of arrogance, exhausting the water of desire, and quelling the fire of anger.
Our arrogance can be seen as a banner which we erect. A banner is like what we see hanging in temples, or what people put up during festivities. It is like a canopy that covers things, or shields us from the sun. The banner here is referring to something which we put up. Becoming arrogant is likened to raising a banner. It is a kind a decoration that also obscures or covers thing up.
This arrogance arises when one thinks, “I am good at everything and I know it all.” Such a person is arrogant about his fame and wealth, etc. He is proud and arrogant. Some people compared to others are not as good at certain things. Yet they can also be arrogant. There are Seven Arrogances and Eight Prides. I have explained them before. There are several variations of arrogance and there are eight kinds of pride. We call them the Seven Arrogances and Eight Prides. In summary, there are many kinds of arrogance. We should work on breaking the banner of arrogance and pride.
Next, “Exhaust the water of desire and quell the fire of anger.” This requires strength. It is say that desire is like a thousand-foot swell and 10,000 waves surge in the sea of suffering. Desire is like water. We can wallow in it. The water of desire can drown us. If we do not know how to swim, and we fall into the water, we will quickly drown 1,000-foot swells in the river of desire, 10,000 waves surge in the sea of suffering. When we possess this kind of desire, the mind of craving makes us suffer beyond words, and our resolve becomes unstable.
People who indulge in drugs, alcohol, gambling, or sex are essentially drowning. If someone does not help them, their Wisdom-life gets submerged. That would be a shame. A person’s great talent may be covered by his habits. Being submerged is just like being drowned. We should find a way to drain the water of desire, and also find a way to quell the fire of anger.
Sparks of anger can cause a fire. When a forest is on fire, it is very difficult to extinguish the flames. We often say that firefighters are heroes. Actually, we need to be just as vigilant with ourselves as we are with fire. Even tiny sparks of fire should be extinguished right away. If, at this time, our habitual tendencies remain we should call forth the power of our vows. We repented before the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, so we should not make the same mistakes again. We have already repented before everyone, and committed to changing ourselves. Dare we make the same mistake again? This type of motivation is important. We should strengthen our vows so as to break the banner of arrogance, exhaust the water of desire and quell the fire of anger.
Everyone, in learning Buddhism, we are learning how to guard our minds. We should maintain a heart of repentance in daily life and on dealing with people. We should be grateful for all things and all people. If we have gratitude in all that we do, we will have a sense of respect for others. Our respect for others helps us maintain a pure and all-encompassing love. Otherwise, we may be defiled by selfish love and corrupting desires. That type of water would quickly engulf us. That is why we should maintain sincerity, gratitude, respect and love.
Everyone, please be mindful at all times. We should practice self-restraint often, and call forth the strength of sincere vows. Please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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