Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Five Skandhas Are Like Vicious Thieves (五陰如怨賊)
Yesterday we said that we must “dispel the darkness of ignorance” and “pull out the root of doubt.” We must “cut through the net of all wrong views” and “realize the Three Realms are like prisons.”
We must fully and deeply understand suffering in the Three Realms. There is suffering in the Desire Realm, as well as in the Form Realm and Formless Realm. The Three Realms are like prisons filled with constant danger. We must always be mindful of impermanence and be aware that every moment, every second, impermanence is always surrounding us.
“The Four Elements are like poisonous snakes and the Five Skandhas are vicious thieves. The Six Entrances are like an empty village and superficial love is disguised as something good.” We must practice the Eightfold Noble Path.
The words above are all to remind us that we should understand impermanence. Here is an example of impermanence. You may have heard this story. There was once a hunter. One day while he was hunting, he was suddenly attacked by wild beasts from all sides. Since he was alone, what could he do to fend off the beasts? He grabbed hold of a thick vine overhanging a dry well and was about to climb down when he saw that there were four snakes at the bottom. If he descended, he would have to face the snakes. But if he climbed back up, he would be surrounded by ferocious beasts.
He looked up and saw that there were two mice, one white and one black, gnawing on the vine. He was worried that if the mice continued to gnaw on the vine, the thick vine would eventually break. As the mice kept gnawing, the vice got thinner. The four snakes were looking up waiting for him. He was so frightened that his mouth gaped open involuntarily. It just so happened that there was a ruptured beehive in that place. A drop of honey dripped down a tree branch, right into his open mouth. As the honey continued to dribble, drop by drop, into his mouth, he forgot about the two mice gnawing on the vine, and about the four snakes down below waiting for him. At that moment, he forgot about everything.
Actually, this story is a metaphor to remind us that nothing is permanent. The mice represent day and night. White represents day. During the daytime, the white mouse is constantly gnawing. The mouse’s gnawing represents, the minutes and seconds, always ticking away and passing us by. As the day passes, night comes. The mouse of the night does the same. Night continually passes as well. So although we are sound asleep at night, time continues non-stop. So to summarize, our time is like the black and white mice. Day and night continue to pass, just like the thick vine being gnawed away. Whether it is the black or white [mouse], whether it is day or night, time continues to fade away.
As it does, we age. There are dome calendars with 365 pages. We take away a page every day. Let us think about it. One less page on the calendar means one less day to live. When a year passes, it not only adds to our age, it subtracts from our lives. It is taking one year out of our lives. So the time we have for spiritual practice is fading away every day. How can we not seize the moment?
The four snakes underneath the hunter are to caution us about the Four Elements of earth, water, fire and wind. If there is imbalance in any of the Four Elements, our body becomes ill. Can we be healthy all the time? If you have an imbalance in the Four Elements, such as in the Earth Element, your body will be in pain. We have seen many cases in our hospital of ailments such as rupture, swelling, and infection; when they continue to worsen, it is an “imbalance of the Earth Element.” We also have many cases of an imbalance of the Water Element, such as patients with bloated abdomens caused by water retention as a result of liver or kidney diseases. This is called “imbalance of the Water Element.” Also, there are imbalances of the blood, such as leukemia, a cancer of the blood. This is the effect of the Water Element. If there is imbalance in the Water Element, the body will not be healthy.
If there is imbalance in the Fire Element, it affects your body temperature your body temperature may reach 37, 38 or 39 degrees Celsius, even up to 40 degrees Celsius. If the body temperature is not lowered quickly, the Fire Element is not balanced.
There can be an imbalance in the Wind Element. If there is, we cannot breathe properly. Some people suffer from asthma and shortness of breath. Asthma is an imbalance of the Wind Element. So, no matter what, if the Four Elements are imbalanced in our bodies, we will not be healthy. When we are unhealthy, we are in danger because “the Four Elements are like poisonous snakes.” When the Four Elements are unbalanced, they are like snakes, waiting to do us. Isn’t this the way we are? Knowing well that the black and white mice are gnawing on the vine, we can see that our time is limited. No one knows how long we can live. Because of the nature of impermanence, we do not know when the vine will break, which signifies the end of our lives. We do not know how long we have. We already know that if there is any imbalance of the Four Elements in our bodies, death can strike quickly. The honey in the story represents desire. When the hive ruptured, the honey mixed with dew and trickled down the vine into the hunter’s mouth. The honey is like desire. Once we have tasted the sweetness, we begin to be controlled by desires, creating endless entanglements. So when we are tempted by desire, we are walking down a path with no end. If we want to turn back, it is very precious. Even if we were to use gold or silver to tempt one to come back, we would not be able to do it. Turning back is not easy. When we see people correct themselves, we know it is not easy. So it is truly precious.
It is very rare that we can be born as humans and learn Dharma to experience awakening. Being able to follow the Buddha’s teachings is very precious. Now that we know that the Four Elements are like poisonous snakes, we must share that with others. We must know life is impermanent. We do not know when our Four Elements will become imbalanced. We must be vigilant to avoid being bitten by the snakes. Because the white and black mice keep gnawing, our lives continually fade away. So, we must be vigilant, and teach others to be vigilant as well. Avoid being bitten by the snakes and be aware of the black and white mice gnawing on the vine.
Time is fleeting. Life is impermanent. Not being able to control the imbalance of the Four Elements, we as Buddha’s disciples should be vigilant and teach others not to neglect this.
We must “see the Five Skandhas as vicious thieves.” We must know that the Five Skandhas are like thieves. We all know that the Five Skandhas are form, sensation, perception, action, consciousness. We are always endangered by the Five Skandhas. They are the vicious thieves in life.
Let’s look at form. We sometimes are tempted by forms. In addition to material objects, we sometimes seek enjoyment with our body. We get dressed up, or to enjoy physical pleasure, we create a large amount of bad karma. We become lazy. Spiritual practitioners should not fear difficulty. Passing time in enjoyment and relaxation is also part of “form.” The “physical form” of our bodies causes us many afflictions. Lay people and those who do not engage in spiritual cultivation may get attached to external sense objects and continue to crave things. It never ends.
After form comes sensation. For the sake of sensual pleasure, how many negative acts have we committed? We have never thought about it. We are unaware that we constantly create karma because of our feelings and perceptions. Little by little we create subtle negative karma. All the slight wrongs we have done really add up. Uncorrected bad habits are like vicious thieves robbing us [over and over].
Whether we are monastics or lay practitioners, it is easy to make mistakes with our subtle habits. You may think they are nothing. But as we have said, small errors, if left unaddressed, result in big mistakes. So, we must be cautious in our daily living. These actions are the aggregate of action. If we do not change our habits, it will show up through the Aggregate of Action.
The Aggregate of Action is the subtle change in our bodies, in our behavior, in the climate, etc. These are all “actions.” Form, sensation, perception and action are all part of the consciousness. So what kind of karma does our consciousness cause? The works of these vicious thieves are stored in the consciousness. So, we bring this consciousness to our next life. Nothing but karma follows us into our next life. The karma caused by the Five Skandhas are all collected in our consciousness. We are responsible for that karma. There is no end to such responsibility. We cannot escape from our negative karma, either in this world or the world of the dead.
In this world, many things can be hidden. But hiding leads to more hiding. This is called covering up negative karma. It is like when we have sores on our bodies. We must treat them quickly. If pus forms, it needs it be removed and the area needs to be cleaned and the skin sanitized. If we just hide our wounds, they will fester and turn rotten and foul, infecting an even large area. If we do not openly repent our negative karma, and afterwards correct our mistakes, the karma will also grow. In the same way that we must apply medication to our wounds, we must rectify our mistakes.
We must repent the past deeds we have done due to the vicious thieves of the Five Aggregates. With repentance we correct our mistakes and avoid making new ones. Otherwise, even small errors caused by our habits will accumulate, resulting in great mistakes.
Ordinary people are neither sages nor saints. Who is without fault? Recognizing one’s faults and not making more mistakes is the greatest good. Repentance is about correcting one’s mistakes. After rectifying these mistakes, one should not make any more. Otherwise, small mistakes accumulate, resulting in great ones.
So, everyone, in learning Buddhism, we should strive to understand and raise our awareness. Day and night are impermanent. With such impermanence, day and night pass us by. The Four Elements are like poisonous snakes and will continue to threaten our lives. If there is any part of our body that is imbalanced, we experience unspeakable suffering. Especially with the Five Aggregates if we are not always in guard, and instead allow these vicious thieves to roam, they can cause great harm.
So, we must be vigilant at all times and take good care of our minds. Please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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