Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Ignorance Sets the House on Fire(三界火宅無明為因)
Date: April.07. 2015
“The Three Realms are like a burning house, and ignorance is the cause. External states are conditions that give rise to love and hate, grasping and rejection. The Three Poisons start a raging fire that buns inside and out. Desire and form cause unease, as if in a burning house.”
This is an analogy. The Buddha came to this world for one great cause. For the sake of the world, He devised teachings that were suitable for sentient beings’ capabilities. This was very hard work. Since He was [approaching the end of His lifetime], He felt a sense of urgency. Therefore, 42 years after His enlightenment, He began to freely express His original intent and opened up His mind to reveal the Great Dharma. The Buddha did this when He was already in His 70s. During the Lotus Dharma-assembly, many people began to awaken, to reflect upon themselves and form aspirations. They were like Sariputra, who, though he had always been by the Buddha’s side, because of his stubbornness, could not let go of his bias toward the teachings of emptiness. It was not until the Lotus Dharma-assembly, when the Buddha earnestly praised the wondrous Dharma of the Great Vehicle, that Sariputra finally understood why, in the past, the Buddha had taught with causes and conditions, analogies and expressions. The Buddha had done this out of compassion. In order to guide sentient beings to the Dharma, He had no choice but to use various methods from the Nine Divisions of Teachings, to teach according to people’s capabilities.
Sariputra finally realized this, so he began to form aspirations, make vows and repent his past wrongdoings. Since he was representative of everyone at the Lotus Dharma-assembly who also wanted to form great aspirations, he continued to request the Dharma from the Buddha. The Buddha understood Sariputra’s intent, so He bestowed a prediction of Buddhahood upon him. Bestowing this blessing was a sign of affirmation and verified that Sariputra would attain Buddhahood in the future. Then everyone at the assembly thought about how Sariputra would be able to attain Buddhahood and how the Buddha had said everyone was equal. This led everyone to have more faith in themselves. So, they resolved to understand everything from the teachings of the Four Noble Truths that the Buddha gave at the very beginning to the final teachings He was giving now. This was how He guided them with causes and conditions and other wondrous provisional teachings.
Indeed, life is full of suffering. Suffering is a truth of life. So, as we accept the extremely profound wondrous Dharma, we cannot forget the first truth of suffering. While the Buddha taught the Dharma in the world, if a person resolved to become a monastic, the Buddha always allowed them to do so, regardless of age or family background; they simply needed the will to leave the lay life. Why did people want to become monastics? Because, from, the Four Noble Truths, they realized that suffering was a part of life. They recognized suffering, so they were willing to become monastics.
At that time, there was a young bhiksu; he was very young, but upon hearing that life was suffering, he felt, “This is the truth. I am very young right now, but I will become old and eventually die. I might as well become a monastic right away.” He immediately asked the Buddha for permission to become a monastic, to which the Buddha agreed. Although he became a monastic, his mind was always on his family. He thought about his parents, brothers and all his loved ones.His life as a layperson was one of great wealth.So, every day, during the time he was supposed to beg for alms, he actually went home.He left the abode with the other monastics, but he always went his own way.
Every day he went to his house and did not leave there until dusk.
This happened every day.Although physically, he looked like a monastic, his mind was still that of a layperson.
Meanwhile, a heavenly being was very concerned for Sakyamuni Buddha.“If His Sangha has people like this who do not abide by the precepts, then as their numbers increase this Sangha will no longer be pure. If the Sangha is not pure, how can it earn the respect of laypeople?”
So, this heavenly being took on the appearance of a young man to meet this bhiksu on his way back.He said, “I envy you for being able to become a monastic.”This bhiksu, who had supposedly left the lay life, was just returning from enjoying life with his loved ones.The objects of his desires were still on his mind, so he was not thinking about how great it was that he had become a monastic.He said to the young man in reply, “What is so good about becoming a monastic? It just enables me to live among the Sangha; what other benefit is there?”
The heavenly being disguised as a youth said, “Becoming a monastic is wonderful because you can hear the Buddha give teachings. In this world, people are lost and confused, immersed in their desires and pleasures. Because of the impermanence of the world, we do not know when we will die or be reborn. So, if you are able to become a monastic and can let go of the afflictions of the lay life, if you no longer contrive connections, and can purify your mind and draw near the Buddha-Dharma, you are so blessed!”
This young bhiksu asked, “If you think that I am so blessed, why don’t you want to become a monastic?” “I do! Because I want to become a monastic, I have travelled a long way to find the Buddha.
The young bhiksu had a shift in his mindset and felt great remorse.“I have already become a monstic. Why is my mind still pulled by my affections and desire?”As he realized this, the young man had disappeared without a trace.
The young bhiksu was shocked.“He was probably a Dharma-protector, a heavenly being who appeared in order to protect my connection with the Dharma.”“Fortunately, I had only delighted in being with my family and had not yet desired to return to the lay life.”
He quickly picked up his pace to rejoin the others as they entered the abode.When he saw the Buddha, he prostrated and asked to repent before Him.
One of his companions said, “Venerable Buddha, we knew about this. Although he left the abode with the rest of us, he left us to go home every day. But, we each reap the fruits of our own practice, so we did not mention what he had done. Seeing him repent before the Buddha, we’re happy for him and respect what he has done.”
The Buddha then spoke to everyone, “Indeed, spiritual practitioners must be unified in body and mind. The Buddha-Dharma is not easily heard and life is impermanent. We live only as long as we keep breathing. Becoming a monastic is a rare opportunity, yet he had still had these kinds of thoughts, and his behavior was that of a layperson. I also have been observing him all this time. I believe his roots of goodness are very deep so he is being kept safe by a Dharma-protector. I also rejoice at [this change in] him.”
From this story, everyone can understand that once thoughts stir in our midst and worldly desires arise, our wisdom-life will be in great danger. After listening to the teachings of the Buddha, everyone realized this.
Therefore, we say, “The Three Realms are like a burning house, and ignorance is the cause.”Regarding ignorance, we clearly understand that suffering is caused by the accumulation of afflictions, which all arise from ignorance. If ignorance is present in monastics, how can it not be present in laypeople? How can it not be in people who have not yet encountered the Buddha-Dharma?
Previously I said that, out of the Five Destinies, two out of the five are paths of goodness, while three of them are evil realms. Therefore, we say as practitioners, our minds must be settled. After we begin practicing, if we still experience love and hate, grasping and rejection, then we are still in this burning house. Not only are the Three Realms a burning house, “The Three Poisons [have] started a raging fire that burns inside and out”.
The Three Poisons are greed, anger and delusion. These poisons originate in our minds. So, once the Three Poisons manifest, they are like a raging fire that burns inside and out. There is a common saying, “The fire of ignorance destroys a forest of merits and virtues”. Ignorance will destroy our wisdom-life. Inside the burning house of the Three Realms, we constantly need to be vigilant. In the Three Realms, desire and form cause unease. Finding peace is hard in the form and desire realms.
As I have mentioned in the past, the form realm is the realm of physical existence. As long as our eyes can make contact with it, it is considered a “form”. “Form” refers to the realm of physical existence.
I have already spoken about this. We will inevitably encounter various material objects in this world. But what kind of mindset should we have when we encounter them? If we are grateful for them and cherish them, these material objects can be tools for our spiritual cultivation. If we have loving hearts, when we see poor and suffering people who need clothing and food, we will find a way to help them.
For example, many years ago, when we were providing relief in Northeast China, it was very cold there. We did not only provide them with food, padded clothing and padded quilts, we also provided them with charcoal and coal. If they lived in that place without any coal, they would not be able to survive the winter. Every family there has a “bed-stove”. In this stove, they burn coal, so each family was given a couple of tons of coal, around two, so they could survive the winter. These are “forms,” material goods.
If we can properly utilize these material goods, they will be an essential part of our practice of the Bodhisattva-path. As for desires or the desire realm, these relate to how we make use of these material things. Are we using our body to save people’s lives and walk the Bodhisattva-path? Or does our body lead us to give rise to greed, anger and delusion, and to grasp things and act on our desires? Our desires are inexhaustible. With wealth, sensual pleasures, fame, food and so on, are we indulging in our desires? If this is the case, we have set the house of the Three Realms on fire.
So, “Desire and form cause unease”. Peace is hard to find in the form realm and desire realm. This is because we are unenlightened people. As unenlightened people living in the form realm, our greed, desires and so on make us uneasy. Everyone’s actions are driven by desires and cravings for form. Think about it, how can the Three Realms not be like a burning house? Ignorance is the cause of this fire. These states in the form and desire realms are the conditions; with love and hate, grasping and rejection, the raging fires of the Three Poisons never end. This is like how, once a fire starts, the wind keeps it going. Then we have no peace, inside or out. This happens during the era of Dharma-degeneration. The macrocosm of the world is not in harmony, and the microcosms of our bodies are not at peace. This is what the modern world is like.
Everyone must promptly make good use of the realm of physical existence and walk the Bodhisattva-path while we have this body. Having an abundance of material objects, we must promptly give to suffering people.
Similarly, if a fire is starting to burn, people with water must quickly douse it. When it comes to good and evil, if evil decreases, goodness will increase. That will lead to a brighter society. As the previous sutra passage states, “There were many groups of people”. There were many people inside that big house; this is an analogy for the Five Destinies. In the Five Destinies, good and evil are intermixed. No one inside this house knew that they needed to cherish it,
so “its halls and lofts were decaying and old; its walls and partitions were crumbling.”
If this is the case, if in the entire house, no one cherishes or takes care of it, the house will gradually rot away.
Next, it states, “The pillars were rotting at their bases; the beams and columns were dangerously aslant.”
Not only were the walls crumbling, but the beams and pillars were also rotting. This house could only remain standing if its pillars were firm and solid. This is just like our lives; we are still alive because we still have our physical [health]. Our body is still here. This analogy is for the aggregate of action.
With the aggregate of action, our body constantly changes. So, birth, aging, and illness gradually take us closer to the moment that we become old and frail. All this is due to the aggregate of action, those infinitesimal changes. We continue to get older every single day. This is why we say we must act immediately. “All workings of the mind and every phenomenon that arises from thinking are all encompassed by the aggregate of action.”
We should know that good and evil come from “the workings of the mind, from the thoughts it gives rise to. The workings of the mind” refer to every single thought that arises. When we think about the external states we come in contact with, those appearances are taken in by our minds.
A few days ago, a volunteer from Mainland China came back. She said that in the past, she had visited consignment stores every day. If the clothes she saw were pretty, she would immediately buy them. This happened until she encountered Tzu Chi. Then she began to think, “No, I should not buy it.” “I can’t buy it, I need to cherish my blessings.” When she went home, she would be unable to fall asleep because she kept thinking about the beautiful outfit she had seen. So, unable to control herself, she would go back and buy it the next day. Even if it cost her several thousand RMB, she would still buy it. When she came to the Abode this time, she said, “I truly feel remorseful.”
When she told me this story, she was so remorseful that she was in tears. This is due to “the workings of the mind.” What our mind perceives can give rise to desires that entice us to act. If, after we perceive something, we can reflect on ourselves, we can quickly control our desires. So, “the workings of the mind” may [lead us] to do unwholesome things in order to satisfy our desires.
What is even worse is that we can end up doing things that hurt others and even commit reprehensible acts. This is also due to the working of the mind.
All things are created by the mind. In term of the aggregate of action, in our daily living, time is constantly passing by, and our bodies are continually changing as new replace the old changing as new cells replace the old. In the world, our conditions may tempt us to give in to our desires. If we cannot control ourselves, we will follow our desires and commit wrongdoings. If we can talk the Buddha-Dharma heart, we will follow the path of the Buddha-Dharma, which is the Bodhisattva-path.
So, “the workings of the mind are truly subtle are truly subtle and wondrous. Despite beings intangible and from less, the exert great power.” Every phenomenon that arise from thinking is part of “the working of the mind.”
“Everyone phenomenon that arises from thinking is encompassed is encompassed by the aggregate of action.” They are all in the aggregate of action. “The Five aggregates are all empty in nature.” When we take a look, do they really exist? How we through understood from, feeling, perception, action and consciousness. These are the Five Aggregates.
As for the principle of emptiness, As for the principle of emptiness, only if we through understand the principles of true emptiness can wondrous existence manifest before us.
So, the things that I just explained are phenomena that appear in our would, whether in the macrocosm or microcosm. The Buddha-Dharma takes these phenomena and explains them to us thought principles. So, everyone we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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