Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Great Vehicle Leads to Liberation (五欲苦本 大乘解脫)
Date: April.20. 2015
“Contemplate the body as impure, not a source of joy. Our sensations and thoughts are painful and impermanent. If we cling to our sense of self, we will linger and degenerate. We must reflect on the Dharma with Right Thinking.”
In our daily living, we must make an effort to observe ourselves. Every day, in our daily living, is our body pure, or is it impure? Within our physical body, is there anything worth cherishing and treasuring? If any part of our body is wounded and not taken care of properly, the wound may fester and give off a stench. When someone dies, if the body is not properly taken care of, within a day, it will also begin to smell. The body is so unclean; what joy can we find in it? Everyone is always fighting. Isn’t it for the sake of this physical body that we fight over things and try to take them? If we did not have this body, what would there be to fight about? With all things in the world, [we feel,] “I crave it. I need it. I want it and so on.” With this body comes a sense of self and cravings, which lead us to do many things. All this comes from having a body.
So, will this body lead us to create disasters? If we think that it is permanent and will last forever, that once we are born into this world, we will have a long time to live, then we will create much karma. Thus, we must rein in our mind to focus on our body. We must contemplate and earnestly observe our body in our daily living, in our every action and so on. What happens to our body when we fall ill? What does our body look like after we die? If we think about the body in this way, there is nothing lovable about it whatsoever. However, if we shift our mindset and look at things from another perspective, we will be grateful that we have this body. Even though this body is impure, it is our vessel for spiritual practice. We can utilize this body to earnestly engage in spiritual practice, to diligently advance and seek the Dharma. If we can take the Dharma to heart, then we can go among people to do good deeds, benefit others, form good karmic connections and walk the Bodhisattva-path. We can do this because we have this body.
So, we must make an effort to cherish it and take very good care of it, so that it can be a vessel for spiritual practice every day. It is a vessel for the Path, which means that as we seek the Dharma, so many teachings can be attained through diligently practicing with our bodies, thus nourishing our wisdom-life. This is why we must be grateful for our body.
How do we make use of this body [to realize] genuine permanence, genuine purity and the genuine greater self? That is the way that true spiritual practitioners use it as a physical vessel for spiritual cultivation. If we can do so, we can realize “permanence, joy, self and purity.” Ordinary people, when it comes to “permanence, joy, self and purity,” have an inverted view of them.
Conditioned phenomena, which is referring to things in a state of “existence,” are what ordinary people cling to. Today, this plant looks green and lush. These fresh flowers look so beautiful. These are tangible things. They are impermanent, but we cling to them as if they are permanent. The body is also something tangible. It is impermanent, but we cling to it as if it is permanent. Everything in this world that our eyes can see is considered by us to be “permanent”. We “cling to the impermanent as permanent” and we “cling to the non-joyful as joyful.”
Every day, our body is clearly impure.Yet every day, everything that we do is mixed-up and backwards, creating the causes and effects of suffering.These things are not joyful, but we treat them as joyful.
In interpersonal conflicts, we create a cycle of animosity and resentment.Obviously this brings suffering, but we cling to it as something joyful.Regarding “permanence, joy, self and purity,” as I said a few days ago, we must not be attached.
All of these attachments start from our having this body.The body is so unclean and creates so much karma.Lifetime after lifetime we create karma.But if we look at things from another perspective, the true principles are permanent.
A tranquil and clear state is joyful.Nirvana is a state of tranquility and clarity.This state of Nirvana is also called the “land of calm illumination”.This is a very bring, peaceful and pure state.It is everlasting.Principles are also everlasting.You cannot see everlasting true principles.
We have been saying recently that true principles are permanent and bring a state of joy, because nothing is obstructing us and nothing is tempting us.True principles are intangible and formless, but they give us a course for living our lives.If we apply them to provide guidance in our lives, then we can realize the “greater self” a “self” that pervades the universe.
We often speak of having “a heart that encompasses the universe and embraces the boundless worlds within it”.Shouldn’t we care about all things in this world?In conclusion, when we talk about the “self,” we are referring to our body.If, for the sake of “my body,” I create a lot of karma, that is the wrong thing to do.
So, we must learn to be like the Buddha in using our bodies to practice being accommodating with everything a dosing our bodies to help other people.We are grateful that our body allows us to walk the Bodhisattva-path and develop our wisdom-life.In this way, our body will truly be valuable and precious.
The teaching, “Contemplate the body as impure” contains many principles that we must earnestly think about.Otherwise, if as ordinary people we only use our body to experience daily physical sensations, our minds will suffer greatly.This feeling of suffering is also due to impermanence.
I already told you something very clearly.“Do you understand?” “Yes, I understand.”Soon after, your answer changes to, “I did not understand, I thought it was this way.”It is really not an easy matter for people to understand each other.This is why things often do not go our way.So, “Our sensations and thoughts are painful.”This is [due to] impermanence.
“If we cling to our sense of self, we will linger and degenerate.”
If we all cling to our sense of self, we will be attached to our bodies, and seek enjoyment for their sakes.Fame, wealth and so on are all for the sake of the “self”.This “self” will truly degenerate.
If we do not realize that there are no joy and no permanence and simply remain attached, everything we do will lead us to degenerate in the future.So, we must really be mindful and “We must reflect on the Dharma with Right Thinking.”
We must use a very pure mind to earnestly contemplate the Buddha’s teachings.If we can accept the Buddha’s teachings, eliminate all afflictions and make great vows to go among the people, then in this way, we can leave the burning house and enter the Dharma-door.This is how we can become liberated.
So, in the previous sutra passage, the Buddha said to Sariputra, “Sariputa, the elder had these thoughts, my body and arms are strong. I can wrap them in a sack or place them on a table and carry them out of the house.”
We must be mindful.Some people can accept [the Dharma] and have already escaped the burning house.Some people have not entered the Dharma-door.Then there are others who have not even escaped the burning house, so how can they enter the Dharma-door?So, what is to be done?
The Buddha applied His wisdom to devise teachings that would help everyone enter this door.“My body and arms are strong. I can wrap them in a sack or place them on a table and carry them out of the house.”He had to use various skillful means to tempt the children to come out.
The next sutra passage states, “The elder further reflected, This house has only one door. Moreover, it is narrow and small and has no understanding. They are attached to the place where they play. So, they may fall and be burned in the fire.”
This sutra passage describes how the elder then had other thoughts. Before, the Buddha applied wisdom to save them, teaching with various methods and analogies. Although these methods and analogies, these teachings, were being heard, there was “only one door”. Then the door is described by, “Moreover, it is narrow and small”.
Think about it, this great house was surrounded by fire on all four sides. The fire burning the house was blazing fiercely. To save the children, to save the people inside, there was only one door. This is an analogy for “the door to the Great Vehicle”. This house has “only one door”, the door to the Great Vehicle. This door is also small and narrow. In this case, “small and narrow” is an analogy for the Great Vehicle Dharma. Now, the Great Vehicle Dharma was being taught for the Two Vehicle practitioners.
“The elder observed that the house was engulfed in a raging fire and only had one door. This is an analogy for the Great Vehicle. “Narrow and small” means that if the Great Vehicle teachings are taught to the Two Vehicle practitioners, they cannot walk through that door. Because the door of the Great Vehicle is not something they can walk through, it instead is called narrow and small.”
The Two Vehicle practitioners are Solitary Realizers and Hearers. Solitary Realizers only seek to awaken themselves. They cannot walk the Bodhisattva-path. The door to the Great Vehicle “is not something they can walk through”, so, it instead is called narrow and small. Because they only seek to awaken themselves, their capabilities do not resonate with [this path]. Thus they have not accepted the Great Vehicle. The Two Vehicle practitioners believe that they are already pure. They have this kind of arrogance. “I’m already pure, I’m already liberate”, “I don’t want to go back into the world”. This door of the One Vehicle Dharma is too narrow and small for them. Why is this Great Vehicle Dharma narrow and small for them? Because they still have a sense of “self”. “I am pure, I’m liberated”.
They believe they are better than everyone else, and no teaching surpasses what they know. Two Vehicle practitioners feel that to walk the Bodhisattva-path, they must go among people, evils and turbidities. The turbidity of sentient beings is very severe, and these practitioners do not want to be tainted. So, this door seems very small door to them. “it is not something they can walk through”. They are unwilling to enter this door. So this Dharma-door is hard to enter. Although they have left the burning house, they do not want to enter this Dharma-door. So, they are still not safe.
The next passage states, “My sons are young and immature and have no understanding. They are attached to the place where they play. So, they may fall and be burned in the fire. They may fall and be burned in the fire” is an analogy for people who are newly inspired. They have just begun to listen to the Dharma or have begun to accept it after hearing it. However, their spiritual aspirations are not firm.
“They may fall and be burned in the fire: This describes how newly-inspired sentient beings greedily cling to desires and pleasures, so they are entangled by afflictions and cannot ever escape.”
When we hear the Dharma, there must be love in our hearts; we must give rise to compassion. Moreover, we must respect living beings. Sadly, ordinary people cling to their desires. They are attached to their desires and pleasures, their momentary cravings, their desire for taste. Take the pigs raised in pigpens in particular, they roll around in manure. The things that cows, dogs and other animals eat are still inside their bodies. That is their way of living. After killing them, we swallow them. Is this food pure? Before we ate them, they were living in polluted environment. Then we swallowed them into our stomachs. When we swallow them, our own bodies also become very impure.
So, there is no joy in this. But, in a state of confusion, people “greedily cling to desires and pleasures, so they are entangled by afflictions and cannot ever escape”. This is just like those who “may fall and be burned in the fire”. If we are like them, even though we listen to the Dharma, we cannot accept it. We still have greed and attachments. “They did not know which was the fire and which was the house”. The burning house was already on fire, but they still could not tell the difference.
“They did not know which was the fire and which was the house, or where the danger was. This is an analogy for how sentient beings do not understand that the Five Desires are the sources of suffering. They do not understand what their pure mind is and how they have covered over and obscured their intrinsic minds.
[They did not understand] “where the danger was.” Why are we in this state? We could have been very joyful. We could have accepted the Buddha-Dharma and have been in a truly tranquil, clear and safe state. Why did we lose this state? Because we did not know that this state existed. So, this is an analogy for how sentient beings do not know that the Five Desire lead to suffering.
“They did not understand what their pure mind is. They also did not know what was that covered their [pure] intrinsic minds. We do not know any of these answers. Only by learning the Dharma, the Buddha’s Way, can we understand the Five Desire. They are like a piece of black cloth that is always covering us.
So, all we see are our desires. We do not know that beyond our desires, there is a pure state of mind. This pure mind has actually been covered by the Five Desires. So, the Five Desire keep adding to our thoughts of desire.
Thus, the Five Desires are “like pressing fire against scabies. The Five Desires are of no benefit, like a dog trying to bite a flame. ”
The Five Desires exacerbate the pain, like pressing fire against scabies. The Five Desires are of no benefit, like a dog trying to bite a flame. The Five Desires cause conflict, like vultures fighting over rotten flesh. The Five Desires burn people, like a torch held in to a headwind.
We are already suffering from our ignorance, just like having a skin condition. Which itches and produces boils. Not knowing what to do, we burn it with fire, which aggravates our suffering. The Five Desires are indeed not beneficial.
We are like a dog sees the fire and tries to bite it. Biting the fore, the dog does not let go. He just keeps running around. This is a metaphor. “The Five Desires cause conflict.” People compete with each other, like vultures that see rotten flesh. A whole flock of vultures fight over that piece of meat with no success. They just peak other back and forth.
Human are like this too. Because of their desires, they fight openly and plot secretly, causing unbearable suffering. The Five Desires can burn people, “like a torch held in to a headwind.” When the wind is blowing towards us, if we raise a torch and walk towards it, the flames will end up burning us. That is what the Five Desires do. The Buddha used wisdom to teach Dharma. People with great capabilities can accept it and transcend this suffering. They can enter the Dharma-door and widely transform sentient beings. After understanding the Dharma some people do not open their minds to take in the Dharma.
Some people listen to the Dharma, but cannot put it into practice. They continue to pursue the Five Desires. “ I listen, but I eat and do as I wish. I’m a reverent Buddhist disciple, but I still do these things and continue to live this way. ” People like this are in a state of confusion. If we are like them, thought we hear the Buddha-Dharma we still do not understand and are still immersed in the Five Desires. Then we will certainly fall and be burned by the fire of afflictions.
In summary, humans are deluded and lack wisdom. Indeed, many things are hard to explain; the only way is for us to mindfully realize them.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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