Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Understanding the Fires of Bonds and Agents (了知結使之火)
Date:August.19. 2015
“Bonds’ and ‘agents’ are other names for afflictions. Ignorance and deluded karma bind the body and mind. They bring bitter fruits; thus they are called afflictions. They can cause sentient beings to transmigrate. Floundering in the sea of suffering, we drift with no end in sight.”
Afflictions are very painful! Bonds are also called afflictions. Agents are also called afflictions. Ignorance is called an affliction. Delusion is also called an affliction. The karma we create out of delusion is also considered an affliction.
These are names for the things that bind us. They bind our body and mind. The pressure they put on us feels very heavy and serious. This is where the sufferings of life come from; these [afflictions] produce many bitter fruits. With the causes of ignorance, we create karma out of ignorance and delusion. So, everything results from causes.
Causes lead to afflictions, and afflictions drive us to create karma. Thus, we amass much karma. So, as we continue to create these causes, what we plant will continue to bear fruit. So, what kind of tree will you end up with? No matter what kind of seed we plant, it will ultimately grow and produce fruit. Then the fruit becomes the cause, and that cause will in turn produce fruit. Within this cycle, if we sentient beings are constantly driven by these “bonds,” we will constantly give rise to afflictions, be led by ignorance and create karma. These bonds constantly drive our mind and body to take action. We have no choice in how we transmigrate among the four forms of birth and in the Six Realms.
So, we are constantly floundering in this boundless sea of suffering. In life we “drift with no end in sight.” When can we finally arrive at the other shore? Even if we already know that we must engage in spiritual practice, is the direction of our spiritual practice only something for us to talk about or something that we read about in a text? After reading many books and learning the teachings in the sutras, we have absorbed a great deal of knowledge, but we may not have taken the principles to heart. If this is the case, the Dharma-water is not nourishing our wisdom-life.
Take a look at a computer or tablet. Whenever we want to know something, with our knowledge and the touch of our fingers, information on all kinds of things in the world can be summoned to appear right in front of us. Nowadays, technology is advanced. Seeking knowledge is not difficult, but seeking the Dharma is still difficult. The Dharma is the method for engaging in spiritual practice, for crossing from this shore to the other. If we depart from this shore and only go halfway, though we know we must engage in spiritual practice, if we cannot let go of our afflictions and cannot eliminate them, then naturally we will still be “floundering in a sea of suffering,” still “drift with no end in sight.” We will still be subject to causes, bonds, agents, these afflictions, ignorance, delusion and karma. They still bind us, so we still face countless bitter fruits and continue to reproduce our afflictions.
A seed contains an ocean of fruits. Though the cause is just a little thing, when there are sufficient causes and conditions, it will grow over time. After several years, it will produce flowers and bear fruits. Soon after, there will be an abundance of fruits. Similarly, if we create a lifetime of karma, karma of ignorance, the effects may well extend over many lifetimes before being exhausted.Thus,a seed contains an ocean of fruits.
We need to quickly [understand] that though the cause may exist only in our minds, when the fruit of our ignorance manifests, we must quickly face it with gratitude.We must take the fruits that manifest, there people, matters and objects, as reminders to be vigilant and cautions.By eliminating a karmic fruit that has manifested, we will not feel its effects again, nor do we have to face it again.
We can use the our understanding of the truth that everything is empty and the conditions of “wondrous existence in emptiness” to transform negative karmic conditions into positive ones.
Then, as we take the Buddha-Dharma to heart, naturally we will form good affinities with others and will not create more negative karmic causes, negative conditions or negative effects, nor continue to cycle among them.
So, we must constantly heighten our vigilance.
Earlier, we talked about what is invisible, the “yaksas and hungry ghosts and all evil birds and beasts”.What is visible and can be seen are the habitual tendencies of sentient beings, which arise from a lack of nourishment by the Dharma.
Yaksas, hungry ghosts and all evil birds and beats, compelled by hunger, ran in all directions and were peeking through the window patties.With all these hardships, their fright was immeasurable.
They feel “hunger” because their minds have not been nourished by the Dharma at all.So, “Compelled by hunger, [they] ran in all directions, constantly experiencing the four aggregates of form, feeling, perception and action; they keep cycling among them.
Regarding the Dharma, it feels like we are using a tube to look at things or looking outside through a single small window.Obviously the world is vast, but we only open up a small window to look through so the scope of what we can see is very small.Our minds should encompass the universe yet we limit what we see.
The Dharma is as vast as a great ocean, but we grasp at certain teachings and become attached to them calling them the Dharma while saving that anything else is not the Dharma.
Actually, if we can make use of any teaching and use it to change our outlook on life, then it is all the Dharma.So, we should be mindful and open-minded to understand that principles are meant to be applied.
We cannot just stay in a corner and only look at that corner without looking at the whole picture.
We take one corner as an example, but we must respond to the whole.
Our minds must be open and expansive.So many of the difficulties that we face are the numerous afflictions that we brought on ourselves.
Indeed, the world itself does not contain that many difficulties, it is our mind that is filled with numerous difficulties.
So, “With all these hardships, their fright was immeasurable.”When we have not thoroughly understood the truths, what we know is incomplete.We know just a little bit.We may be attached to what is said, to what is written or to something else.We have not fully taken everything to heart.
This why, “Compelled by hunger, [we] run in all directions.”This happens when we have not accepted the principles.
It is said, “Wealth enriches the house as virtue enriches the body.”If there is an abundance of Dharma in our hearts, naturally as we interact with people and things we will gain an abundance of experience.
So, as we engage in spiritual practice, we must be mindful and apply the Dharma to our daily living as we interact with people and things.
This is how we should live our lives.
Life we can apply these methods we can perfect our character and attain Buddhahood.
When we are in harmony with people and matters, we are in harmony with the principles.
So, we say that learning the Buddha’s Way is learning how to interact with people and things in our daily living.
Next, the sutra states, “This rotted old home belonged to one man. This master was going out, when before long, in this abode, a fire suddenly broke out. In an instant, it spread to all sides and the flames raged fiercely.”
Look at “this rotted old home” that “belonged to one man”.This is talking about our home; this is a parable about a house.There are people living in this house, and the house has a master.Naturally, the master will do a good job of keeping the house in good shape.
Moreover, he will take good care of this family.
He upholds family duities and ethics; he is filial to his elders and provides an education for the younger generation.With these morals and virtues,he maintains order in the family to help everyone live in harmony to help everyone live in harmony.
This explains that when the master is home, there are no disasters, but when he passes on, then disasters arise.
It is said, “When the master is home, there are no disasters”. Everything is peaceful; when the master is home, there is peace. When he passes on, then disasters arise. If the person who looks after the family is no longer there, disasters will then begin to arise. Why is this? Because there is no master of the house. Without a master, things become easily disordered. In a state of disorder, people lack direction, so the household will be in danger. This is an analogy for the Three Realms, which are like a big house.
What is needed in order to look after everyone’s mind in the Three Realms? The master was “going out”, and the interior of the house had already rotted; many years had already passed, so this house had gradually begun to deteriorate. Because many days and months had passed at it weathered wind, frost and snow, the house had grown old and had slowly rotted. The people living in this house might not always be there. Sometimes they come back, and sometimes they leave. This is the way life works. This is a kind of analogy.
Although the Buddha comes to this world, He repeatedly leaves and then returns again. He came to engage in practice among humans, and as various Buddhas appeared in the world, He endlessly engaged in spiritual practice in Their presence. This went on until He was born in the kingdom of Kapilavastu as Prince Siddhartha. That was His final body before becoming a Buddha. After he was born, he manifested an appearance to show us how to engage in spiritual practice. Through his spiritual cultivation, he showed us that though he was born into a noble household and grew up in a kingdom where people were separated into four castes, he understood the suffering of sentient beings. In order to overcome the views of sentient beings that caused inequality, he had to examine an abundance of principles. This was necessary in order to find a way to eliminate the discrimination in their minds.
So, he decided to give up the lay life and leave the palace to engage in ascetic practice. After some time passed, He attained Buddhahood. After attaining enlightenment, He experienced the intrinsic nature of. True Suchness that is one with the universe, the state of mind felt when our intrinsic nature becomes united with the world and the universe. The Buddha wanted to bring our minds together with all things in the universe. He wanted to share that state of “greater self” with everyone, but sadly [His audience] did not have the capacity.
So, in the end He had to use various means to teach the Dharma according to their capabilities. All of you know about this because I have repeatedly shared this with you. I feel that we must constantly experience matters in this world [in order to understand]. So the Buddha, while in this world, observed sentient beings’ capabilities in order to give them suitable teachings. He used various methods like the Three Vehicles, the Five Vehicles, etc., to teach according to capabilities.
However, time still continued to pass by. After teaching the Dharma for more than 40 years, the Buddha was advanced in years, so He “was going our”, it was nearing the time for Him to leave. This refers to the Buddha’s “transformation-body”, which is His incarnation in the Saha World. So, the sutra states, “This rotted old home belonged to one man”.
This “one man” represents the Buddha, the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and kind father of the four kinds of beings.
The Three Realms are where the Buddha manifested His transformation-body. His vows carried Him back to the world to transform and deliver sentient beings. So, it says that the rotted old home belonged to one man.
Similarly, in college and high school in Taiwan, groups of students are assigned to one guidance counselor, [who feels], “This group of students is my responsibility”. This is a system we have in this world. As a noble being who has transcended this world, the Buddha felt sentient beings were all like His children. Those whom He loves and wants to protect and teach are all sentient beings in this world. So, He is like a teacher and a father.Thus He is called the guiding teacher of the Three Realms. He treats the four kinds of beings as His only son.
He saw all of these living beings equally, as if they were His children. So, He is a kind father to them. But His time in this world was limited, and the time was approaching when He would enter Parinirvana. So, “This master was going out” expresses how the Buddha was close to Parinirvana He was about to leave this Saha World; there was not much time left.
This would happen “before long” He was about to leave this world and did not have much time left. This was going to happen soon. There was not much time left, after He left, This home, the Three Realms, this rotted house, might soon experience a major disaster. As part of His preparation for entering Parinirvana, He gave the Lotus teachings. With this, He hoped to teach the Bodhisattva Way, so He used many analogies. If we can all accept this one teaching, with this same teaching we can all return to our pure Tathagata-nature.
I would understand your Buddha-nature, that you are very pure and undefiled. You would also understand that I am also pure and undefiled. With this pure and undefiled state of mind, we would work together for the suffering beings of this evil world of Five Turbidities, and devote ourselves to providing them with immediate support. Otherwise, this “house” does not have much time left. It may soon be overwhelmed by disasters.
This is what the Buddha meant by, “This master was going out, when before long, in this abode, a fire suddenly broke out.” This means that disasters will become more concentrated, so we need even more people to form aspirations and walk the Bodhisattva-path. This is why we feel a sense of urgency and must recruit Living Bodhisattvas quickly. We must not be attached to our limited self or be limited in our perspective. This will lead us to fight each other and give rise to conflict; this makes our lives hard.
So, everyone, as Buddhist practitioners we must be mindful. The Buddha came to this world; He manifested in the Three Realms and showed His transformation-body in the Saha World. He was born in response to this world of ours. As He engaged in spiritual practice in this world. He taught the principles behind [His actions] and shared and taught the Dharma that He realized. But in the end, His time was limited However, in this home, this great house of the Three Realms, the elder must never stop teaching.He teaches the children to always be cautious and prevent fires from starting.
When the elder is in the house, he carefully protects his children from the source of the fire. But after he leaves the house the children, out of ignorance, start the fire.
Although this elder, [the Buddha,] never stops teaching His children, then sentient beings in the Three Realms, He must call on them to be cautious and prevent a fire from starting. No matter what He taught, it was all to have us be mindful and faithfully accept and practice the teachings.
Otherwise, when He leaves this house, when He leaves this Saha World, all these children will again give rise to countless afflictions, again play with the fire and burn themselves. So, everyone as Buddhist practitioners, we must be mindful. We must listen, take the Dharma to heart and, if there is any teachings we can apply, we must put it into practice. Therefore, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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