Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Suffering from Slandering the Dharma (謗法常受三途苦)
Date:November.26. 2015
“In every world that exists, there is no one who does not age and die. Sentient beings follow the law of cyclic existence, and in every life they will eventually die. Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods. In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.”
Ah, the karmic law of cause and effect! Indeed, we must be very careful. As the Buddha has told us clearly, in this world, everything is subject to formation, existence, decay and disappearance. Everything goes through this endless cycle. All humans likewise through birth, aging, illness and death. This is sentient beings’ law of cyclic existence. And our minds? Thoughts arise, abide, change and cease endlessly. We may give rise to a sense of joy and thus form aspirations and make vows. In that moment, our resolve is very firm but as time passes, our thoughts “change” with our environment, and our mental state shifts. After this “change,” our mindset is different. In the end, after this process, those [initial] thoughts have completely “ceased”.
Sentient beings are always subject to this “law of cyclic existence.” With our present mindsets in the present era, we remain in this period of Dharma-degeneration, an era of declining human morality. So, “In every life, [we] will eventually die.” In the end, everyone will die. When life comes to an end, we take nothing with us, but everything our minds led us to do, all the good and evil, will still exist.
Those seeds remain, so, “Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions.” We created these karmic seeds, so we experience the suffering and joy. This is all stored in our karmic consciousness. The karmic consciousness [encompasses] past causes and conditions, current effects and retributions and future karmic forces, [the workings of karma] over the Three Periods.
Our karmic consciousness stores [karma of] the Three Periods, the past, present and future. So, it is said, “In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.” During the Buddha’s lifetime, He always reminded people to pay attention to cause and effect. At the time, Sariputra had followed the Buddha to the kingdom of Sravasti. One day, after he returned from begging for alms, from far away, he saw a dog by the roadside.
The dog had been beaten with sticks and was barely alive. After he asked around, he learned that some merchants had passed by a few days ago after hunting for precious objects in the sea. On their way home, they rested at this place. The dog had wandered over and saw that after these people had eaten, there were leftovers out in the open. Since the merchants were asleep, the dog started eating their leftovers. One of the merchants woke up and saw the dog eating their food. He became furious, and they all yelled, “Beat him!”
So, the ground of merchants beat the dog. [Once he managed to escape] the dog ran until he did not have the strength to keep going. His bones were all broken, and he had been laying there injured for a few days already. He was injured and very hungry.
Sariputra heard the story and was just on his way back from begging for alms, so he gave the dog some of his food. As the dog ate, tears rolled down his face, and he kept wagging his tail.
Sariputra then stayed there and talked to the dog. He explained transmigration in the Six Realms and how doing good and creating positive karma can lead to the blessing of being born human. Then if one is reverent, one can listen to the Dharma, engage in spiritual practice and transcend suffering.He explained the Dharma in this way. He even taught the Four Noble Truths to the dog. Human life is inherently filled with suffering, to say nothing of the life of animals, where the suffering is even more unbearable.
As he slowly explained everything to the dog, the dog stopped crying, Looking very serene, the dog took his last breath. Sariputra buried the dog and then left. Then some time passed.
One day when Sariputra was walking in the streets and elder saw him from far away. The elder asked Sariputra, "Venerable One, why are you out by yourself? Sariputra replied, Of course I'm by myself. Who would be my companion?"
The elder then said, "You should have an attendant who serves you. My child can follow you into monastic life, but he is only one year old right now. He does not understand much about life. Even if he follows you in spiritual practice, he would be unable to serve you. Can you wait until he grows a bit older ?"
Sariputra said, "That is possible. That depends on our affinities. Maybe when I return to Sravasti again." Thus they agreed to meet seven years later.
Seven years later, Sariputra was back in Sravasti. He went to the elder's house, and the elder told him, "My child is now seven years old, and he is willing [to serve you]. So, I'm putting him in you hands." This is how this child came to follow Sariputra and become a monastic. When the Buddha saw this child and learned that he wanted to follow Sariputra, He was very joyful. He gave him permission to shave his head and become a novice.
The novice was filled with earnestness and gratitude. Among the Sangha, he was very diligent.One day, while this child sat in meditation, this thought arose in his mind, "Oh, I am truly blessed! In my past life, what were my causes and conditions such that I could become Sarputra's disciple, meet the Buddha and listen to Him teach? What causes and conditions did I create?"
As he saw in meditation, he came to understand. "I was a dog in my past life. I have the opportunity to receive a meal from Sariputra and listen to him explain suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. He said he hoped I could engage in spiritual practice in my next life. Indeed, now I am engaging in spiritual practice. As long as Sariputra is alive, I will always remain a novice and will not take the full bhiksu precepts." This was because if he became a bhiksu, he would not be able to remain at Sariputra's side and be his attendant.
So, in this life, as long as Sariputra was alive, he was not going to become a bhiksu. He would remain a novice.
When Ananda heard this, [he wondered,] "How did this novice and Sariputra come to have this kind of affinity?" He asked the Buddha about this. The Buddha then delved further in the past. He said to everyone, "Listen carefully. A long time ago, during Kasyapa Buddha's lifetime, there was a young bhiksu who had a loud, clear voice and good memory. He was constantly chanting the sutras. But there was another bhiksu who was very old and had a raspy voice. His recitation were not pleasant to listen to.
One day, the young bhiksu heard this unpleasant sound, so he went over to the elderly bhiksu and said, 'Old Master! Your recitation is really unpleasant to hear. “It sound like a dog barking', very annoying.”’ The elderly bhiksu looked at the young bhiksu, and said, “‘Young man, I know your voice is very pleasant to hear, but do you know who I am?”’‘Who are you?’ “‘I am one who has attained Arhatship. I am a bhiksu following Kasyapa Buddha. I have already obtained the four fruit.”’
“After hearing this, the young bhiksu felt very remorseful [about his rude words].” “‘This elderly bhiksu has attained Arhatship! How could I have been so rude to him? That was not right; I must repent right away!”’ “He repented immediately, and the elderly bhiksu was very forgiving and expounded the Dharma to this young bhiksu.”
“‘I must repent right away! He repented immediately, and the elderly bhiksu was very forgiving and expounded the Dharma to this young bhiksu. You cannot just rely on your memory and only recite sutras. You must truly take the Dharma to heart. You must treat every person as a Buddha. Then in the future, you will have the chance to meet eminent monastics and encounter the Buddha-Dharma.”’ “Such were the causes and conditions”.
The Buddha said, “The dog was the young bhiksu. Because he had repented, he was able to meet Sariputra. In this life, all these things that Sariputra did for the dog enabled the dog to be reborn as a human. Thus in this life, Sariputra was able to transform him in time. These are their causes and conditions”.
See, this is how, “Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods. In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions”. Therefore, we must be mindful.
With everything we do in our daily living, the people we see and the things we encounter, we must keep the law of karma in mind. If we lose our human form and fall into the Three Evil Destinies, we will have to face unbearable suffering.
The previous passage of sutra text we discussed states, “Such transgressors are constantly reborn in difficult places; mad and deaf, minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma. For countless kalpas, numerous as the Ganges’ sands, they are always born deaf and mute, and all their faculties are incomplete”.
We talked about this yesterday. So, we must always be mindful. Or else once we lose our human form, it can take a very long time [to regain it]. Once we regain it, we might not have the cause and conditions to hear the Buddha-Dharma. Thus we long remain in the evil realms; we stay there for a very long time.
The next sutra passages states, “They often dwell in hell and stroll about there as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home. Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these”.
At it states in the previous passage, when these people are reborn in the human realm, all their faculties will be incomplete. Moreover, they will often be in hell, repeatedly returning there. They may even end up in the other evil destinies. In those evil destinies, they are unable to engage in self-reflection and do not have the causes and conditions to listen to the Buddha-Dharma. So, they repeatedly return, as if strolling about in a garden; being in these evil destinies is like being at home. They forever remain withing these confines. Why is this?
“For slandering this sutra”. This is due to slandering this sutra and denying the law of karma. Because of this, “They face retributions such as these”.
This is explaining their transmigration, the retribution of being reborn in the Three Evil Destinies of the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. [The suffering] they face is indeed indescribable.
If we in fact end up in hell, the suffering there will truly be unbearable. Sometimes in this world, we see people who face this kind of suffering living impoverished and degrading lives, in particular from facing starvation and manmade tragedies like violence, war and so on. It is hard enough to just stay alive. It is like living in hell, constantly being on edge. This kind of life is filled with suffering!
Why did this happen to them? [Because they] “slandered the Right Dharma. Those who slander the Right Dharma look down on the teachings or disparage the Buddha, Dharma or Sangha”. People like this cut off the roots of goodness and wisdom-life”.
We recognize that as we humans continue to create this kind of karma, society will remain in a state of turmoil. This is because people’s seeds of goodness and [positives] karmic conditions have been cut off. If we do not do good deeds nor clearly understand the principles, we will end up creating this kind of karma. When we [take from], fight and kill each other, we will “long remain in the Three Evil Destinies without any respite”. There is no time to stop and rest. We will always be in the hell, hungry ghost or animal realm. And when we are reborn in the human realm, our lives will be impoverished and degrading, and our body will have incomplete faculties, etc. This will be the course of our transmigration. This is where [slanderers of the Dharma] “often dwell”, which means to be there for a long time.
“They cycle in and out constantly”. Sometimes they go into hell. Sometimes they leave hell and go into the animal realm. Then from the animal realm, they go back into hell. After being in hell, sometimes they leave there and go into the hungry ghost realm. After they exhaust their karma for being in the hungry ghost realm, they go into the animal realm again.From the animal realm,they go into hell again.
They transmigrate in this way, so they “often dwell [there]. They cycle in and our constantly, led there by their karmic forces, not by choice.
Indeed, many things are beyond our control. “Even if they are born human, before long they. Although they are in the human realm, they do not have the chance to listen to the Buddha-Dharma or to meet good people. Perhaps because of their physical condition or their environment, etc., they do not have the chance to hear the principles or to change their minds and perspectives. Without that opportunity, they continue to create karma that causes them to fall into the Three Evil Destines again.
Even if they are born as humans, before long they will again return to the Three Evil Destinies, constantly cycling through remote, solitary hells. Unilike those in the eight cold and eight hot hells that are situated in fixed locations, these people transmigrate according to their individual karma. They constantly go in and out of various other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home.
Thus they are “constantly cycling through remote solitary hells.” Remote place are very underdeveloped places or very lonely solitary hells. With the individual karma they created, they suffer different retributions from others. This is different from the usual eight cold and eight hot hells where many beings suffer together. Because of the karmic forces they created, they experience their own kind of suffering.
Their individual karma leads them to constantly go in and out of such hells, or “various other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home.” They are always going between these places of suffering.
As an ancient saying goes, “Each retribution in the Three Evil Destinies lasts for thousands of kalpas. When will they become human again?” In the Three Evil Destinies, the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms, how long will they spend transmigrating? Thousands of kalpas! They will “often dwell [there].” They will constantly remain in these place of suffering. This will go on for a long time.
Or, they may end up as camels, pigs or dogs. These are also places they constantly come and go from.
Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are livestock used to provide man with labor and food. They constantly come and between them, thus these are the forms in which they travel.
We often see camels in videos. Camels work hard to transport things. The same goes for donkeys. What about pigs and dogs? We often see them hanging in meat stalls. They are killed and eaten by people. In the Three Evil Destinies, they constantly come and go from the suffering of the animal realm. These are the forms in which they travel.
Why did this happen to them? “For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such these.” Because they slandered the sutra, they received these retributions.
In the past, in places of spiritual practice, this saying was often heard, “If you do complete the path this lifetime, you will return feathered or to repay.” And there is another saying, “A donor’s grain of rice is as big as Mt. Sumeru. If you three minds still exist, you will return feathered or horned.” Everyone should have heard of this as well.
The ancients said: If you do not complete the path in this lifetime, you will return feathered or horned. If the disciples in the fourfold assembly slander the sutra teachings, they face these unexhausted retributions. They inevitably reap what they have sown and led by their karmic forces into the animal realm.
So, in our daily living, we must be very cautious. Our minds must be free of desires, and we must work hard. We should come to this world for the sake of transforming sentient beings, not to engage in spiritual practice for ourselves. We come here to widely transform sentient beings. Even as our bodies age, our [aspirations] must not change. This is the truth that the Buddha came to this world to tell us. He hoped we will engage in spiritual practice and “maintain our original aspiration so we can surely attain Buddhahood.” This is the only way for us to return to our Buddha-nature, our nature of True Suchness. This is the true goal for our spiritual practice.
Everyone, as Buddhist practitioners, we must remember that, “Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods. In accordance with the karma we create, transgression and blessings bring retributions.” So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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