Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Causes and Conditions Lead to Accumulation (因緣牽引苦事相集)
Date: March.15. 2017
“The matters and appearances of suffering in the world come from accumulation. When we understand cessation and grasp and principles, we will cultivate the Path. The [Twelve] Links lead to the becoming of birth and death amidst impermanence. Clinging to conditions will drag us onward so that suffering continues. A moment’s pleasure can result in long suffering. With formation and existence, we create karma that brings decay and disappearance.”
There are many sufferings in the world, all caused by the accumulation of causes and conditions, of karma, which continually converge and come together. This is “accumulation.” We accumulate all kinds of causes and conditions and their resulting karmic forces, thus causing suffering in the world; there is so much suffering. If we understand how we accumulated all this suffering, then what should we do about it? As long as we can understand it, we will want to eliminate it. If we know the origin of “accumulation,” the cause of suffering, the origin of this accumulation, we will know how to go about eliminating it, eliminating these appearances of suffering. We must eliminate accumulation. As we accumulate all kinds of conditions, we can understand all kinds of karma. Once we are clear on this, we will know how to eliminate it. If we naturally eliminate the coming together of this ignorance and these afflictions, then naturally we will gradually enter and converge with the principles.
So, matters and appearances exist due to “accumulation.” Understanding this, we naturally come to understand the principles and can get rid of ignorance bit by bit. Every bit of ignorance we rid ourselves of is a bit of the principles that we understand. This enables us to earnestly advance forward upon this path. We pave this path mindfully and with love and walk upon it accordingly. These are the truths of suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. If we know that so much suffering is in the world, so many matters and appearances of suffering, we will comprehend and understand that the origin of suffering results from taking action and thus accumulating all kinds of causes and conditions. We create all kinds of karma, which is what comes together to create suffering. We understand that to eliminate suffering, we must earnestly engage in spiritual practice. Everyone should be clear on these principles. We have recently been speaking about “Links,” the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. “The [Twelve] Links lead to the becoming of birth and death amidst impermanence.”
The Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence: Ignorance, volitional formation, consciousness, name and form, six entrances, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, becoming, birth and aging and death.
We start this all with a single ignorant thought. Once ignorance arises within us, ignorance gives rise to volitional formation, so we create karma, which gives rise to consciousness, which then gives rise to name and form. It continues on in the same way all the way until “becoming,” which is when we have already been reborn, already created so much karma. When this fruition has ripened, it is called “becoming.” The karma we create in a lifetime is what leads to our “becoming.” Yesterday, we spoke of our beginnings in the womb, of how we leave our mother’s womb. Once we are born into the world, we feel pain and we begin to cry. Then, from our infancy, we grow up, through youth into our middle age and old age, all the while giving rise to discursive thoughts and creating karma. We do this until our conditions for life are over. This is the process of aging, illness and death. This all begins with the “Links.” Because we have karma, the karma that we have reaches fruition; it is complete. It then becomes the seeds which enter our eighth consciousness. Then when we reach death; impermanence arrives. Impermanence is beyond our control. What will our next lifetime be like? This likewise depends upon conditions.
“Clinging to conditions will drag us onward so that suffering continues.” We are led onward by these conditions. Where will they take us in our next lifetime? We do not know. We are dragged along by conditions according to the karma we created in the past. The cause already exists. Is it a cause of suffering or is it a cause of joy? Is it a cause of good, or one of evil? We do not know, but regardless it is the karma created in the past that has “become” these seeds. As impermanence manifests, conditions drag us to our next life. In our next life, this continues in the same way. Our next lifetime may also be one of suffering. We will likewise be unable to escape the Four Sufferings or the Eight Sufferings, unable to escape the suffering of suffering, the suffering of decay and impermanence, all kinds of sufferings. This is the cycle of life.
“Clinging to conditions will drag is onward so that suffering continues.” The cycle constantly continues on in this way. Is this life ultimately one of suffering or joy? Sometimes extreme joy turns to sorrow! “A moment’s pleasure can result in long suffering.” Look at how many things happen in the world all for the sake of a moment of pleasure. People go out on sightseeing tours only to have an accident occur. For instance, with typhoons, Typhoon Dujuan made landfall yesterday between Hualien and Su’ao. In the evening, around 5 or 6 pm, there were strong winds and rain. But it did not last very long, because it quickly passed through. By dawn it was already heading out to sea. This typhoon brought heavy winds and rain. Many people were out sightseeing, some from abroad. Never having experienced a typhoon in Taiwan, they were very curious, wanting to go to the oceanside to see the waves, to see how high they would get. There were also others seeking adventure, who wanted to go to the mountainous regions to see what landslides looked like. People like these risked their lives, saying they wanted to have this life experience.
Yesterday we heard in the news about a young person from a certain country who took his young child [to the coast]. Unwilling to heed the warnings, they went to watch the waves. They even went into a restricted area. Disregarding the warnings of police, he insisted on going anyway. They ended up stuck in a place, neither able to go up or down. Stuck there, others had to rush to the area to save them. A policeman had to risk his lives to save them. This was all for a moment of amusement. Amusement like this is fleeting, only providing a momentary satisfaction of seeing the power of nature, what Taiwan’s typhoons actually looked like. In a case like this, if the unexpected happened, it could have caused very long-lasting suffering. What if all three of them had perished? Or what if one or two of them perished, leaving the others with unimaginable regret? What if the three of them had not died, but had become crippled because of it? This could have happened. With this kind of intentional thrill-seeking, just what going on in their minds? Especially in my travels around Taiwan this time, I saw quite a few of those who were [injured at] the Ba-Hsian Amusement Park [dust explosion]. That group of young people, though they enjoyed themselves momentarily, must now suffer long into the future. Who can help share the burden of the pain and suffering in their hearts? The only thing we can do is to constantly nurture the love and respect in people’s hearts. After they experience this momentary tragedy, we must find ways to accompany them. This the suffering of life amidst impermanence. Isn’t it painful?
The Buddha told us of “formation, existence, decay and disappearance.” This is how the world works. “Formation” takes place in the universe; each and every celestial body is its own individual world. Earth also exists in space. It is a planet, a world, and for every planet, there is a limit to it lifespan. Furthermore, there is life here on Earth. Humankind lives upon Earth, yet at the same time is destroying it. We depend upon Earth to live, yet we take endless amounts of resources from her. Not only do we take endless amounts of resources, we are also continually destroying her. We do not preserver the soil, but destroy our soil-water system, to the point that in the present era we are already beginning to witness “decay” and “disappearance.” We live on Earth. We do not know when it underwent “formation.” However, it is presently in “existence.” We too exist on Earth. Each and every one of us lives on Earth. Don’t the grains and plants and all the material resources we use all come from this planet? If we have enough to live, that is good enough. If we are content with what we have, then this Earth’s “existence” will be a healthy “existence,” and she can last for a long time. This is like how each of us must take good care of our body’s health. We should eat and drink the proper amount. We should not indulge our craving for taste. For the sake of taste, we kill and injure so many living beings. For the sake of greed and desire, see how many disasters have been created, how nature has been destroyed. When we create pollution like this, it is destroying nature. For the sake of our craving for taste, many living beings are killed, forming enmity and resulting in disaster. Don’t all living beings have intelligence and awareness? As they are abused, killed and injured by mankind, all of that hatred and resentment similarly accumulates. Then eventually people slaughter each other; this is why we have war and manmade calamities. We have so many manmade calamities now; refugees face such great suffering. This is all man-made. Look at how formation, existence, decay and disappearance all result from the karma humans create. So, “With formation and existence, we create karma that brings decay and disappearance.” Who creates karma? It is humans who create karma! This is the way of the world. the Buddha came to the world in order to teach us, to lead us toward the right path, so He had to teach us so many principles. There is much suffering in the world and in the end, when it comes to human suffering, it is up to human beings to help one another. This is what the Buddha taught us.
Look at what is happening now [in 2015] at the Jing Si Hall. TIMA members from 22 countries have all gathered in Hualien at our Jing Si Hall. The day before yesterday was Mid-Autumn Festival. Everyone was so happy to be at the Jing Si Hall with people from 22 countries enjoying the friendship of those who share a mission and path. They are all here in Hualien, in the spacious environment of the Jing Si Hall. When they came outside, I ask them yesterday, “Did everyone see the moon in the sky over Hualien?” They answered, “Yes. When we went outside the Jing Si Hall and looked up at the sky, the moon was a lot bigger!” That is correct. This year’s Mid-Autumn moon was especially large. This is an astronomical and atmospheric phenomenon due to these cycles of the orbiting of the plants. As they rotate and revolve, they continually turn. As some point the Moon and Earth lined up and were aligned with the Sun as well, so for a time the Moon was in total eclipse. This means Earth blocked the Sun. the sunlight that normally shines upon the Moon became totally blocked by Earth. as Earth crossed between the Moon and Sun, very gradually the lunar eclipse became complete. This is an astrological phenomenon. This sight is actually directly related to this planet that we human beings live upon. This is an astrological phenomenon that is so wondrously profound! This year, the Sun, Moon and Earth are all involved in a special astrological phenomenon. This year is very special for us because TIMA doctors are now here from 22 countries. The Tzu Chi International Medical Association are medical workers who share the same mission, and all have gathered here together. All have come from many different countries. Though they live in different countries, their aspirations are all the same. Wherever people suffer in sickness and in pain, they willingly spare no effort to help them. Through this, they have witnessed much suffering in this world and have saved many sick and suffering people. This is Tzu Chi International Medical Association; they are all great medicine kings and Bodhisattvas. Even more special is that members of many different religions have come together here at the Jing Si Hall. There are all kinds of religions.
This year a pair of Muslim doctors came, a husband and wife who are both doctors. This couple is here because at the beginning of the year there was a huge flood in Malaysia. Tzu Chi volunteers there united to spread love throughout Malaysia. Tzu Chi volunteers from Penang, Selangor and all over Malaysia came together to help with the flooding, for the affected area was very large. In Selangor, when we went to help, there was a mosque that had been completely buried. The inside had become filled with mud. After the water receded, the entire mosque was left like that Tzu Chi volunteers devoted themselves to cleaning out the mosque. With joy in their hearts, they spared no effort. Many volunteers went there to clean. This couple saw with their own eyes how incredible this organization was. They saw how disciplined everyone was, how joyful we were. They saw the smiles upon the faces of those who were cleaning, saw everyone’s harmony and orderliness. They were moved and learned about Tzu Chi, so four months later, they visited our branch office in Kuala Lumpur to learn more about TIMA. They began to get involved and registered to become TIMA volunteers. From this beginning, every time a free clinic was held that couple would undoubtedly be there. They became very enthusiastically involved. This couple are both professors, teaching at Lincoln University, and both are Muslim. This time, they also came here together. They saw how Tzu Chi makes no distinctions between religions, how we all gathered together in the same hall. They were indeed very surprised. Why were we able to do this? So, they began wanting to understand more about Tzu Chi. This Dr. Zazali felt that this was indeed an unbelievable organization. As for becoming a medical volunteer, he was very willing to join in. This is a Muslim couple, both professors and doctors, who have both become earnestly involved. Of course, there are those from other places, from America, Australia, Europe and other countries who have all come here. There were many from South America as well. In conclusion, Tzu Chi volunteers from 22 countries all came to share about how they serve. So, we must all try to mindfully experience this.
The Buddha taught us only in the hope that the road we all walk would be one correct in direction, one of unselfish great love, one of giving without discrimination. This is what the Buddha taught us. The world is full of suffering, which is why Living Bodhisattvas are needed to give with selfless great love. When we understand the impermanence of life, what is there to discriminate over? What is there to take issue over? Religion is just a label. The common spirit of all religions can be expressed in one word, and that is “love.” This is the principle, the correct principle. All religions, in fact, put together, reveal a true principle, a correct principle; if does not deviate, nor contain any selfishness. In this broad and open state of mind, we give for the sake of humanity. This selfless great love is the principle common to all religions.
So, we should give with love. Life is impermanent and full of suffering. Things undergo formation, existence, decay and disappearance. The body undergoes birth, aging, lines and death. There is nothing that is everlasting, so let us view things from a broader perspective.
We are talking about the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. We also spoke about it yesterday “He then extensively taught the Dharma of the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence Ignorance gives rise to volitional formation and volitional formation to consciousness. Consciousness gives rise to name and form, name and form give rise to the six entrances, the six entrances give rise to contact, contact gives rise to feeling, feeling gives rise to craving, craving gives rise to grasping, grasping gives rise to becoming, becoming gives rise to birth and birth gives rise to the worry, sadness and distress of aging and death.”
Aging, illness and death, these sufferings, all are a part of the process of life. We should be very familiar with this and be able to memorize and recite this and also understand these principles.
Next it continues similarly, “When ignorance ceases, volitional formation thus ceases. When volitional formation ceases, consciousness thus ceases. When consciousness ceases, name and form thus cease. When name and form cease, the six entrances thus cease, contact thus ceases.
Since we understand suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, we know that suffering is caused by accumulation. So, we must seek to understand this. Having understood it, we should transcend this suffering. To transcend suffering, having understood the causation of accumulation, we should put effort into “cessation.” Where does suffering come from? People say, “Only those who tied the knot can untie it.” If you want to untie the knot, you must know, “Who was the one who tied it?” The one who tied it knows how to untie it. If someone is locked up, the one who locked it knows how to open the lock.
To put it simply, whatever suffering we have, are we willing to continue on the same as before, creating karma in ignorance as we did up till now? If we do not even understand the principles, how could we possibly escape from samsara? Now that we have the conditions to hear the principles, we should quickly, earnestly seek to understand, to understand how to eliminate “causation.” Only by [eliminating] the source of “causation” will we be able to eliminate our present suffering. Then we can be clear about how to walk this path so we will not take the wrong path. Of course this requires cessation, cessation of the wrong path. We must not go down the wrong path again.
Because karmic condition lead us to birth, we thus experience the worries, sadness and distress of illness, aging and death following us at all times. As this happens, ignorance and volitional formation are the past causes while consciousness, name and form, six entrances, contact and feeling are the present effects.
So, “Because karmic conditions lead us to birth, we thus experience the worries, sadness and distress of illness, aging and death following us at all times.” These words should be clear. It is because karmic conditions lead us, because they drag us along, that we are born into subsequent lifetimes. Starting from one ignorant thought, we began to take action. We have affinities with those parents, so we enter the womb, this is name and form. Then we gradually develop and slowly encounter the world. This is how we came to be here. You see, coming to the world is inseparable from birth, aging, illness and death. Following the suffering of the karma we created with this body, in the end, don’t we face the impermanence of death? In this obscure future, do we know where we will go? We do not. So, “As this happens, [there is] ignorance.” Throughout this life there is ignorance and “volitional formation.” Because of ignorance, volitional formation arise so we create all kinds of karma.
Ignorance and volitional formation are the past causes. In our lives, our cause in the past was our ignorance, our volitional formation, which led us to create karma. In our past life, in our past lifetime, we also created karma out of ignorance like this. We faced suffering and accumulated all kinds of ignorance and afflictions, creating many karmic forces that became causes, became seeds. From ignorance, we created seeds through volitional formation. So, ignorance and volitional formation are our past causes.
“Consciousness, name and form, six entrances, contact and feeling” are our present effects. Every day our Six Roots come into contact with the Six Dusts, which gives rise to discursive thoughts. Our consciousness gives rise to discursive thoughts. These discursive thoughts depend entirely upon names and appearances in the world, entirely upon the forms of the world, in all their shapes and forms. It is because of these names and forms that our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and consciousness, our six entrances, make contact, leading to craving, grasping and becoming. This is what we have been doing all our lives. When our Six Roots come into contact with the outside world, our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body will then begin to function. With this contact, there is much craving and grasping. To grasp what we want, we use any means possible. Many karmic forces result from the actions we take with our bodies. These are the effects we experience presently. In this lifetime, these are our present effects now; this is now.
“Craving, grasping and becoming are the future causes. Birth, aging and death are the future effects.”
According to what we do now, we feel, “I like this, I don’t like that. I want this, I don’t want that.” If we want something, we use any means necessary. We feel we do not have enough pleasures, so we begin to give rise to the thought, “I want to get more. I want to acquire even more.” Thus we take action and again create karma throughout our lives. Our past causes have already been created, and when we come to this life, the karmic retributions we face in this life lead us to create more. They become the causes that will drag us into the future. So, “Birth, aging and death are future effects.” Whatever age we are at, we continue down the path of aging, illness and death until we reach the very end. This will be our future effect.
When this future effect is done, we are again led on. “Ignorance and volitional formation, then craving, grasping and becoming,” these five, are the karma we create in “causation.” When we put them together, this again is the “truth of causation”; this is the beginning. In this way, we again begin creating karma. So, “Consciousness, name and form, the six entrances, contact, feeling, birth, aging and death,” these seven, belong to the “truth of suffering.”
All these things are what we experience. The things we see lead us to have all these feelings. If we can see but cannot get them, that is suffering! Or even if we attain something, we feel that because we have attained it, we want to attain even more; this too is suffering. Actually, all these things in the past, present and future are inseparable from the 12 Links of Cyclic Existence. Every life entails birth, aging, illness and death. Every lifetime in the four forms of birth and the Six Realms leads us to experience all kinds of suffering due to our physical bodies. Actually, all karma is created by humans. People are the source of causes and conditions. So, Catholicism speaks of “original sin,” because it is humans who begin to endlessly create karma. The Buddha told us that evil can arise with merely a single thought, which creates karma. By giving rise to a single thought of goodness, we can also bring benefit to others. What the Buddha taught us was that all things result from the karma we ourselves create. No one can create these things for us. The source of evil is none other than ourselves. Everyone has a source from which they create karma, and that source is the mind. It begins with ignorance, which leads to volitional formation and then consciousness. This is how it begins. So, ignorance is the source of all transgression. That is why we talk about the Dharma every day. It is all about eliminating ignorance. We must eliminate our ignorance.
Thus when ignorance ceases, becoming therefore ceases, and everything up to aging and death will cease. Whether observing [the Twelve Links] forwards or backwards, ignorance is the source. Therefore, once ignorance ceases, volitional formation thus ceases, and everything up to birth ceases, so aging and death cease as well.
“Thus when ignorance ceases, becoming therefore ceases.” We already know what ignorance is. From ignorance, we started down the wrong path. This is great suffering. We do not wish to continue on this path, the incorrect path. We must quickly give it up and begin walking upon the correct path. So, “Thus, when ignorance ceases, becoming therefore ceases.” If we no longer walk upon the wrong path, there will be no more “becoming” and no more dangers from being on the wrong path. What we wish to walk is the great, direct Bodhi-path. Do not walk on the mistaken path any more. If we walk the great, direct Bodhi-path, then naturally this “becoming,” this mind that gives rises to discursive thoughts, will naturally cease to be. “Everything up to aging and death” will all be completely eliminated. We will no longer be like this, uncontrollably going through the process of aging, illness and death in fear. Those who know the Dharma similarly live under the laws of nature; even the Buddha experienced aging, illness and death. But the Buddha was carefree and at ease with this. “I know that my days are numbered, and because I understand this, I wish to take these teachings and quickly pass them on to others.”
In the Sutra of the Buddha’s Bequeathed Teachings, in the end everything was brought back to the Four Noble Truths, and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, encouraging everyone to actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions. For only by the great, direct Bodhi-path
can peace, stability and freedom be attained. Birth, aging, illness and death are like [what I saw] in my travels this time. A senior commissioner told me, “It’s enough! I am so satisfied and fortunate in this life that when I die I will have no regrets.” She was without worries or distress. Those had all been eliminated. So, “Whether observing [the Twelve Links] forwards or backwards, ignorance is the source.” All begins with ignorance. So it says, “When ignorance ceases, volitional formation thus ceases, and everything up to birth ceases, so aging and death will cease as well.” This is what we should earnestly try to understand. So, “When ignorance ceases, volitional formation thus ceases, consciousness thus ceases.”
When ignorance ceases, volitional formation thus cease. When volitional formation ceases, consciousness thus ceases: Without ignorance, no transgressions will arise, thus evil volitions will cease. When evil volitions are not formed, deluded consciousness thus ceases.
When ignorance ceases, volitional formation also ceases. “Without ignorance,” when there is no ignorance, “no transgressions will arise.” If we do not have ignorance, other mistakes will not arise in our minds. Mistakes are mistaken thoughts, evil thoughts. If we do not have ignorance, how can we have evil thoughts? We will not have any “Thus evil volitions will cease.” We will not engage in evil action. “When evil volitions are not formed, deluded consciousness thus ceases.” If we do not perform evil deeds, naturally deluded consciousness will cease. We will come to eliminate false and illusory consciousness. “When consciousness ceases, name and form thus cease.” When consciousness is eliminated, name and form are then eliminated.
When consciousness ceases, name and form thus cease: Due to consciousness, we enter the womb, and thus there is name and form. If deluded consciousness does not arise, name and form will thus cease.
As for name and form, when it comes to all things in the world and everything in our lives, it is enough to be able to pass our days in peace. What else do we desire? How much more do we need to do? When will impermanence arrive? We have no idea. So, what is the need for this desire and craving?
Thus, if we eliminate consciousness, eliminate this consciousness based on desire, we will be free and at ease with all external forms and appearances. We will stop seeking to possess them. Then name and form will cease. “Due to consciousness, we enter the womb.” Our consciousness, having left its past [life], will in the future again enter the womb. “Thus there is name and form.” Again a father’s sperm mixes with a mother’s egg so we enter into the prison of the womb. Thus, “Deluded consciousness does not arise.” In a very confused state, we follow our affinities with our [new] parents.
his confused state is deluded consciousness. Without any control, we choose our parents. Without any control, we choose our environment. This is all due to deluded consciousness. When this consciousness ceases, name and form will also cease. Then we will not enter into the womb in confusion like this. In this way, name and form ceases.
“When name and form cease, the six entrances thus cease.” When name and form cease, the six entrances also cease. “Name and form give rise to the six entrance.” It is only because of name and form that we have the Six Roots. “If name and form do not arise, the six entrances thus cease.”
Without name and form, that ball in the prison of the womb, naturally the Six Roots would not arise. So, “When the six entrances cease, contact thus ceases.” If a child does not form within the womb, naturally there will be no child to be born.
When the six entrances cease, contact thus ceases: Due to the existence of the six entrances, we come into contact with external sense objects. If the six entrances do not arise, the appearance of contact thus ceases.
In summary, “Due to the existence of the six entrances, we come into contact with external sense objects.” When the six entrances have been formed, after we are born we connect with external conditions. Without the Six Roots, naturally we have no contact with sense objects. In summation, life is this kind of constant cycle, inseparable from the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. This is the cycle of birth and death we go through. Everyone, let us try to understand the constant accumulation of life’s suffering. If we understand these principles, then amidst cyclic existence we will know not to only go about seeking pleasures. Since we are here, let us earnestly move forward upon the broad, great, direct Bodhi-path without deviating. Only then we will not make a mistake and give rise to ignorance and deluded consciousness that will bring us back to confusion. Therefore, let us always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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