Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Where There Are No Evil Realms (人天交接 無諸惡道)
Date: June.30.2017
“The Buddha-land, the heaven and human realms are all connected with each other. All beings are pure and transformation-born; there are no evil realms of any kind nor sexual attraction between men and women that leads them to delude and seduce each other. They guard their minds to be tranquil and clear, without cravings for the female form.”
Let us put effort into understanding this. “The Buddha-land, the heaven and human realms are all connected with each other.” The human and the heaven realms, these two realms, are connected with each other. This world is the place where the Five Destinies coexist. The Five Destinies, as we all know, are the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. These are the Five Destinies; they are five directions we can go in. In this world, aside from the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms, human nature [itself] is extremely complicated, with all these existing in this place. This is the Saha World. In the Saha World, there are so many good people, bad people and very ordinary people, as well as Bodhisattvas who interact with everyone. They are all here; we also see many different kinds of life, many kinds of sentient beings, of all shapes and colors. Isn’t this a complicated mix? According to the Buddha-Dharma, we follow our karma to face circumstantial and direct retributions. We follow the karma we created in past lives to come to this world. If we are born human, though we created all kinds of karma in our past lives, we did not lose the circumstantial retribution of being born in the human realm. So, we are born as a member of humankind. If we had created evil karma, we would not even have the chance to be born human. We would likewise have been born into this world, but not as a human, as an animal.
Animals are divided into many different species, so many it is impossible to calculate. This is their direct retribution. Although they are in the circumstance of being with us on this same land, they are a different species. They have a different kind of life. There are many different species. Some are birds that fly in the sky. Some are fish that swim in the water. There are also animals that run upon the land. There are so many different kinds. Just among birds that fly in the sky alone, there are many different kinds. Experts are able to distinguish between the different birds that soar through the sky. As for those that run upon the land or crawl upon the land, there are many kinds. So, this is where the Five Destinies coexist. They are in the air, on land and even in the water. They all live together on this planet. So, this is where the Five Destinies coexist.
With the Five Destinies, there are some people who live in heaven on earth. There are many who live lives of enjoyment, just like heavenly beings. They can have whatever they want, and they live in grand, opulent spaces, in large houses. Others live in shabby and filthy places. It may be so filthy that it seems like they are living in a garbage heap.
This is like hell. Not only do they live in places that cannot protect them from wind and rain, at the same time they are poor, or sick, or old, or crippled, or have no one to care for them; many are like this. This is hell on earth. Among humankind, there is this huge gap between rich and poor. The distance is very great. In the human world there is heaven and hell; there is the difference. There are more [varieties too]. Among humans, there are all kinds of lives. There is good and there is evil; good and evil are different. Among all this evil, there is no way to discern what degrees of evil there are. This evil can create great or small disturbances for people. In interpersonal relationships, it can lead to mutual estrangement so that people are unable to get along peacefully. It can also lead to mutual conflict, so people injure and kill one another. This kind of world is filled with battlegrounds big and small. This is terrifying; these are asuras in the world. This can be found in the human world as well.
In summary, in this place where the Five Destinies coexist, the Buddha-land and the heaven and human realms are all connected with each other. These are the good realms. People can peacefully get along with one another. Why do they need to oppose each other? In our relationships, we can be each other’s virtuous friends, spiritual friends. Why stir up conflicts and spread ignorance throughout the world? So, we need to have a great awakening; we need to transcend this very complicated place where the Five Destinies coexist, this very chaotic, very complicated place. Once we have transcended it, we will awaken and understand. We will understand why, on this same land, there are such discrepancies between the different varieties [of beings]. Why is there so much suffering? Why do some enjoy the blessings of wealth but do not know they should do good deeds?
This is how those who have awakened see the world. They are already enlightened, so They are called “Buddhas”. A Buddha is an Enlightened One. One who has awakened is a Buddha. A great enlightened being has great realizations. A great enlightened sentient being is called a Buddha. The ground of the Buddha’s mind, the place where He dwells, is a pure land. It is very pristine. To be a Buddha, to be able to awaken, of course takes a very long period of time. It is very long, so long! As we often said, it takes dust-inked kalpas, and incalculable amount of time. For many lifetimes They observe the world. For many lifetimes They go among the people and among the people reach awakening. In this way, one lifetime after another, the ground of Their mind grows increasingly pure. Among people, They awaken to principles, get rid of Their ignorance and become thoroughly enlightened. They completely understand the karmic forces that result in different appearances. So, They are Buddhas. The ground of a Buddha’s mind is a Buddha-land. His spiritual state and the heaven, human realms are all connected with each other. This is a Buddha; there is no place He is not aware of and no realm unknown to Him, especially the heaven realm. Throughout the Dharma-realms of the universe, is there any place with principles the Buddha does not understand? So, “The Buddha-land, the heaven and human realms are all connected with each other.” This is the Buddha’s state of mind, His great enlightenment.
Because in the Buddha’s mind, the ground of His mind is pure, all sentient beings are pure [to Him]. When the Buddha looks at sentient beings, He sees that everyone has Buddha-nature. So, “All beings are pure and transformation-born; there are no evil realms of any kind.” Actually, everyone is equal to the Buddha. The ground of everyone’s mind is pure. It is just that we sentient beings linger in ignorance; thus we allow our external environment to penetrate our minds, and interpersonal conflicts and all kinds of confusing information are allowed to cover our hearts. The Buddha can in fact see clearly into everyone’s minds. We are fundamentally kind and fundamentally pure. So, “All beings are pure and transformation-born; there are no evil realms of any kind.” If we can purify our minds, if all this external ignorance can be completely cleared out of our minds, then there are no evil realms of any kind. The landscape of everyone’s mind is fundamentally very beautiful. Everyone’s pure intrinsic nature is the same as the Buddha’s. So, there are no evil realms. Evil realms come from the outside environment, from taking in all of these things that then completely cover our minds. These things were not originally there. Neither was there “sexual attraction between men and women that leads them to delude and seduce each other.” If our minds are pure, how would there be any sexual attraction that deludes us, that leads us to seduce each other? Things get messy in the world because of sexual attraction; this happens often. Since ancient times, [desire for] women has caused the downfall of cities and kingdom. Entire kingdoms have been toppled. Entire cities have been destroyed; they were actually toppled. Were they destroyed by natural disasters? No, by manmade calamities. What was the origin of these manmade calamities? When sexual attraction, craving, desire and so on delude people’ minds, this is the sources of many calamities. These are many stories about this from long ago, many historical events; too many to be told. What about now? It is still the same! Nowadays, there are many television dramas. Taiwan alone has more than 100 TV stations, and each station produces its own dramas. Is there any drama that does not deal with issues between men and women? If not for these issues, there would be no novels. If there were no issues between men and women, the world would not have so many afflictions. In this world, every day we hear from. Living Bodhisattva who care for suffering people. Those care recipients either have family problems, parent-child problems or so on; there are many kinds! These are the types of suffering from afflictions that we are unable to put an end to in the world. This begins with the delusion of sexual attraction and continues until they grow old and die. This is an endless cycle.
Some people are troubled. “Why are you troubled? You have such a good life!” “Though I lack nothing, my son still hasn’t found a wife.” “You are troubled by this?” “He is married now; are you satisfied?” “Not yet, Master. I’m troubled that after two years, they are still childless.” “You are also troubled by this?” “Now that they have a child, are you happy?” “Though I have a grandchild, though this makes me feel better, I am still trouble because the child is so difficult.” “When will you stop being troubled?” When will he sever the root of afflictions? He is entangled by this “sexual attraction between men and women [that] leads them to deluded and seduce each other.” This is why humans seduce one another. So, they must “guard their minds to be tranquil and clear, without cravings for the female form”. It is best to engage in spiritual practice and cultivate “the mind to be tranquil and clear”. We guard our minds by eradicating desire and craving. Then this sexual desire and carving will not remain in our minds causing trouble so we can focus single-mindedly on the path [to remain in] the human and heaven realms. This is our intrinsic nature. We “illuminate luminous virtue”. The path of great learning lies in illuminating luminous virtue. We understand our intrinsic nature very well and are clear on the principles. We act according to these principles and put them into practice in the world. We give without expectations, but we still attain something. “Those who attain are virtuous”. We give without expectation but we attain something in our hearts. What do we attain? Being filled with Dharma-joy. We attain the happiness that comes after helping others. This is what we call virtue. What we attain is the joy that comes from giving to help others. Actually, this helps us accumulate virtue. So, we have previously talked about accumulating merits and virtues. By going among people and serving them, we accumulate merits and virtues. This helps us develop our wisdom-life.
So, we must earnestly be mindful. “The heaven and human realms are all connected with each other”. In fact, here where the Five Destinies coexist, all the realms are interconnected with each other. The human realm is connected with the heaven realm. The human realm is connected with the hell realm. The human realm is connected with the animal realm. Animals and humans are so near, so close to each other. We can see how close animals are to humans. Medical research uses animals as test subjects. In particular, among animals, gorillas are the most similar to humans. We have seen Koko. We all already know about her. She is very famous. Koko loves the earth, loves humans and loves nature. She called on everyone to “hurry up and save the earth, love the earth. You must hurry! Humans must not be stupid! The foolishness of humans makes Koko very sad”. She cried as she used sign language to interact with people and express her feelings. Nature is watching us, to see what we humans will do. Do we humans really want to create a heave [on earth], where we can live together in peace and the four elements are in balance? Nature is watching us to see what we will do. We humans can give rise to afflictions over everything and create negative karma over everything. This is how humans are. So, Koko is heartbroken by humans and the negative karma we create. We must reflect on ourselves. It would be best if we could “guard our minds to be tranquil and clear, without cravings for the female form”. If we no longer give rise to sexual attraction, then would there be any kind of desire, we would be unable to eliminate? If we can cut off sexual desire, it will be simple to deal with all other desires. So, let us be mindful.
The previous sutra passage states, “That Buddha takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land. The ground will be made of the Seven Treasures and be as level as one’s palm, without mountains, valley streams, ditches or ravines. Terraces and temples of Seven Treasures are everywhere”.
“That Buddha” refers to Dharma Clarity Tathagata, this future Tathagata, Dharma Clarity. Who is this Dharma Clarity Tathagata? Purna. Purna, in the future, after a long time passes, will also be able to attain Buddhahood. That Buddha will “takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land”. This is accumulated over a very long time of helping Buddhas promote the Dharma everywhere. The merits and virtues he accumulated were vast, so the land of that Buddha will be very big. He “takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land”.
This is the spiritual state of the Buddha. This does not just apply to His spiritual state, even our own spiritual state can be just as open and spacious. As I speak to you here, my mind keeps thinking of Serbia. I wonder how the distributions there went today. In this state of mind, I am here, but my mind has traveled there to that place. I think of the Tzu Chi volunteers from 11 countries gathered together there. My thoughts then extend over those 11 countries. In that place, volunteers from 11 countries are all gathered together in Serbia. They are there right now. I cannot see their minds, but according to the principles, the Dharma-nature of their minds [is the same]. The Buddha-mind is the ultimately pure Dharma-nature. This is the Buddha-mind. Our Dharma-nature ultimately returns to awakening, so it is the Buddha-mind.
Of course, we are not there yet. Right now my mind is one of discursive thoughts, one of worries and hindrances. I do not know whether things over there today went smoothly or not. All I can do is guess. Compared to the Buddha’s mind, His ultimate Dharma-nature, this is very different. I have this Dharma-nature as well, but I have not reached the ultimate. I can only guess at what actually happened there. I am using this as an analogy. “that Buddha takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land.” This is the Buddha’s state of mind . it can open up and be so spacious that it pervades the universe and all Dharma-realms. There is nothing He does not know, no realm He does not connect with. This is the Buddha-land, the spiritual state of the Buddha. In the Buddha-land, His spiritual state, “The ground will be made of the Seven Treasures. In His mind, all sentient beings are equal; [He knows] the Buddha’s mind and sentient beings’ minds are completely equal. His mind does not discriminate like our does, splitting things into high and low. This is because in the mind of a Buddha, “Terraces and temples of Seven Treasures are everywhere.” This is the spiritual state of the Buddha. we need to learn to emulate it.
We hope that our minds will always have terraces and temples of Seven Treasures, like the meeting of the human and heaven realms. This is such an expansive state of mind! I often say that we should broaden our minds. Broadening our minds means making them more open and spacious. How open and spacious should they be? As we just said, as spacious as a great trichiliocosm, or as lands as numerous as the Ganges’ sands. We must encompass them all, must be that expansive. This is what we must learn from the Buddha.
The next sutra passage then says, “All heavenly palaces are close by, floating in space. The human and heavenly intersect, and they are able to meet each other. There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women. All sentient beings are transformation-born, without lustful desires.
Indeed! As we were just saying, sexual desire creates many problems. All heavenly palaces are close by, floating in space.
In the Chapter on the Conjured City, weren’t the Brahma king’s palaces all in space? Yes they were. All the palaces are out in the universe. Our planet is likewise in this universe. This all depends on the kind of mindset everyone has toward this place we live, our dwelling and our spiritual abode.
“All heavenly palaces are close by, floating in space is saying that, Those who best uphold good precepts are born in the heavens of the desire realm. Those with the Four Infinite Minds are born in the heavens of the form realm. Those with the Four Meditations of Emptiness are born in the heavens of the formless realm.
If we have a mind of goodness and practice the Ten Good Precepts, even in the desire realm we can still live like heavenly beings. There will be peace in the world, the four elements will be in balance the weather will be favorable, there will be wealth and abundance etc. In the heavens of the desire realm, we can enjoy heavenly blessings like a heavenly being. If we can go a step further, open up our minds even more, [we practice] the Four Infinite Minds and form great aspirations.
The Four Infinite Minds are loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. If we willingly let go of things with equanimity, we can be born in the heavens of the form realm. Things are so abundant there that we have no greed or attachments. This is [practicing] the Four Infinite Minds, being willing to let go with equanimity. Having more than enough, we can give to others. Material things are just form and appearances. we do not seize things out of greed. If sentient beings have need, we willingly give to them with loving-kindness, compassion joy and equanimity. If we can do this, we can be born in the heavens of the form realm. We can see many very beautiful things, yet keep our minds free of hindrances and afflictions. This is the heavens of the form realm.
We are surrounded by an abundance of things, but these things of all shapes and colors do not disturb our minds. There is form, but we are undisturbed by it. If we go a step further, “Those with the Four Meditations of Emptiness are born in the heavens of the formless realm.” This requires us to earnestly engage in spiritual practice. The mind is not even attached to form; it is without hindrances. Not only is it free of desires, there is nothing with form to defile it. This requires the power of Samadhi. We must engage in spiritual practice; our mind must be in a meditative state. this requires the Four Meditations of Emptiness. Only with these four kinds of meditation can we be born in the heavens of the formless realm. The heavens of the formless realm are just a spiritual state. there is nothing with shape and form there. This is a meditative state. the four Meditations of Emptiness are “the meditative state of infinite space, the meditative state of infinite consciousness, the meditative state of absolute nothingness and the meditative state of neither thought nor non-thought.” These are terms for our spiritual states.
The Four Meditations of Emptiness: They are the meditative state of infinite space, the meditative state of infinite consciousness, the meditative state of absolute nothingness and the meditative state of neither thought nor non-thought. This indicates supreme merits and virtues. These are the heavenly palaces of treasures that they live in. they enter the Path through emptiness, thus it says they “are close by”.
When our state of mind is on that level, we will not be defiled by the afflictions and ignorance of the world. This allows our minds to be completely tranquil and clear, undefiled by things with form. Then we will not give rise to discursive thoughts. Our mind will be completely empty [of thoughts]. This depends on our thinking. Having supreme merits and virtue depending on how much effort we put into our spiritual practice and how long we spend accumulating virtues.
So, “These are the heavenly palaces of treasures that they live in.” Living in heavenly palaces of treasures depends on our spiritual state. “They enter the Path through emptiness, thus it says they ‘are close by.’” When we no longer allow any external sexual desires or [desire] for material goods and so on to defile our minds, and things with form have nothing to do with us, then with this state of mind, we are already abiding in the heavenly palaces of treasures. We “enter the Path through emptiness” Can we do this? We are “close by”. We are already close by. We are so close we are inside the palace of treasures. We will soon enter the Buddha’s me ditation room. This requires us to put in a lot of work. It will take Purna that much time, so what about us?
“The human and heavenly intersect. For those in the human and heaven realms, no humans have not been heavenly beings, and no heavenly beings have not been humans. Both realms respond to each other, thus humans and heavenly beings are close.”
So, the heaven and human realms have always been connected with each other. If humans do a lot of good deeds, their karmic retribution will lead them to heaven. Becoming a heavenly being starts in the human realm, with accumulating good karma there. To be born into a wealthy household, we must have created much good karma in past lives. So, all the realms, in the past, the present and future, the human and heaven realms, the hell realm, the hungry ghost and animal realms, are all linked together. When we do good deeds, of course we intersect with the heaven realm. “Both realms respond to each other, thus humans and heavenly beings are close”. So, “[They] are able to meet each other.” Heavenly beings and humans meet very often.
“[They] are able to meet each other: In terms of matters and appearance, this is like how Sakyamuni descended from Trayastrimsa Heaven to Jambudvipa. Humans and heavenly beings can meet each other. In terms of the principles, humans who practice supreme goodness will be born in the heavens. All heavenly beings fall to the human world when their virtues decrease. It is obvious from matters and appearances that they are able to meet each other.
“[They] are able to meet each other” In terms of matters, this is like how Sakyamuni descended from the Tusita heaven into the palace, that is, to Jambudvipa. Jambudvipa is the Saha World. Where did He come from? From Tusita Heaven. This is because the spiritual training ground of every Bodhisattv is in Tusita Heaven. Only after training in Tusita Heaven can one be born in the human realm and attain Buddhahood. Every Buddha passes through Tusita Heaven, the spiritual training ground for Bodhisattvas. So, descending from Tusita Heaven is speaking in terms of matters and appearances. This is why it says, “Humans and heavenly beings can meet each other.”
In terms of principles, “Humans who practice supreme goodness will be born in the heavens. All heavenly beings [decrease in virtue],” and when their virtues decrease, “they fall to the human world. It is obvious from matters and appearances that they are able to meet each other.” This is what we should ordinarily be doing, must be earnestly and mindfully experiencing and understanding. So, “There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women.”
There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women: For those who abide together in a defiled land, there are four evil realms and women. Now for those who live in Dharma Clarity Buddha’s pure land, there are no evil realms nor any women. Without committing any evils, there are no Three Evil Destinies. Purna Maitrayaniputra taught the Dharma, and those who listened practiced accordingly. They did not create karma of the evil realms. Therefore, when he attains Buddhahood, he has this pure land.
Most importantly, there will be no sexual desire. Without sexual desire, naturally this place goes from defiled to pure. Where there is sexual desire, there will be evil realms. People say, “Women are the source of calamity.” Actually, men are the source of calamity. Isn’t it the same either way? It is because the two come together that there is this result. So, “There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women. For those who abide together in a defiled land, there are four evil realms and women. Now, for those who live in Dharma Clarity Buddha’s pure land….” When it comes to Dharma Clarity Tathagata, His land will be a pure land with no evil realms nor any women. This will be Dharma Clarity’s land in the future. “Without any evils committed,” then “there are no Three Evil Destinies.” There are no hell, hungry ghost or animal realms. None at all. Beings are born in the hungry ghost and animal realms because of the evil they committed. So, “Purna taught the Dharma.” Purna is Maitrayaniputra. Purna taught the Dharma, and “Those who listened practiced accordingly.” Because Purna had taught the Dharma continually over many [accumulated] lifetimes, those he had affinities with had all listened to the Dharma. They listened to the Dharma, accepted the teachings and practiced them, so naturally, “They did not create karma of the evil realms.” They did not create karma of the evil realms. So, “When he attains Buddhahood, he has this pure land.” Though he will also come to this world to attain Buddhahood, everyone in that land will be there because they engaged in spiritual practice in the past. So, people in this place will have pure minds. Because people’s minds are pure, the land also will be pure. So the land of Dharma Clarity Tathagata in the future will be pure. “All sentient beings are transformation-born, without lustful desires.”
All sentient beings are transformation-born, without lustful desires: They are transformation-born from the Dharma, thus they are without lustful desires. They practice and attain the Dharma-body, thus it is not a realm of suffering.
The Saha World in Dharma Clarity Tathagata’s time will be completely different. It will be one of the heaven realms with heavenly beings. Because we are on this planet in the universe, in the future we will be part of the heaven realm. This place will no longer be an impure land. “They are transformation-born from the Dharma, thus they are without lustful desires.” They will be transformation-born from the Dharma, and all they do will be wholesome. Being transformation-born is like being a lotus; the lotus emerges from the mud in this way. Lotus seeds are transformation-born. In the lotus pond and thus pure. The seeds of goodness in all of us are transformation-corn through the virtuous Dharma.
Those in the heaven realm are transformation-born. So, they are “without lustful desires.” “They practice and attain the Dharma-body, thus it is not a realm of suffering.” It will not be a realm of suffering. The future world will be completely a pure land.
“Transformation-born: In the land of Ultimate Bliss, there are no women. Since all are transformation-born they are free from desires and defilements and thus “have golden forms.”
Their bodies will all be golden. So, “Such wondrous bodies are intrinsic to everyone, but they are defiled and covered by turbid desires. We are defiled by the impurities of evil, otherwise our body and the Buddha’s body would likewise be pure and wondrous bodies. We ordinarily say, in life, “[We] contemplate the body as impure, contemplate all feelings as suffering, contemplate the mind as impermanent and.” This is in the Saha World. Right now, our bodies are not clean. Why aren’t they clean? Because our minds are defiled, extremely filthy. So, they are not clean. The body is filthy and unclean because the mind is filthy and unclean. Filthy and unclean minds create filthy and unclean lands. It is the same principle. I hope in the future, in Purna’s land in that future lifetime, we will have the affinities with him to be reborn there in that pure transformation-land. This is not impossible, as long as we are always mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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