Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Distancing Ourselves from Craving and Desire (離諸愛欲 成就道業)
Date: July.25.2017
“In the Five Realms and Four Forms of Birth, all kinds of living beings, whether egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born or transformation-born, all come into existence due to lustful desire. When the mind is bound by this in every thought, it becomes a great transgression. Sexual misconduct all come from improper sexual desires.”
Where does all life in the Five Realms and the Four Forms of Birth come from? In the Five Realms and Four Forms of Birth, how many different kinds of life are there? The Buddha told us that some living beings are egg-born. This is something we are able to see ourselves. Some living beings are hatched from eggs. Baby chicks, birds etc. are incubated in the egg until they are born. Womb-born beings are born directly into the world. Moisture-born beings are born and nurtured in moist places. Then there are transformation-born beings; they are [seemingly] born out of nothing. Each has its own causes and conditions. Causes and conditions come together to form living beings. With these causes and conditions, all life comes into existence because of lustful desires. These lustful desires arise when “the mind is bound in every thought.” In our minds, whether the previous thought or the next thought, this continues in each and every thought. With these afflictions and ignorance, lustful desires entangle our minds. So, when regular people are bound by lustful desires like this, “It becomes a great transgression.” When the mind is bound by this, living beings continuously reproduce themselves, continuously give birth to all kinds of life in the Five Realms. This is all due to sexual desire, all due to the interactions of men and women. The causes and conditions this creates will converge; this is also a kind of karmic condition.
People are always deluded! This delusion appears in the span of a thought. In the Sutra of 42 Sections, there is also a passage about this. It admonishes us, saying, “A person with desire is like a man holding a torch and walking against the wind; his hands will certainly be burned.”
Although this sutra passage is short, it is giving us a major warning. It warns us that if we have these thoughts of desire and craving, if they are in our each and every thought, then we are drowning in greed, anger, ignorance, lustful desire and so on. If we are like this, then we are like a man holding a torch while walking into the wind. As the wind blows toward us, the flames will definitely burn our hand. Ordinary people should be able to understand too. The Buddha used such a simple analogy in order to teach us. This is a commonly understood principle; we should understand it.
So, “In the ways we conduct ourselves, we must be upright in our thoughts, uphold the Path, maintain our purity and distance ourselves from the defilements of desire. Only then can we succeed in walking the Path.”
This warns us about the ways we conduct ourselves. Since we have come to this world, we must put effort into being a good person. It is also because of causes and conditions that we have been born human, heard the Buddha-Dharma and can understand the principles. Making use of this human form, we can seek and learn the teachings of the Path. It is precious to be born human, so we should earnestly uphold the Path and our purity. We should be very upright in our thoughts and uphold the Path with purity. We must distance ourselves from craving and desire. The desire in the love between men and women is a type of defilement. Since ancient times, so many people have, because of lustful desires, ruined their lives and reputations. There are many stories like this. This all depends on the mind. We must engage in practice. We need to understand that the source of evil and transgressions is the mind. This is why we must make our thoughts upright. Being upright, we must be pure in the way we uphold the Path and distance ourselves from the defilements of craving and desire. Only then will our spiritual practice go smoothly. Only when our mind and body are pure can we complete our spiritual cultivation. This is how the Buddha taught and admonished us.
Furthermore, He has done this since ancient times. During the Buddha’s lifetime 2000-plus years ago, the Buddha constantly used everyday situations as a way of teaching us. He drew on our common knowledge from daily living to make his analogies. Can we all, through these [analogies] connecting principles and the matters in our relationships, comprehend the profound principles that the Buddha taught? It is very difficult! Even in a time close to the Buddha’s lifetime, more than 2000 years ago [it was hard]. Probably about 100 years after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, there lived a king. The king also had religious beliefs, but what he believed in was sacrificing animals to reap blessings. Every month he slaughtered hundreds of sheep, pigs, cows etc. as sacrifice. During these rituals, he would enjoy the pleasure of many women. This expressed that his kingship was a divine gift. He enjoyed abundant desires, objects and women, so the king showed his gratitude to the heavens by showing off his material possessions with wine and women. He had many women by his side. These were the offerings he made at the altar of pleasure. So, his chef had to slaughter many animals every day. Later, when this chef became older and was no longer able to fulfill his duties, he began to look for and eventually found a young man to be the chef. This young man was a Buddhist practitioner. He upheld the precepts purely. He had one aspiration, which was to become a monk and follow the Path. However, his parents were getting on in years, and he needed to take care of them. So, he had to earn money to support his family. Since the king was in need of staff, he applied for the job. But he found it hard to take charge of the kitchen. The king had these misguided beliefs. Moreover, killing living beings every day and being a part of that place of pleasure, with beautiful women and alcohol was not something he felt up to. So, there was no way he could take responsibility for the kitchen’s duties. When the person overseeing the kitchen found out, he was very harsh with him. “When we hired you, you came to accept the job. Why is it that after you entered the palace you have hesitated in carrying out your duties?” He told the kitchen overseer, “I am a practitioner of purifying practices. You want me to slaughter animals here; that is not something I can do.” The overseer reported this to the king, explaining that this young man was unwilling to do the job. The king became very angry. He called the young man before him, telling him, “Since you have come to this place, you must devote your life to me in service. Why are you unwilling to do this? If you are unwilling, I will sentence you to death!” The [young] chef said, “I cannot kill living begins. I uphold the precepts and practice the Path. If I were to break the precepts, then in the future I would descend into hell for endless lifetimes and countless kalpas it would be impossible to be born human again and continue to engage in spiritual practice. By the time I return to the human realm, I might be lost in confusion again. I would rather accept your majesty’s punishment. If I die to uphold the precepts, if I die as a result of your punishment, I will be reborn in heaven. By upholding precepts, I can be reborn in heaven I will be able to enjoy many blessings. So, I would prefer to accept your majesty’s sentence and die than to harm or kill any living being, thus falling into hell and experiencing endless lifetimes of suffering.” After the king listened to him, he said, “Fine, I will give you seven days to reconsider, if you still insist on being so stubborn, I will have 100 elephants trample you. If you do not die, I will follow the Buddha-Dharma like you.” With that this chef, this young man, this pure practitioner, remained very reverent for those seven days. He prepared himself to face the king’s punishment after those seven days ended. He accepted that he would be trampled by 100 elephants. Still, his mind remained very tranquil and still. We know that from a young age, he had always cherished life and loved animals. He often saw herds of elephants. He used to play with and really adored those elephants. However, “Seven days later, it will be 100 elephants who will trample me.” He thought about it, “Even if this happens, it is part of my karmic retributions from past lives.” Thus he remained reverent. After the seven days were up, he still maintained hits mindset. As expected, the 100 elephants had already been prepared at that place. The young pure practitioner was also escorted to that plaza. In that place, he was made to lie upon the ground so the elephants could trample him. As this happened, as he lay upon the ground, the elephants began gathering around him. He raised his head to look at these elephants. He made a gesture toward them, as if he was greeting them. When he spent time with elephants previously, sometimes he rode upon them, sometimes he lied on the ground. From childhood to adulthood, he had grown up together with the elephants as well as the other animals. So, when he saw this herd of elephants, although he was lying on the ground, he raised his head and lifted both of his arms as if he were greeting them. The elephants came right in front of him and then stopped. It seemed as if they recognized him. At that moment, they raised their trunks to the sky all together and made a trumpeting sound. Having trumpeting their call, that herd then all laid upon the ground. Like that pure practitioner, they too laid upon the ground; they seemed to be prostrating to him. When the king saw this, he thought, “This is inconceivable! How could this be possible?” Upon seeing this, the king was deeply moved and also felt very remorseful. He immediately rose from his throne, stood up, and told everyone, “Invite this pure practitioner to come over here”. With that, the pure practitioner came before him. The king then asked him, “What method did you use to subdue these 100 elephants?” He replied, “I did nothing. I wasn’t using any method. It is just that I have upheld the Buddha’s precepts since I was young. My parents taught me to love everything in the world. My parents believed in the Buddha-Dharma and told me that I should love all living beings. I aspire to engage in spiritual practice, but my parents are getting on in years, so I have been unable to fulfill this wish. Thus, I am still unable to become a monastic. You Majesty, please forgive me! Then king then said, “I am very moved. You aspire to engage in practice, but you are not yet able to fulfill that wish. Now I understand the merits and virtues that come from upholding precepts. By upholding the precepts purely, your body and mind are pure; I can testify to this. So, I fulfill your wish to become a monastic. Your parents shall be cared for by the kingdom, so they can live without worries. You can leave the lay life now”. The pure practitioner achieved his wish. He truly became a monastic and earnestly engaged in spiritual practice. Several years later, he returned to this kingdom. The king saw that the youth had successfully completed his spiritual practice. Since the kingdom needed the Buddha-Dharma in order to be purified, the king made him the royal teacher. This is how the Buddha-Dharma came to flourish in that country. This was 100 years after the Buddha entered Parinirvana. From this we recognize, “If we uphold our percepts and follow the Path, the Path will be great”.
The precepts cover sexual desire. The mind must remain pure. For living beings in the Five Realms and Four Forms of Birth, everything is beyond their control. By giving rise to a single thought, they extend this endless [cycle of] life, these endless lifetimes in the Five Realms, including the human realm, the animal realm, the hell realm and the hungry ghost realm. Even in the heaven and human realms, they are continually reborn. This is all because of the ignorance in the mind. So, they are continually reborn. Those who create blessings are reborn in heaven. In the Brahma heavens, they had upheld heavenly precepts. They upheld the supreme precepts and cultivated the supreme good deeds, so they were pure and could be reborn in the Brahma heavens. By upholding purifying precepts, their lifespans were incalculably long and they could enjoy [many] material things. In the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City we discussed this at length. In the other heavens, there are still both men and women, but it depends on what kind of heaven it is. There may be men and women, but hey uphold the precept forbidding sexual misconduct. Some, upon departing this life for the next, come into existence out of nothing. They are transformation-born in heaven. Many are transformation-born in heaven. So, this is the way in which they are reborn. Among the Four Forms of Birth, in the heaven realm we see the transformation-born. This is how they are born into the heaven realm. So, the Four Forms of Birth and the Five Realms are all different forms of life. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this and understand. The origin of life, of our living, is all because people have these desires. It is through desire that we come into the world, influenced by so much in the world to create so many karmic forces.
Now let us look at the previous sutra passage, “All have been delivered, possess great powers, are replete with the power of might and virtue. They will fill his land. The Hearers there will also be countless. With the Three Insights and the Eight Liberations, they will attain the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms. These people and more will be the Sangha.”
In the past, Dharma Clarity Tathagata was Purna Maitrayaniputra. He accumulated so many merits and virtues that his land will have many spiritual practitioners with great spiritual powers. Moreover, they will be replete with the power of might and virtue. These spiritual practitioners will deliver and transform one another. With each other, they are “gentle but stern, imposing but not forceful”. They have this kind of might and virtue. We discussed this yesterday. They are all replete with virtue, so they inspire respect in all who see. But people will not be afraid of them. Some say, “That person is so awe-inspiring; I am afraid”. They are awe-inspiring, yet they elicit respect. This is might and virtue. It is from creating blessings. The sentient beings he teaches there are sure to be transformed. The sentient beings there will respect him, so they engage in spiritual practice together and mutually respect one another, mutually serve on another; they are mutually grateful. This is what they do in their spiritual practice. The land will be replete with an atmosphere like this. “They will fill his land”. There will be none who really suffer in that land. Rather, everyone will respect one another there. They will mutually love and respect one another and share the Dharma with each other there. “The Hearers there will also be countless. With the Three Insights and Eight Liberations, they attain the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms”. This was all explained previously. They will still appear as monastics there, monastics who engage in spiritual practice and whose minds are very pure.
During spiritual practice, one must uphold the pure precepts. This is demonstrates that if we want to return to our Tathagata-nature, we must uphold the pure precepts. It is not just the Five Precepts or the Ten Good Deeds; we must uphold all precepts in all their purity. We must be without lustful desire; this is included within. This is how they manifest as member s of the Sangha. This is spiritual practice.
The next sutra passage says, “The sentient beings in that land will have eliminated all lustful desires and will all be purely transformation-born to dignified bodies replete with the Marks. “Dharma-joy and meditative joy are their food, so they have no other thoughts food. There will be no women or any evil realms.”
We have been discussing this [long] passage. Since everyone will be so accomplished in their spiritual practice, won’t it be as we said earlier, where everyone will be replete with might and virtue? All spiritual practitioners in that land had “the Three insights and the Eight Liberations and will attain the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms.” Since everyone will have these there, why must there still be a Sangha? Because everyone there needs to be very pure. So, it says, “The sentient beings in that land will have eliminated all lustful desires.” Correct, all desires will be eliminated, including sexual desire, all will be eliminated. Everyone will be “purely transformation-born.” By what means will people continue to be born there? They will be transformation-born. In that heaven realm, they will be transformation-born. There will be no need for parents, for when the causes and conditions of their spiritual practice naturally become replete, when they have become completely without desire, naturally they will be transformation-born there. “Purely” means that, of the Four Forms of Birth, they only one there will be “transformation-born”. When that land is at its purest, there will be no desire between men and women. All there will be “purely transformation-born”. Those who are transformation-born there will have “dignified bodies replete with the Marks”. They will all be replete with these. Their appearance will be one of great dignity. Furthermore, “Dharma-joy and meditative joy are their food.” They are always very joyful, “so they have no other thoughts of food.” They will need nothing besides their Dharma-joy and meditative joy; these bring them happiness. They will have no other discursive thoughts, afflictions, Ignorance or dust-like delusions; these have all been completely eliminated. So, “There will be no women or any evil realms”. Women can greatly disrupt people’s minds. This is why the ancients use to say that a woman’s karma is severe karma. In the Buddha-Dharma, It speaks a lot of this also. Where does karma come from? From the lust between men and women. Why doesn’t it specifically speak about men? Because men have the appearance of a practitioner. When a man can change his thoughts, he has much power to deliver sentient beings, as well as to come and go freely. Women are prone to making trouble in the mornings alone, they take so much time to dress up, to gradually put on their makeup. They are slow at everything. This is a woman’s karma. A woman’s mind is always must more complicated. So, we as women should repent deeply for our past. Why were we born as women? Why was this beyond our control?
Yet, do not be too proud of being born a man, for it is men who create the most severe karma. They are the ones who cause all natural and manmade calamities. Actually, the men are the ambitious ones. The things that they do can result in either great virtue or great evil. Humankind is like this. Both men and women have their weaknesses. Let us review again where it says, “The sentient beings in that land will have eliminated all lustful desires and will all be purely transformation-born.”
The sentient beings in that land will have eliminated all lustful desires and will all be purely transformation-born: There will be no evil realms in that land nor thoughts of sexual desire between men and women. Having eliminated these states of lustful desire, they do not develop as a fetus in the womb, but instead are born instantly. They are all purely transformation-born.
“There will be no evil realms in that land.” In the land of Dharma Clarity Tathagata, everything will be pure. All lustful desires will have been eliminated. There will be no evil realms in that land, no thoughts of sexual desire between men and women. There will no intimate moments, no more constant entanglements. They will no longer have such thoughts, for all of them will be pure. So, “States of lustful desire will be eliminated.” Everyone will have eliminated. So, there will no longer be any thoughts like that. As they have eliminated lustful desires, problems between men and women will not appear. “They do not develop as a fetus in the womb, but instead are born instantly.” People will no longer be born by becoming fetuses in their mother’s wombs, taking months before beings fully developed, suffering unbearably in the hell of the womb, undergoing the pain of birth that is so difficult. This is life. All life is like this. Because of desires between men and women, there are many families who suffer, and it goes on and on like this. So, in Dharma Clarity Tathagata’s land, [They] will all be purely transformation-born. They will purely be transformation-born. Everyone will be transformation-born there. This is in that land, in the future.
However, if we look at the sutras, Sakyamuni Buddha told us that in the future, Dharma Clarity Tathagata will be in this land. This land referred to our world now, but by that time, it will be totally different. The duration of a kalpa spans “formation, existence, decay and disappearance.” Actually, we too are living in the heavens; we too are on one of the planets in the universe. So, we too follow the earth as it spins through the universe. It is just that how upon this earth, we have already manifested as human beings and have created so many afflictions, so much ignorance and karmic forces. So, we are continually undergoing “formation, existence, decay and disappearance.” Right now is an of decay, for the four elements are imbalanced and so on. People’s mind are not like in the past. Now there are constant natural and manmade calamities. This is how the world is now. It will be a long time before that future. It will be a period of incalculable kalpas. With what can be accomplished over time, by then, the land will already have become pure. This is accomplished through many people’s spiritual practice. “Over many kalpas they have long practiced Brahma-conduct.”
Dignified bodies replete with the Marks: Over many kalpas they have long practiced Brahma-conduct and accumulated merits and virtues. Thus they attain bodies purple-gold in color with the 32 Marks. They are replete with all virtue, thus dignifying themselves.
So, we must continually pass on the Buddha-Dharma. We must quickly and mindfully engage in practice and thus gradually advance. If we have unwholesome habitual tendencies, we must quickly eliminate them. Because we now have human form and can listen to the Buddha-Dharma, we should quickly rid ourselves of any unwholesome habitual tendencies. We should cultivate good resolve, good thoughts and good contemplation. We should still our minds and engage in tranquil contemplation. We must always maintain a meditative state where the mind does not give rise to discursive thoughts nor to afflictions. We need a long time to engage in practice, practice with nothing further, extended practice, uninterrupted practice and practice with reverence. We should always be accumulating these. So, “Over many kalpas they have long practiced Brahma-conduct and accumulated merits and virtues. Thus they attain bodies purple-gold in color.” Their bodies are magnificent, purple-gold in hue. The Buddha was born in India; this describes Indian people’s bodies, the hue of their skin. When they scrub themselves clean, their bodies take on a sheen. I often tell everyone that our “Black Pearls” are so black that they shine. It is true! When we maintain the purity of the mind, the body can take on a “purple-gold” hue. This is a sign of purity [and one of] the “32 Marks of the Buddha.” Furthermore, “They are replete with all virtue.” We now must quickly seek to accumulate virtuous actions. We must find ways to go among people and give, thus completing our mission. If something is of benefit to sentient beings, if it relieves sentient beings from suffering, then we have completed one virtuous [act]. When we continually accumulate virtues like this, “we dignify ourselves”. Every day we praise that group of Bodhisattvas who are so far away, who are out helping other suffering beings. Right now they are creating blessing for others, and accumulating virtues. They are now accumulating virtues. This is their spiritual practice; they must constantly cultivate this.
“Dharma-joy and meditative joy are their food, so they have no other thoughts of food.”
Dharma-joy and meditative joy are their food, so they have no other thoughts of food: Dharma-joy inspires wisdom, and meditative joy eases the mind. This means they take Samadhi and wisdom as their Dharma-food and have no other thoughts of ordinary eating.
Dharma-joy is happiness. Happiness arises when they listen to the Dharma. In this land, as we have been saying these past few days, when people interact with each other there, everything they say is the Dharma, everything is mutual praise, everything is mutual encouragement. There are no conflicts, no afflictions. All that they say is praise; all that they say is the Dharma. They are like this with each other, so they have Dharma-joy and meditative joy in their lives. “They have no other thoughts of food.” They do not think about what they want to eat, what will satisfy their craving for taste, etc. How many living beings have we devoured in order to satisfy our craving for taste? How many times has our craving for taste caused disturbances in our thinking? Some people care so much about some specialty from one country or another that, just to eat that one dish, that rare delicacy, they will get on a plane to go eat. No matter how far, they still go. They go harm living beings, devour living beings. Think about it; aren’t they creating karma? From morning to night, all that some think about is what they will eat.
All they want is to eat well. In fact, if our practice reaches that purity, the Dharma becomes our food. Since we rejoice in listening to the Dharma, it does not matter if we do not eat. Listening becomes more important to us, because by listening we attain joy. So, “They have no other thoughts of food.” The Dharma nourishes their wisdom-life. In this way, “Dharma-joy inspires wisdom and meditative joy eases the mind. This means they take Samadhi and wisdom as their Dharma-food.” Precepts, Samadhi and wisdom are our Dharma-food. We are so joyful every day and thus nourish our wisdom-life. We “have no other thoughts of ordinary eating.” We do not think about when or what we will eat. These are not problems for us. “Those who engage in world-transcending practice have attained the power of Samadhi.”
Those who engage in world-transcending practice, having attained the power of Samadhi, nurture wisdom-life with their own provisions. Their practices are perfect and radiant, so their hearts are always joyful. This is the food of meditative joy.
We must cultivate world-transcending [Dharma]. The Saha World is filled with unbearable suffering. So, how do we go about transforming it? In the future, we can be like Dharma Clarity Tathagata and create a world of great purity, a place where everyone lives upon the Dharma, where everything is the Dharma. This is the meaning of wisdom-life. So, “Having attained the power of Samadhi, they nurture wisdom-life with their own provisions.” We continually give ourselves many provisions. We take many teachings as our provisions in order to nourish our wisdom-life. This means we absorb so much Dharma, just like that pure practitioner who said, “I prefer to die, that way I will be reborn in heaven. I am not willing to save my resent life by killing so many sentient beings. In my next life, I would descend into hell and would suffer there for countless kalpas.” This is wisdom. This is the Dharma he had that nourished his wisdom-life. So, “They nurture wisdom-life with their own provisions.” As we ourselves take action, the things we experience are what complete our wisdom-life. “Their practices are perfect and radiant,” so “their hearts are always joyful.” Their hearts are always joyful. This is the food of meditative joy. “There will be no women or any evil realms.”
There will be no women or any evil realms: There will be no women: All are transformation-born. Or any evil realms: There is not even the term “evil,” let alone the actual existence.
There are naturally no women there. All thoughts of lust between men and women have been eliminated. “There will be [no] evil realms.” Since everyone there will be transformation-born, there is nothing called “evil”. Without even the term, how would the actual thing exist? So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must truly be mindful. In the Five Realms and four Forms of Birth, all living beings come from these form types, egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born and transformation-born. Presently, this is all due to sexual reproduction; this karma is beyond our control, so it has created so much suffering in life. Thus, as we engage in spiritual practice, we must practice until our minds are very pure, until we are no longer bound by afflictions. Then, naturally we will gradually head in the direction of the great, direct, pure Bodhi-path. This depends on our spiritual practice; are our minds focused? If we want our minds to be focused, with precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, then we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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