Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Slander from People with Deviant Views (出彼邪見 謗毀弘經)
Date: June.28.2018
“This is how these Bodhisattvas who will advance the sutra simulated the people with deviant knowledge during the era of Dharma-degeneration. Their minds will be full of evil and arrogance and they deviate in their accumulated actions. They will speak deviant words to deceive and confuse the world. These people will create evil and exhibit falsehoods. Their minds will harbor evil and lack right mindfulness. They will constantly think of worldly matters and will not follow the teachings.”
We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. This is a sutra passage that we must mindfully seek to understand. “These Bodhisattvas who will advance the sutra” are the Bodhisattvas that were with the Buddha at Vulture Peak. [The Buddha] glanced around at them, and these Bodhisattvas only needed a glance from the Buddha for them all to understand the Buddha’s intent. What was the Buddha’s intent? “Disciples, I am worried about sentient beings. In the future world, there will be increasingly severe turbidities. Sentient beings will experience more and more suffering.” This was the concern in the Buddha’s mind. He hoped that the disciples before Him, after hearing the Dharma, would form aspirations, that they would be willing to continually transmit this Dharma to future generations. This was the hope in the Buddha’ heart.
Yet, everyone was afraid. They feared being in this world of endurance, which is truly hard to bear. The things that they had encountered in the world had already led them all to understand suffering. They also heard that, in the future turbid world, in the world of the future, people’s hearts would be even more evil, even more turbid and even more stubborn. So, everyone was even more afraid. They had received the Buddha’s predictions of Buddhahood and settled their own minds. They now had faith. They knew that, in the future, as long as they were very mindful and continued engaging in spiritual practice, as long as they formed aspirations and made vows, they could also eventually attain Buddhahood. Everyone had put their minds at ease and formed aspirations, but they did not dare to face the Saha World. So, they all made vows to go to other lands. We have talked about this for many days to help everyone understand that, at that time, in the era when the Buddha was teaching and transforming, the states of mind of spiritual practitioners then and those of practitioners today are more or less the same.
At that time, everyone’s life was very simple. When the Buddha was alive, they could see the Buddha and listen to the Buddha-Dharma in person. Of course, their admiration for the Buddha was an absolute admiration. When it came to the Buddha’s teachings, they had also accepted them absolutely. The faithful acceptance and practice of that era is of course something that we cannot hope to compare to. Yet their attitude was, “We are very fearful of stubborn sentient beings. We wish to engage in spiritual practice, and since we want to practice, we should have no conflicts with the world. If we can do so, that is already very rare and precious. It is best if we do not argue with others over all kinds of matters. That is not necessary. Since we want to engage in spiritual practice, we will just focus on our own practice.” There are many spiritual practitioners now who share this state of mind. Back then, during the Buddha’s time, those disciples were also like this. Though the Buddha taught them personally, and they faithfully accepted and practiced [the teachings], they still wished to stay away from these stubborn sentient beings. This was a very natural [feeling].
Yet the Bodhisattvas who formed great aspirations [were different]. Both lay and monastic Bodhisattvas likewise formed these great aspirations. They understood the Buddha’s heart. So, they saw that the Buddha felt alone. Why did everyone want to go other lands, to different worlds? The Buddha seemed very lonely and abandoned. Although Sakyamuni Buddha had grown old and was about to enter Parinirvana, He still wanted to return to this world. It seemed that very few people wanted to come to this world, to the Saha World. Now, none of these disciples made aspirations to come here. But still the Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, could not give up on this Saha World. He still wanted to return.
As I think of this, it reminds me of how, 20 or 30 years ago, there was a group of Bodhisattvas in Taipei. We did not have a branch office there back then, so, in order to build the hospital, I ran around everywhere. One day, at the house of the second of Taipei’s “Three Sisters,” a group of people had gathered. Everyone was happily sharing their insights. Some people had come to us through the door of Buddhism. They had originally been practicing by chanting the Buddha’s name. Some were from other Buddhist organizations, and some were newly inspired Bodhisattvas. These newly inspired Bodhisattvas had only recently entered the door to the Buddha’s teachings. They were very happy to do good deeds with me. They found that the Buddha-Dharma could actually be used to go among people and do good deeds. They shared how, by going among people to serve and relieve others’ suffering and difficulties, they themselves felt very happy. Then the eldest of the Three Sisters said, “Ah! I am very worried! Although I am very happy to follow Master, as I see those poor people, I feel very sad. The more I see, the more scared I get. This is the Saha World. Therefore, I still chant the Buddha’s name. I do good deeds, and after I do them, I feel very happy. But I am nonetheless very scared. In the future, if Amitabha Buddha can lead me to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, that is what I wish for in my heart.” The second sister said, “Master is doing this because of the suffering of sentient beings in this world. That is just like Earth Treasury Bodhisattva. So, that’s why Master is willing to come to this world and serve its suffering sentient beings.” I answered her. “Earth Treasury Bodhisattva is in hell. If I wanted to go to hell, would you be willing to follow me?” They all fell silent. Then the second sister said, “Master, if you wish to go to hell, I am willing to go with you.” I said, “Won’t you be scared?” The eldest quickly replied. She said, “I should go too.” I said, “Don’t you want to go to the Land of Ultimate Bliss?” She said, “Master, if you will go to hell, it will not be because of your karma. You will go there to save people. If it is to save people, it is safer. I am willing to follow you there.” What happened that day made a very deep impression on me.
This group of women, theses Living Bodhisattvas, made internal aspirations then and encouraged each other in this manner. As they were talking, they inspired and encouraged each other. This happened in the human world. Today, more than 30 years have passed, and people and matters have changed. “With each passing day, we draw closer to death.” Some of these people are now old, and some have even passed away. But I trust that, since their entire lives they continuously shared [what they learned] and continuously formed aspirations, with this mindset and this vow, they will return to this world. We should know that going to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss after we pass away is easier said than done. “We cannot lack the causes and conditions of roots of goodness, blessings and virtues if we are to be born in the Pure Land.” Throughout this time, for 10 or 20 years, they were very diligent. Walking the path of Living Bodhisattvas, they constantly shared with each other, mutually spurring each other on and mutually making vows. So, their roots of goodness, blessings and virtues cannot be considered shallow. Two of them have now passed away and have already returned to this world. I am sure they are now in a Bodhisattva-family, acting as little Bodhisattvas to transform the elders in their family. We must believe in the law of karma. These are Bodhisattvas, Living Bodhisattvas. When the Buddha was at the Vulture Peak Assembly, aside from the monastic in attendance, there were also lay Bodhisattva-practitioners as well as elders and lay people. There were newly inspired Bodhisattvas who formed Great Vehicle aspirations as well as Dharmakaya Bodhisattvas. There were many Bodhisattvas assisting at the Dharma-assembly. [These Bodhisattvas] listened as the Buddha bestowed predictions on His disciples, one group after the next. They heard how all the bhiksus and bhiksunis, after receiving the Buddha’s predictions, made vows to go to other lands. Bystanders see things more clearly, so they formed great aspirations and made great vows. These Bodhisattvas had already taken the Dharma to heart. Whether elders or lay practitioners, they had formed great aspirations, had already taken the Dharma to heart and understood it. [These Bodhisattvas] understood what the turbid and evil world of the future would be like. This is to say that in the evil world of the future, sentient beings will be stubborn and arrogant. The Five Turbidities will all converge; this will become more and more severe. Knowing this, they were able to simulate the future.
After the Buddha’s time, besides our present, after our present time, there will be a future. Our present time is still considered not bad. We can make use of various technologies to spread the Buddha-Dharma. Although the time of Dharma-semblance has passed, the Buddha-Dharma still remains in our world. In our world today, the training ground of the Buddha’s teachings is still being advanced. The Buddha-Dharma is flourishing.
However, in the future, the future that comes after us, what will things be like? We will more and more often face people who are not pure of heart. This time is gradually drawing near. So, the future seen from the Buddha’s time, including our present as well as our future, is what the Bodhisattvas were simulating. They “simulated people with deviant knowledge.”
During era of Dharma-degeneration, [people with] such deviant knowledge, people with very deviant views and knowledge, with flourish increasingly. There will be more and more ways to slander others. Isn’t this happening with people today? If we want to slander someone, it is very easy. It just takes a press of a button. Then, slander against someone can be spread around the world. People will simply believe it, believing what is false to be true. “One man’s lie becomes truth for a thousand”. This is like a simulation; it seems to be true when in fact it is not. With today’s film studios, people do not even need to go outside to film. They can take some outside scenery and make a scene that looks exactly the same as scenes on the street. That scene can be modeled in the studio, and you can create any incident you want there. If they want to have someone standing on the street, with a minor amount of effort, the person seems to be there; it is very realistic. This kind of technology is becoming more and more advanced.
We are very blessed nowadays. Making use of technology, we can spread the Buddha-Dharma. Tzu Chi volunteers are very diligent. Having a meeting together using cloud technology is just like being present on-site. As I talk like this, they are there “in the cloud” and can hear me without a second’s delay. There is a time difference, but we are in sync. In this way, technology can help spread the Dharma. But currently, people’s minds are unwholesome. They use technology to spread rumors and create false news. Nowadays there are many believers, but few can put their faith into practice. To truly [believe] something, one must go out and experience it for oneself, hearing and seeing with one’s own ears and eyes. That is what is real. If people who have not seen with their own eyes but have only heard about something believe it as soon as someone says it, then it is very easy for someone to commit slander and make people believe something [false] is true.
So, the Bodhisattvas back then simulated this future world; it would be just like this. Those in the future with deviant knowledge would be slightly off track in their thinking. Then, naturally, in everything they do, in all their actions, they would deviate. The people in that time would have a mindset where greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt will flourish. “Their minds will be full of evil and arrogance, and they deviate in their accumulated actions”. With this kind of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt and with their petty craftiness, people use their skills to take advantage of advanced technology. Here, “accumulated” means gathered together. They bring together many methods of this world and “speak deviant words to deceive and confuse the world”.
[This is happening] now and will become even more rampant in the future. Isn’t this frightening? It truly is frightening. That was what the Buddha said at that time, that sentient beings would have stubborn, evil, turbid states of mind. The Bodhisattvas heard this, took it to heart, understood it and prepared themselves for how this in the future world of evil turbidities would be like this. So, “They will speak deviant words to deceive and confuse the world. These people will create evil and exhibit falsehoods”. In this manner, everyone will engage in evil thinking and evil practices. Nothing that they create will be true. Everything that is exhibited is falsehoods. These seem true but are actually false. We have talked about “false” before. In name, people [claim] to be monastics, but what they engage in is not true practice. This refers to the future seen from our time. In the world after [our time], this will become more and more severe. So, “These people will create evil and exhibit falsehoods”. There will be more and more people like this. Thus, “Their minds will harbor evil and lack right mindfulness. They will constantly think of worldly matters and will not follow the teachings”. This is why no one dared come to the Saha World. At that time, in the Saha World, what they had experienced there led them to know “suffering” and “causation”. Working hard to practice the path felt more urgent. Practicing the Bodhisattva-path to attain Buddhahood was more important. So, they did not dare return to this world of stubborn and mean sentient beings. They did not dare to face [this world], since they clearly understood all these things. But the Bodhisattvas understood just as clearly. They expressed what was in their hearts. “It is clear to them, and it is also clear to us. They are afraid, and we are afraid too. Venerable Buddha, please do not worry. You will return to the Saha World again, and we will follow you. Venerable Buddha, after entering Parinirvana, You do not need to worry. We will take care of the places You care about”. This is how this group of Bodhisattvas comforted the Buddha.”
Int this way, we analyze once more what was mentioned in the previous sutra passage. Why did no one dare come back? It was because the future world would be so turbid. No wonder they did not dare to return. In fact, if we think about it, we will also be scared. We may not dare to return either. But what else can we do? It is impossible for us to attain Buddhahood without roots of goodness, blessing and virtues. Recently, we have been talking about “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions” how we must be replete in this. To actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions, we absolutely have to go among people. This is a very proper method of practice. Our method of spiritual practice cannot be even slightly deficient. This is like how the dragon girl, in the end, had to come to this Saha World to help those who had doubts. They doubted sentient beings’ equality, so she manifested the appearance of a dragon girl and came to fulfill her final causes and conditions for attaining Buddhahood. So, she quickly offered a pearl and just as quickly, she transformed herself and attained Buddhahood. She quickly changed and attained Buddhahood, but in fact, offering the pear [showed] that she had actually served others life after life. For a period of countless kalpas, she had always made offerings and served others, practicing the Bodhisattva-path. In the Lotus Sutra, this is recorded so completely, allowing our minds to receive this Dharma and helping us mentally prepare ourselves. This sutra truly requires us to mindfully examine it.
The previous passage speaks of “craving offerings”. This is the Bodhisattvas describing the future evil bhiksus. “Craving wealth and offerings, they teach the Dharma to lay practitioners. They want to be revered by the world, like Arhats with the Six Spiritual Powers. These people harbor evil in their hearts and constantly think of worldly matters. They falsely claim to be aranyas and like to find fault with us.
The Bodhisattvas had finished their narrative. The evil bhiksus mentioned previously. Whether they will go among people or engage in [solitary] practice, they will reject whatever [the other ones do]. In particular, those who will mindfully engage in practice, willing to serve among people, will encounter attacks from false bhiksus on both sides. So it says, “They like to find fault with us.” This refers to these Bodhisattvas [who said], “We are willing to remain in this place, willing to serve in the distant future, to mindfully engage in practice and spread the Dharma. But these kinds of bhiksus will use all kinds of slander against us.” This is what the previous passage means.
Following this, the Bodhisattvas continued, “They will say things as, ‘All these bhiksus and others are greedy for offerings, so they teach heretical doctrines. They fabricated this scripture themselves to deceive and confuse people of the world. Because they hope to gain fame, they particularly teach this sutra.’”
They will use all kinds of slander against those who want to engage in practice, spread the Dharma and go among sentient beings to transform them. This is what these evil bhiksus will say “They will say such things as ‘All these bhisus and others are greedy for offerings.” Contrarily, these [so-called] aranyas will slander those who would truly advance the Buddha-Dharma by going among people to expound the Dharma.
They will say such things as: This means those who falsely claim to be aranyas like to find fault with [true practitioners]. They speak the slanderous words of those with deviant views. This is simulating how people of overbearing arrogance in the world will slander the Bodhisattvas who advance the sutra with all kinds of disparaging words.
We need to listen carefully. Previously, it was evil bhiksus who would. Now [it talks about] those who sincerely go among people to benefit them, wanting to transform sentient beings and spread the Dharma among people. They teach the Dharma among people, but what they face is slander from these evil bhiksus, those with deviant views who slander the ones who truly spread the Dharma. This is simulating the evil world [of the future]; it was how these Bodhisattvas imitated what the world in the future would be like. “If I go to transform sentient beings in the future world, by then, the world will have people like this in it.” In the future evil world, arrogance will grow. Even monastics will be arrogant. They will appear to be monastics, but this is a false name and appearance. They will falsely call themselves monastics. Because they wear the clothing of a practitioner, their appearance will seem to be that of a monastic. This is in the future, when the Buddha-Dharma is in decay and the minds of spiritual practitioners are no longer on the Dharma. They only pursue receiving offerings; this is the kind of people they are.
So, amidst the evil in this world, arrogance will continue to grow. There will be more and more evil and arrogant people who slander the Bodhisattvas spreading the sutra, those willing to advance this sutra. They are those who “falsely claim to be aranyas. These people will commit this kind of slanders using all kings of language to harm and speak against those who want to spread the Dharma. To sum it up, those who do evil. Those who do evil cover their own evil deeds by talking about others. This is “false claiming to be aranyas”.
They falsely calm to be aranyas, yet their karma of body is unwholesome. They harbor evil and think of worldly matters, so their karma of mind is unwholesome. With these, they have unwholesome karma of speech: Unwholesome karma of speech: harsh speech, lies gossip and flattery. Karma of speech is the gateway to suffering and the origin of misfortune.
Falsely claiming to be aranyas means they appear to be monastics when, in fact, the Dharma is not in their hearts. Their minds harbor only jealousy against those who engage in spiritual practice. This is their arrogance. So, they falsely claim to be aranyas, “yet their karma of body is unwholesome. They harbor evil and think of worldly matters, so their karma of mind is unwholesome.” Their karma of spddch is also unwholesome. Their karma of body, speech and mind is all unwholesome. Everyone knows that the karma of body is karma created by actions like killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. As for the unwholesome of the karma of mind, every evil in this world arises from the mind. What about their karma of speech? Their speech is all slander.
So, “Karma of speech is the gateway to suffering.” The suffering in this world comes from the accumulation of karma of speech. We must all consider that it is not just the body that creates karma. Our mouth only needs to move slightly for karma to be created. There are harsh speech, lies, flattery and gossip, and on top of that, our mouths devour all kinds of sentient beings on Earth. Our mouths have such a craving for taste. We often say that the mouth can never be filled, this “thin line under our nose”. Unending evil can be [created by] the thin line under our nose. So much evil comes from our mouths. Do not think, “What has my mouth ever done?” In fact, our mouth is the origin of all evils! Why does the human body create [karma]? It happens when our thoughts stir. When thoughts stir, the body acts. This happens because our minds are dissatisfied with many things. The dissatisfaction is due to speech that enters our ears. This results in a feeling of dissatisfaction. In summary, the karma of body, speech and mind is linked together. This is the origin of negative karma. So, these bhiksus [say], “All these bhiksus are greedy for offerings”. These evil bhiksus turn around and speak [against] those who go among people to transform sentient beings.
They say of these people that “All these bhiksus are greedy for offerings.” These are “evil people in the era of Dharma-degeneration who cannot uphold the Dharma themselves. Instead they slander the great beings who practice compassion according to the Dharma.” This is “being greedy for offerings”.
This is what it will be like in the future. These evil bhiksus are themselves unable to put the teachings into practice. Seeing others who engage in practice mindfully going among people to spread the Right Dharma, these [evil bhiksus] develop an imbalanced state of mind and will start spreading rumors and slander. They slander these people, saying that they go among people only because they crave wealth and offerings.
This is like what happened more than 50 years ago in the beginning, before Tzu Chi was established. I was just saying, “I want to organize a charity foundation, an organization that can save people.” Then, behind my back, people started to spread rumors. “This person is so clever. It is so hard for her to get by, so she is using this [method], saying she wants to help people as a way to make a living.” During that time, there were those who misconstrued my intentions. This happened over 50 years ago. This is to say, no one was willing to do this themselves, but when others wanted to do it, not only were they not willing to join in, they even stood on the sidelines and gossiped. This really is very frightening. This is how it was over 50 years ago; imagine [how it will be] in the future!
They teach heretical doctrines: They disparage and slander out of envy, saying that this wondrous Great Vehicle sutra that [Bodhisattvas] teach is a heretical doctrine.
So, they say, “These people are teaching heretical doctrines. The teachings they are giving are not in accord with the Buddha-Dharma. These people are teaching heretical doctrines!” They take the Right Dharma and twist it, saying, “Everything these people teach is heretical. This is not the Buddha-Dharma!” They themselves have gone off course, but they accuse others of deviating. Thus, what they say slanders those who truly want to engage in spiritual practice. They “disparage and slander out of envy”. They use all kinds of methods, hurting [others] with ugly words. They are full of arrogance and jealousy. They cannot do it themselves, and they even obstruct those who go out to do it.
They say that the Great Vehicle Sutra is a heretical doctrine. These evil bhiksus harbor thoughts of evil in their minds and slander those who practice right mindfulness. They say that [the Bodhisattvas] are teaching heretical doctrines. They are actually teaching this wondrous sutra of Great Vehicle, but [the evil bhiksus] tell everyone, “No, that is not the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma says that you should give offerings to me. Where does it say to make offerings to others and go out to serve others? This is to how it is.” This is due to people’s biased views. They also say, “They fabricated this scripture themselves to deceive and confuse the people of the world.” In this way, they slander those who practice the right path. “They fabricated these sutras they are teaching. They made them up and teach them themselves.” This is “to deceive and confuse the people of the world.” This is how those who do not have right views will slander those who have them, saying that they come to “deceive and confuse,” that they are deluding everyone.
So, in this say, they slander those who are upholding the sutra. “[They say] they have written it themselves.” They feel [the Bodhisattvas] wrote it themselves, that it was not passed down by the Buddha. “They are deceiving you using these false teachings.” There are people like these in the world. They cannot do it themselves, but they slander those who do it. Such a society and world are very frightening. When the Buddha was alive, Bodhisattvas predicted that the future would be like this, with winds of ignorance blowing; this is how the future will be. Now, we are already gradually beginning to see this kind of situation continually appearing in our society and world.
So, “Because they desire fame and renown, they will particularly teach this sutra.” They will say, “All these people are like this”. They attack everyone [by saying], “They are only seeking fame and renown. They go among people in search of fame.” This is how they slander [the Bodhisattvas]. So, “Because they desire fame and renown, they will particularly teach a sutra like this. These people are seeking fame, which is why they are teaching this Dharma. This Dharma is not what the Buddha taught. These people made it up themselves.” Clearly, advancing the Buddha-Dharma in the world is not easy at all! All the various evils in this world. The evil karma in the human realm is also created due to our biased views; it is because of people with evil, biased views. Spiritual practitioners likewise have biases, let alone non-practitioners. What will spiritual practice be like in the world of the future? In [the era of] Dharma-degeneration, the Dharma will not be seen. What is left will be an appearance, an appearance that is empty and false. It will be an empty ad false appearance.
So, some [teachings] that come from this, when people see them, will sound false and fake. So, in the future, such ambiguities, these kinds of illusions, really will make future sentient beings uneasy. Without any Buddha-Dharma, if the true Buddha-Dharma is not in this world, what will we be able to do in the future?
The world is formed, exists, decays and disappears. Many things will become imbalanced. In the future, this world will have more and more [imbalances] in the elements of earth, wind, water and fire; [disasters] will continually occur in the world. Now we are seeing more and more of this, so we must be very vigilant. Why are there so many [disasters]? It is because of collective karma. Sentient beings create collective karma through the Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind. Their Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind will all result in a convergence of evil. So, increasingly the True Dharma will disappear from this world. Everyone will argue fiercely; after all this, people will not know where they are. What direction are they going in? No one knows. Those who are truly leading people on the path will find that the true, real Dharma is obscured by all of this falsehood and illusion. When it comes to what is true, they will say, “They are making up this sutra to deceive and confuse people.” They will slander the True Dharma by saying it has been made up and by saying it is meant to deceive and confuse people in the world. When Right Dharma arises, there will be many unwholesome teachings that seek to destroy it. This will be the crisis of the future world of evil turbidities. Sentient beings will gather this evil karma. Once this collective karma arises, things go through formation, existence, decay and disappearance.
The kalpa of decay is this time of the world of evil turbidities. The evil world of Dharma-degeneration is our world in the kalpa of decay. The kalpa of decay comes about due to turbid evils becoming more and more abundant. The destruction in the world will become more and more severe. So, the [kalpa of] turbidity and the kalpa of decay come together. When people’s thoughts go astray, naturally there will be more and more disasters in the world. We must work hard to uphold the Buddha’s Right Dharma. Only with the Buddha’s Right Dharma in the world will people’s minds be purified. Therefore, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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