Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Cries of Suffering Awaken Bodhicitta in Us (耳聞諸苦 發菩提心)
Date: August.05.2019
“Suffering is the result of cumulative afflictions. The infinitesimal changes of cyclic existence and the sorrow, suffering and misfortune it brings are the retributions [suffered by] all things that experience birth and death. These are the karmic forces of the cumulative fruition of suffering. The source of afflictions is the causation of suffering.”
We must all mindful [seek to] understand suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. This is what the Buddha taught the five bhiksus on that very first time He taught the Dharma. Clearly, knowing [the truth of] suffering is one of the Dharma’s most important foundational concepts. We must grasp that being born into the world is suffering! We often speak of suffering, but are we aware of it each day? We stumble confusedly through life without ever carefully thinking about it or analyze it. Actually, each day, life is nothing but suffering and impermanence. Impermanence and suffering are what we constantly [experience]. If you add the presence of our obvious afflictions, this is also suffering! So, “Suffering is the result of cumulative afflictions.” “The infinitesimal changes of cyclic existence and the sorrow, suffering, and misfortune it brings….” Cyclic existence causes sorrow! It is sorrowful and painful; we suffer from the moment we are born. We are born, and with the passing of time, we grow old, fall ill and finally die. People’s mindset is to simply fear death, but we do not realize that with every passing day we are always approaching old age. As we become old, our five sense organs with naturally degenerate, for they constantly change. From childhood, into youth, then into middle age, there is never a single moment when we are not heading toward old age. We are changing every moment. When these changes happen without our awareness, they are called “infinitesimal changes.” They are also known as “the aggregate of action.” The Heart Sutra states, “The Five Aggregates are all empty.” As we go about our spiritual practice, when can we truly understand the principle of the emptiness of the Five Aggregates? We spend our lives constantly clinging [to things] for we have not awakened [to this principle]. Because we remain unawakened, every day, we become attached to things. We suffer in our daily lives because we do not realize that we keep creating this cause of suffering and continually accumulating the fruits of suffering which keeps us stuck in the sorrow and suffering of cyclic existence in the Five or the Six Realms. This is a [kind of] sickness. It is “a misfortune”; it is an ailment, a sickness. Living in a world with such ups and downs, with so many frustrations causes the greatest suffering in our lives but suffering and misfortune. This is because we create the causes and accumulate our retributions without awareness. None of us are aware of this; we do not realize. So, “These are the retributions [suffered by] all things that experience birth and death.” Because we do not know this and are unawakened, we continuously accumulate these retributions.
So, “These are the karmic forces of the cumulative fruition of suffering.” Being senseless and ignorant, we create more fruits of suffering and greater karmic forces, which makes us more and more confused. This is the ignorance that results in afflictions. “The source of afflictions is the causation of suffering.” This is suffering!
Extreme suffering is miserable, and therefore unbearable. When our ear-root hears all these miserable lamentations, we will give rise to Bodhicitta and hear them with pure ears. For example, the world’s imbalance of the four elements and the ailments of body and mind bring so much suffering.
Since we do not know the nature of suffering, we continue to sink into it, and the karmic forces that accumulate from this become more and more severe. “Extreme suffering is miserable, and therefore unbearable.” When suffering is at its worst, it is unbearable. So, “When our ear-root hears all these miserable lamentations, we will give rise to Bodhicitta and hear them with pure ears.” When suffering continuously accumulates like this, without our awareness, we continue transmigrating in the Six Realms. Within the Six Realms, the hungry ghost, animal and hell realms are the realms of [the most] extreme suffering. Suffering in those three evil realms results from our accumulation of karma in this world, [which happens] without our awareness of it. Eventually, our karma accumulates to the point where it becomes very severe. The fruits of our suffering [thus] result from this heavy karma, which is the ultimate retribution for the [bad] things we did as humans. The suffering [in these realms] is so miserable that it is unbearable.
“When our ear-root hears all these miserable lamentations, we will give rise to Bodhicitta and hear them with pure ears.” This is because we take sounds like these to heart. When we listen to the Dharma, [we will say], “I know the truth of suffering. I know the cause of this suffering. I know its cause; I know how it accumulates.” Since we know the cause of suffering and the manner in which it accumulates, we must awaken so that we are no longer confused, and so that we stop creating the causes of suffering. Evil causes and evil conditions give rise to evil fruits. Since we know [how] causation occurs, we must practice [cultivating] “the Path.” First, we must settle our minds. Then, by earnestly listening to the Dharma, once we have listened, we will begin to understand that suffering is everywhere. We listen to the Dharma to realize how to become aware of suffering and how to end suffering. They way that we end our suffering is by listening to the Dharma to understand how causes of suffering are created and become fruits of suffering. This is why we listen to the Dharma, because of the miserable lamentations we hear. When we listen to the Dharma with our ears, we hear the many principles that the Buddha taught regarding the arising of suffering. When we hear all these “miserable lamentations,” they become teachings that we begin to understand. All over the world, there are so many miserable lamentations and so many people in suffering that we have thus begun to give rise to Bodhisattva. Thus, we hear them with “pure ears.” Only by gradually listening [to the Dharma] will we begin to realize the importance of compassionate understanding. We begin to have compassionate understanding when we hear things through our ear-root. Even if someone loses their temper and speaks out in anger, we begin to understand that perhaps there is a reason for his anger. We must try to understand him with compassion, and [then] we must try to forgive him. This is “hearing with pure ears.”
When our minds become pure, what sound will we not understand? So, we must mindfully seek to comprehend this. For instance, “The world’s imbalance of the four elements and the ailments of body and mind bring so much suffering.” Perhaps when we hear this, we can understand. For example, simply by living in the world, when the four elements [fall] out of balance, it also affects us physically and mentally. Everyone knows “the four elements.” They are earth, water, fire and air. All things in the worlds, even our bodies, are composed of the four elements. We are inseparable from them; we cannot be separated from the earth. We live upon the earth. Is there anything that exists separately from the earth? Everything is produced by the earth! The things that grow on the earth must have seeds. They require soil, air, sunlight and so forth. Through these four things, earth, water, fire and air, they all come into being. This is the only way that seeds can develop. The earth’s soil, water, fire and air are the sources of nourishment for mankind and all things [in the world]. Because our bodies are also subject to the four elements, we say things like, “You are not drinking enough water! You blood pressure is too high. You aren’t drinking enough water. There are many ailments where you just need to drink a little more water.” We often hear things like these. “You must drink more water when you catch a cold.” Also, “If your kidneys aren’t good, then you should not drink too much water.” Which is it then? Should we drink more or less water? This depends upon the kinds of imbalances present in our bodies. How much water can the body ultimately absorb? How do the things that we take in form the outside balance with our body’s constitution? So, when we speak of “the four elements,” whether inside or outside [of us], all of them can make us feel miserable. So, in the summer [we say]. “Oh my! It is so hot!” Or, when it is windy, “Watch out for the wind!” Or, when there is drought, [we say], “We need water! It will rain soon; we need to keep an eye out.” In such cases, do we wish for more or prepare for [flooding]? Everything must be in balance. It has to be balanced; too little or too much of it will be no good. This is what happens in the world. As for our own mental and physical disturbances and suffering, when the four elements fall out of balance, we become ill. There is so much suffering in the world! Where does suffering come from? It starts within us; the cause of suffering brings its fruits. Suffering, causation, cessation and the Path; we need to really understand these. Otherwise, there are too many sounds of suffering, [too many] different sounds.
It said about the ear in the previous section that. “They will also hear the sounds of heavenly beings and their subtle, wondrous singing. They will also hear the sounds of men and women and the sounds of boys and girls. Amidst the mountains, rives and sheer valleys, the sounds of the kalavinka, jivajiva and other birds will all be heard by them.”
These sounds, which are wonderful to hear, are so very subtle and intricate. They come from many different [sources]. Heavenly beings live a certain way in heaven, and men and women make their own sounds on earth, like the lamentations of old age, illness etc. There are the sounds of youth, of little boys and girls, and the sounds they make are all very joyful. Then, there are the sounds of quiet places, the sounds of high mountain tops or the sounds of running streams that draw people there to experience them. Some find subtlety in the sound of silence. Some experience a sense of joy in tranquility. Some quite enjoy hearing the sound of a waterfall, but after several days of hearing it, the sound may become so loud that we may also get sick of it after a while. In the mountains are the sounds of running streams and calling birds. There are all kinds of different birds which all live in different environments. There are “the jivajiva and other birds”. As for the jivajiva bird, is there really such a bird? Yes, there is. There are even humans with two heads on one body. We once met a pair of conjoined twins who have two heads but share one body; they are now already more than 40 years-old. When they went out the door, they went together, since they shared the same body. They wanted to go out, so they decided to buy a motorcycle. Then, when they went out to buy one, one of t hem said, “I want a red one”. The other said, “I want a white one”. The two were at odds like this, when someone came to serve as a mediator. He said, “Hey! Everyone loves white! The thing is, some people don’t like red”. He helped mediate between them and finally they agreed to buy a white one. They still needed to buy helmets, and this time each insisted on what they each liked. “I like red. I am getting a red one, for sure! Well, I want white! And I insist!” [The owner said], “For the helmets, you can each choose”. So, are they two persons or one? Furthermore, at times, one of them might feel like he has to use the restroom, but the other says, “I don’t need to go. You don’t need to go, but I do!” The two would often fight like this. They were one person with two sets of feelings. What could we ultimately do to help these two brothers who had four legs and two heads? When they came here from the Philippines for a physical examination, they said, “Oh my! We are too old! [An operation] is too dangerous; we don’t dare!” This was because no one knows how long conjoined twins can live.
In short, when it comes to this world, there are all kinds of different things in it, even conjoined twins with one body and different ways of thinking. Isn’t this what suffering is? To be joined together at birth and have different ways of thinking must be exhausting! These are all the different cries of all the different beings in this world.
The next sutra passage says, “Amidst the pain and suffering of the multitudes in hell, there are the sounds of all kinds of agony. Then there are the sounds of hungry ghosts, driven by their starvation and thirst, seeking food and drink. Then there are the sounds of all the asuras, who dwell along the shores of the great ocean and yell loudly whenever they speak together”.
These are the karmic retributions that result from the karma we create as humans, like those we just mentioned. There are environments like these, with all these different beings. Below, [the sutra] describes these causes and retributions.
Amidst the pain and suffering of the multitudes in hell, there are the sounds of all kinds of agony: Due to thoughts of anger and so on, they have fallen into hell, [where they suffer], the mountain of knives, the tree of swords, the iron millstone, the pit of fire, the river of ash, the boiling urine and countless [punishments like] these.
“Amidst the pain and suffering of the multitudes in hell, there are the sounds of all kinds of agony”. What causes resulted in fruits like these? [The passage] tells us here that it was all “due to thoughts of anger and so on”. There is greed, anger and delusion. If you add arrogance and doubt to these three, then you have greed, anger, delusion, arrogance and doubt. These five together account for all the world’s suffering. When people create the causes of suffering, they will reap the many fruits of suffering. “Due to thoughts of anger and so on, they have fallen into hell, [where they suffer]”. These five together are the cause of so much suffering and difficulty, and result in great fruits of suffering. The most severe suffering is in hell. Compared with [the realms of] humans, hungry ghosts and animals, hell contains the most suffering.
So, “They fall into hell where they suffer”. In hell, people are tortured by suffering in every moment, by “the mountain of knives, the tree of swords, the iron millstone, the pit of fire, the river of ash, the boiling urine” and so on. All of this is suffering! There are very sharp mountains, mountains made of the blades of knives. These people who suffer from [negative] karmic forces are bound to roll down these mountains of knives. Beyond mountains of knives; there are also trees of swords. Each of those blades is very sharp, and they roll across them like this. Each of those sword trees is also very sharp, so their bodies are incessantly chopped into pieces. It is like our whole body keeps being cut apart, like being sliced apart by knives and swords. This kind of pain and suffering is also present in the human realm. Whether it is one calamity after the next, repeated suffering of illness or [the suffering of] undergoing many operations, this kind of suffering exists in the world also! There is even more suffering in hell. If we fall into hell, we are constantly rolling over mountains of knives or stuck among trees of swords. The suffering there is so unbearable that it does not stop, even for a moment. So, [in hell] we can be rolled over by iron millstones or burned in pits of molten metal. Haven’t we seen this before? When the volcano in Hawaii erupted, the [lava’s] temperature were so high that it even liquefied stone. Lava is just like a molten paste, which spews from the top and rolls down the sides. Lava is like this, not to mention steel! Rock will soften until it is like a boiling soup, but steel [is like this, too]. Steel is boiled until it becomes [like] a paste. I went to the Kaohsiung steel mill once, several decades ago, and saw how steel is made, how it is melted in a very hot fire. Those fires are very hot, so whether it is rock or steel, it all becomes molten, like a pit of fire. It is like a pit of boiling fire. If you look at how a volcano erupts, you can see how true this is. When the four elements are out of balance, like when the volcano erupted in Hawaii, in that [kind of] environment, there is technology that has been developed to film [inside] the volcano so we can see it. That is why we say it is just like a mass of boiling fire and stone. It is like when wood is burned to ash after being pushed down into a roaring fire until it is all burned to ashes. Isn’t this suffering? This is [what it is like] in hell. “Amidst the pain and suffering of the multitudes in hell, there are the sounds of all kinds of agony.”
“Then there are the sounds of hungry ghosts, driven by their starvation and thirst, seeking food and drink.”
Then there are the sounds of hungry ghosts, driver by their starvation and thirst, seeking food and drink: Due to their thoughts of greed, they have fallen into the hungry ghost realm. There is no time when they can catch a whiff of something to drink. Their bodies burn with the fire of hunger, and their cries of anguish shake the earth. Those who hear these sounds are said to hear the sounds of ghosts.
This is suffering! The Buddha also told us that hunger is the greatest ailment, the greatest suffering of all. Hunger and starvation are the greatest illness; [they are what cause] the greatest suffering. The aggregate of action [is responsible] for the gradual, continuous progression of starvation, which is formless. [For some], they are hungry even after earing. They are hungry when they have not eaten, and they stay hungry even after they have eaten. This too is a kind of illness. Not having anything to eat is also suffering. After our bodies have digested our food, if we do not have anything to eat for a while, then we start to suffer. The Buddha wanted us to understand that, when it comes to our bodies, there are so many [forms of] hellish suffering. We were just mentioned the mountains of knives and the trees of swords, as well as the heat of boiling fire. When our body is sore, wracked with aches and pains, it hurts so much that we [writhe and] struggle; it is like we are roiling in pain.
[Similarly], the Earth Treasury Sutra says, “One person fills it as will many.” It is like being in bed and [crying] “I am in so much pain! No one could be suffering more than me!” We forget those countless others, who are also suffering. Everyone who is bedridden is filled with suffering. Still, each person thinks, “I am most important, I am suffering the most! Save me! Save me!” Everyone wants someone to save them first. I am the one suffering most!” This, without a doubt, is suffering. Actually, by the same principle, of all the kinds of suffering, hunger is the one that really hurts the most.
This is why the Buddha said that all illnesses result from the Five Aggregates. The Five Aggregates are form, feeling, thinking action and consciousness. Because of the Five Aggregates, we feel and experience things which [cause] much suffering. Among the many types of suffering that we experience in the world, if we are suffering from an illness, there are medicines that can stop the pain, reduce our fever and so on. However, when it comes to hunger, we see people on the news who are starving, whose bellies become distended and whose necks are thin. They have no muscle in their limbs, nor the strength to blink their eyes when flies land on them. Scenes like this [depict] true suffering! This is because there is no medicine for hunger except for sufficient food and nourishment. That is the only way to end the extreme suffering of hunger.
So, there is a story about the Buddha. [One day], He arose from meditation and suddenly said to the bhiksus, “Come with tour begging bowls; there is a certain village we will go to,” so the bhiksus followed the Buddha to that village. The people there were very happy when they saw the Buddha. Wanting to make offerings to the Buddha, they prepared rice and [other] dishes to feed the Buddha and His Sangha, and so they accepted these offerings. Everyone in the village there felt it was a blessing to eat with the Buddha. After making offerings, they brought out their own food and surrounded the Buddha, for they wanted to eat with [Him]. The Buddha told them, “Everyone, wait!” They replied, “What are we waiting for?” The Buddha said, “I am waiting for someone”. Finally, a person arrived, who was covered in sweat and leading an ox along. The Buddha said, “He is back! The person I am waiting for is back”. That person had returned, and when he went to sit down, the Buddha told him, “Your wife has already brought something. Eat first and after you have eaten, I will begin to speak.”
The Buddha awaited this person’s arrival before He allowed everyone to eat, and before He began to speak. After the Buddha lectured and He and the bhiksus returned home, they asked Him, “Buddha! You were different today than before. Why, Buddha, did you wait for that person?” The Buddha told them, “This person’s past karmic conditions were such that if he listened to what I had to say today, he would achieve realization and understanding of the appearances of suffering. He would comprehend suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. He was ready to awaken due to the karmic conditions of that moment.” They asked Him again, “Buddha! Why did you have to wait for him to eat?” The Buddha said, “The hungry suffer most. He depended upon that ox to make a living. His ox had become lost, and he had hurried out to find it. Bringing an ox back is not easy, and this was just the time that he was hungry. If he had been hungry as I taught, he would never have been able to concentrate. Thus, I had to wait for him to eat, for him to dispel his hunger so that he was no longer deficient. Then, he could focus on listening to the Dharma. [Thus], Buddha was able to seize the causes and conditions of this person, [which He knew] had arrived so that his mindset could accept [the Dharma]. Since the man could not focus while hungry, [the Buddha] first let the man eat his fill so he could focus on listening to the Dharma. This was how thoughtful the Buddha was.
So, now it says, “Then there are the sounds of hungry ghosts, driven by their starvation and thirst, seeking food and drink”. This is the [kind of] suffering [we refer to] when we speak of being hungry, the suffering of starvation. We can cure common ailments, but the hunger of having nothing to eat is painful. If we feel hungry, our minds cannot concentrate. “There is no time when they can even catch a whiff of something to drink”. There is nothing; they do not even have anything to drink, so they are hungry. “Their bodies burn with the fire of hunger, and their cries of anguish shake the earth”. “Their bodies burn with the fire of hunger”. If you remember when Maudgalyayana rescued his mother, he offered her a bowl of rice, but when she reached out to take it, fire came out when she opened her mouth. This was the fire of her hunger. This fire of hunger burned her body. It was hot inside her stomach, so fire came out of her mouth when she opened it. These hungry ghosts cannot even eat things that are placed right in front of them. This also happens in our human world. Some people are clearly are very hungry, but they cannot eat. They cannot swallow, so they cannot eat. They are just like hungry ghosts. So, “Their cries of anguish shake the earth”. This is the anguish of being hungry, yet being unable to eat anything. We see many cases like this in the hospital. So, “Those who hear these sounds are said to hear the sounds of ghosts”. These are the sounds of hungry ghosts; they are hungry, but cannot eat, and thus suffer in pain. Then, “there are the sounds of all the asuras, who dwell along the shores of the great ocean and yell loudly whenever they speak together”.
Those who are competitive and aggressive, who swallow up others to strengthen themselves, are known as ausras. Mostly due to anger, arrogance and doubt, they dwell along the shore of flawed samsara. Their greed, anger and ignorance are boundless. They suffer from both excessive arrogance and hindering doubts. When two strong ones meet and combat one another, they yell loudly whenever they speak together.
“Then there are the sounds of all the asuras”. When they speak with one another, it is really quite sad because they are such tortured beings, both mentally and physically, so the sounds they make when they speak are sad. They must try very hard [to speak], and they speak so loudly that it is painful. So, “Those who are competitive and aggressive, who swallow up others to strengthen themselves, are known as asuras”. Their minds are never stable, and they often lose their tempers. “Mostly due to anger, arrogance and doubt…”. Greed, anger, delusion, arrogance and doubt will make us physically agitated and unsound. There are many people in the world who are affected like this. So, because of “anger, arrogance and doubt, they dwell along the shore of flawed samsara”. When we are subject to Leaks like this, then, like our afflictions, they come in waves. Afflictions of resentment crash like waves, one by one upon the shore. It is like we are in samsara by that sea, as if we were in a great sea of afflictions, crashing like waves, one after another. So, it is like we are living beside this great sea.
“This greed, anger and ignorance are boundless”. This greed, anger and delusion are limitless. They are truly boundless. “They suffer from both excessive arrogance and hindering doubts”. When we are arrogant, just when we clearly need to accept people, we close ourselves off out of pride and arrogance. So, if we are arrogant or proud like this, it means we do not believe in the Buddha-Dharma, that we do not want to believe in true principles. In this way, doubt becomes a hindrance. If we are like this, we add to our greed, anger and delusion, and all of this karma is combined. “When two strong ones meet…”. Greed, anger and delusion are strong, and arrogance and doubt are also strong, and these things [may] come together. So, [when they do], they “combat one another”. When this happens, greed, anger and delusion will not subside, nor will arrogance or doubt. In this way, they will begin to combat each other. “Whenever [such people] speak together,” one yells in a loud voice, and the other responds in a loud voice. Thus, “Such people will] yell loudly”. [This is why] “the World-Honored One,” Sakyamuni Buddha, “teaches the Dharma for sentient beings, helping them learn of the path and awaken to the true principles”.
The World-Honored One teaches the Dharma for sentient beings, helping them learn of the path and awaken to the true principles. The Buddha uses exquisite [methods] to teach and transform them. His state of mind is tranquil, and His path is clear.
This is why the Buddha came to the world; He wanted to teach the Dharma so that sentient beings might gain understanding. These are the principles of suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. This suffering is the accumulation of greed, anger, delusion, arrogance and doubt. Once we understand this, we can bring their source to cessation. In order to eliminate the source, we must earnestly engage in spiritual practice by practicing the Path. So, we “learn of the path and awaken to the true principles”. These principles are the truth. “The Buddha uses exquisite [methods] to teach and transform them”. When sentient beings listen to the Dharma, the Buddha uses all kinds of analogies, teaching the Dharma by observing capabilities. “His state of mind is tranquil, and His path is clear”. He will always teach until everyone can understand very clearly, until this path becomes very clear to them. He has already opened the path and paved the road smoothly so that everyone can follow this path and [be able to] travel like this. He paved the path and opened the way so that we could enter His teachings. This is why the Buddha taught the principles. He went among people to pave the way for all, guiding everyone by opening a path to the teachings. This is how the Buddha-Dharma entered the world. Dear Bodhisattvas, life can truly [hinge upon] a single thought. “One deluded thought creates the Three Subtleties. External states lead to the Six Coarse Marks”. We must remember this. It is when the Roots, Dusts and our Consciousness all come together that so much suffering occurs, as if we are in hell. When life in the world begins to seem like hell, [this means] our suffering is unbearable. So, all of us, in every second and every moment, must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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