Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: As Causes & Conditions Change, Contemplates Impermanence (因緣生滅念無常)
I have been talking about “Dharma as Water”. We are fortunate to have this human form and to encounter Buddha-Dharma. We continually come to this human existence carrying seeds of karma. As karmic causes & conditions converge, our minds continually accumulate and are covered by layers of ignorance. Because of the ignorance in our minds, we will continually create more karma. This is the workings of karmic causes & conditions.
How blessed are we to encounter the Buddha’s teachings in this life! This is a good condition. Good causes & conditions arise and cease. Bad causes & conditions also arise and cease. How do things come in to existence? They arise when causes & conditions come together. Take the SARS epidemic in 2003 for example. Originally, these viruses were only found in certain animals. But due to the poison with the human mind, out “spiritual virus”, we trespassed against the natural order and harmed other living creatures. Humans oppressed these animals and mercilessly slaughtered them.
The viruses lived in these animals’ bodies and coexisted without harming the animals.
But after the animals were killed, the viruses had nowhere to go except into humans, where they interacted with viruses in the human body to create a new strain. If those viruses had not entered another host and crossbred with other viruses, they would have been no harmless.
This is an example of causes and conditions. The virus itself was the cause. When it interacted with other cells under certain conditions, it became another type of virus. Similarly, human greed is the main cause that leads us to remain in the cyclic existence of the Six Realms.
Ordinary people, in their attachment to “Self”, give rise to 3 Poisons: greed, anger and ignorance. In response to external causes & conditions, we continue to create countless karma. Karmic forces of cause and effect continuously gather and lead sentient beings to remain in the cyclic existence of the Six Realms. Only through unceasing practice can we transcend the cycle of reincarnation.
There are many disasters around the world. Human are the source of manmade calamities and natural disasters. Because of human misdeeds, the world suffers manmade and natural disasters. It is humans who create negative karma and allow the vicious cycle to continue. We have been accumulating (negative karma) over countless Kalpas. It has been a very long time. We continued to be reborn in the cyclic existence of the Six Realms. Carrying seeds of karma with us, we continuously gave rise to ignorance and created more karma. Layer by layer, we continued to accumulate karma until now. This is a time of evil and Dharma decay. The world is very corrupt and turbid. Morality and ethics are no longer upheld. Thus, at this time, many disasters befall both humans and our environment.
We should self-reflect. The more good karma we have, along with good causes & conditions, the more helpful circumstances we will have. When good seeds converge with blessed conditions, this world will become a Pure Land. But there are many evil causes and conditions. When evil conditions are very strong, they lead to the creation of much bad karma. So we continually speak of karmic causes, conditions and retributions. As Buddhists, we must take them seriously.
Every thought is a seed. In our daily living, the number of thoughts we create will be the number of causes we create. When they connect with certain conditions, these causes will continue to produce new seeds. Thus, the cycle of karmic causes, conditions and retributions continues unceasingly. Therefore, we must take good care of our minds.
Our lives get shorter as time passes. We are just like fish in a tank that is leaking water, drop by drop. Every day brings the fish closer to the moment of its death. The universe that we live in is just like a big water tank, and the four seasons are like water. Each individual’s life is a microcosm, a universe; it is its own tank. There is also water in each individual’s universe. The water is like the length of our karmic affinity with this world. Once our affinities end, our lives will end. As Buddhist practitioners, we should let go and have a broader perspective. This is a Law of Nature. From the day we were born, we know that one day we will die. The day we die will be the beginning of another life. This is cyclic existence. We leave one life for the next.
We have forgotten the moment of our birth. When we were in our mother’s womb, we were like a ball of flesh enveloped by the walls of her uterus. Then the time came, and we needed to leave the womb. This felt like shedding a skin. At this time, our bodies, balls of tender flesh, made contact with the air. I compare this to lighting a candle. When a candle is lit, the wax melts. When we suddenly blow out the candle, the flame is extinguished. When you look closely at it, you notice that a thin film quickly covers the wax. This is similar to birth. Originally, our bodies were like a ball of tender flesh. The moment our bodies made contact with the air, like the film of wax on an extinguished candle, the exposed skin suddenly covered the body. Therefore, when we were born, we cried out in pain. But we have already forgotten it. When we fear most is the moment of death. In truth, death is not frightening. What is most frightening is that, if we let our mind follow certain conditions, we might end up somewhere we don’t want to be. Perhaps we will be reborn as a cow or horse, or fall into Hell. We do not know. This depends on what we do now. The time between the moments of birth and death is the most frightening time. What kinds of afflictions have we created? In our afflicted state, what kind of karma have we replicated? This is what we need to be worried about.
As ordinary people, we cannot control ourselves, so thoughts constantly arise and change. As a result our bodies start to act, creating evil causes & conditions like enmity and hate. If we continue to create negative causes, the conditions we encounter in future lives will only be negative. If causes and conditions continually converge, and we act this way, karma will be hard to eliminate.
When Maudgalyayana met with misfortunes, Buddha said he “received the negative karma of many lifetimes in one lifetime”. This happened at the foot of a mountain when he was crushed by a falling boulder. Some said, “He was the Buddha’s disciple, the foremost in spiritual powers. How could he not avoid being crushed by a boulder at the foot of the mountain? He was so accomplished in his practice, why couldn’t the Buddha prevent such misfortune from befalling him? Why couldn’t Maudgalyayana avoid that moment?”
The Buddha replied, “Under the law of karma, as are the causes, so are the conditions, so are the effects and the retributions. But Maudgalyayana faced the retributions of many lifetimes at once.”
Everyone, let us review yesterday’s repentance text. “Seventh, contemplate the Empty nature of evil. Evil has no inherent nature it arises from cause & onditions.”
Indeed, evil has no intrinsic nature. It is just like the virus. If it did not encounter and find a host, it would have been harmless. So evil does not exist on its own. It arises from causes and conditions and “from inverted views”. We humans are confused, attached to the existence of Permanence, Bliss, Self & Purity. Even as practitioners, we are still attached to Emptiness, the absence of Permanence, Bliss, Self & Purity.
One who is pure remains pure. One who is defiled remains defiled. So sometimes, suffering sentient beings remain in suffering, with no one to help them.
Thus, the Buddha encouraged us to remain pure in our hearts and minds. Physically, we may enter an impure world. However, our minds will not be tainted. So in walking the Bodhisattva-path, as we previously mentioned, we must overcome the Eight Inverted Views. Ordinary people must overcome four inverted views. Hinayana practitioners must end the other four. Those on the Bodhisattva-path must end all eight and not be attached to Existence or Emptiness. If we are attached to either, our views are inverted.
Since everything arises from causes & conditions, everything also ceases with causes & conditions. When evil arises from causes & conditions, we draw close to bad friends & commit endless wrongs. Evil ceases with causes and conditions when we cleanse our minds and repent.
“Since everything arises from causes & conditions, everything also ceases with causes & conditions.” Since the convergence of causes and conditions leads to so much suffering, we can also eliminate the causes and conditions. Just like how our spiritual practice has to be carried out among people when we practice repentance, we should repent among people. Since we committed these mistakes and wrongdoings among others, we must sincerely make amends and give, we must openly and honestly repent. So we can end things through causes & conditions. That is why we must repent.
“When evil arises from causes & conditions, we draw close to bad friends, commit endless wrongs.” When we are with bad friends, we will create bad karma. “It ceases with causes & conditions, when we cleanse our minds and repent.” So we begin our practice today by constantly repenting and eliminating old evils, and renouncing old afflictions. We must repent in every moment of every day. We must cleanse our minds of defilements. If there are defilements, we must cleanse our mind with repentance.
According to the text, the nature of evil does not exist within, without, or in between. As such, we know evil has no inherent nature.
“According to the text.” In the sutras, it says that “the evil nature does not exist within neither does it exist without, nor in between.” There is, in fact, no such thing as an evil nature. Yesterday I told you that evil is a habitual tendency. We are continually influenced by these tendencies. Aside from this, our minds are originally pure and we have a nature equal to that of the Buddha. It is commonly said, “Everyone is born with inherent good nature”. We pick up habits from others. We influence one another. So there was no evil within, without or in between. Evil arises when external conditions converge with the intangible karmic causes. “So we know evil is inherently Empty in nature.”
Everyone, in Emptiness, there is no evil. The seeds of bad karma come from our contact with external conditions. They continually replicate and take from. So living and dying is not frightening. The most frightening thing is the creation of karma and incorrect views. If we can follow the Laws of Nature and be diligent in our practice, that is the right thing to do.
Human nature is inherently good. If our knowledge and views are correct, and we diligently practice the Buddha’s Way, we can prevent the convergence of causes & conditions. Thus, we can stop bad karma from being created.
Everyone, we must always be mindful. As we engage in spiritual practice, we must remember that everything is impermanent. This time, today, is not the same as yesterday. The life of yesterday and today is already gone. Nothing is ours to own forever. All that we have is our will to practice. So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水).
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