Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Six Cravings (Part 2) (六愛二)
Our daily lives are full of worries, so people often say they have many afflictions. There is much suffering in life, and we often hear about it. Where do afflictions and suffering come from? All from Craving.
Cravings torment people, and cause so much misery. Craving is defiled love. According to Buddha-Dharma, defiled love is an affliction. As we have mentioned, afflictions are entangled with clinging to impure states. They bring ignorance and darkness to our minds. Thus, the future is bleak and life is suffering beyond words. So when we practice Buddhism, we need to clearly understand love.
Where do afflictions and suffering come from? They come from defiled love. When the heart is entangled in darkness and ignorance, there is suffering beyond words. To practice Buddhism is to clearly comprehend love.
Love, we need to clearly identify if we possess pure and undefiled love, or cravings defiled by attachments. That is why there are endless teachings. As the Buddha said to Ananda, “How many teachings have you heard?”
Ananda replied, “Infinite teachings. You teach skillfully and resolve the afflictions of multitudes of sentient beings. So I’ve heard a lot from being by your side.”
The Buddha said to Ananda, “My teachings are as infinite as the sand of this land. If you used one fingernail to scoop up the sand, an amount like the sand in that fingernail.”
So the Buddha still had much more Dharma, but time was limited. Why are there so many teachings? Sentient beings have too many afflictions. So teaching skillfully and tailoring teachings to each affliction requires expounding many principles.
From this we can comprehend the depth and complexity of Buddhism. But we say, “A million teachings begin with one.” It is that simple. Craving alone is the source of innumerable afflictions. They can be as grand as conflicts between nations or conflicts within a society, as small as conflicts within a family, or as tiny as conflicts between two people. Each conflict arises from craving, from the love defiled by ignorance and afflictions of attachment to desires. Such ignorant and afflicted love creates opposition. If one struggles to possess, the other opposes. So we need to understand “love.”
We can change our mindset slightly, and direct our “love” toward the Bodhisattva-path. The world cannot be without such pure, undefiled Great Love. We often see Tzu Chi volunteers around the world appearing among suffering sentient beings. When the blue and white uniforms appear among the crowd, we see both suffering and joy in the same place. Some are enduring poverty, illness, old age and disability.
Aren’t they suffering? Indeed, they are. If they are so poor they cannot live on, it is very painful. Is illness suffering? Yes. If there is no medicine, or people to care for them, it is painful. Is being disabled agonizing? Yes, everything in life is inconvenient for them. People live under such conditions and suffer. But when the volunteers in blue and white appear, their suffering turns into joy.
Love with attachment is defiled. It easily creates conflict and antagonism. Pure and undefiled love can save people, and helps them relieve their suffering and attain joy.
A video from Malaysia showed one of the care recipients, an elderly woman who lived by herself. It was clear that she used to have an average lifestyle. Perhaps she experienced many hardships before. Now she was old and lived alone. A group of student volunteers in blue and white uniforms knocked on her door, but no one answered. Perhaps they went there often, because they knew how to open the door. There was a door chain, so thought the door opened, they were prevented from opening it fully. They were familiar with the door, so they just reached in and unlatched the chain. As they did that , they yelled, “Grandma, we’re here.” The old woman appeared. Her body was bent at 90 degrees, her hair was white and loose, and she had difficulty walking. She quickly checked herself in the mirror, rearranged her hair and smiled. Though she had trouble moving, she walked forward hunchbacked. When she saw them, she was very happy. What did they do? They took her outside to sit in the sun and spent some time with her. It was heartbreaking to see this elderly woman alone in this house all these years.
She chained the door even when she was inside, with such guardedness. We saw how hard it was for her to move around. This is suffering. We knew that she was old, alone and handicapped. Her body was completely bent. We could imagine her daily life was lonely and dull. But when she heard the door open, she was at ease, because she heard the sound she was waiting for. From the way they opened the door and entered, by unlatching the chain, we knew they were familiar and welcome. They were like her family. We could see the old woman tidying herself up to meet her “family.” Was she happy? Yes, she was joyful. So when volunteers in blue and white appear in a place of suffering, there is joy. So life is “suffering and joy mixed equally.”
It was heart-rending to see someone so old living like this. Many things accumulate over time. She once had love and family in her life, but this was how she lived at the end. So why make an issue out of petty things? Thus, personal love consists of entanglements of affliction. When causes and conditions come together, love arises, when conditions disperse, loneliness arises. But these people turned selfish love into Great Love, and cared for someone unrelated to them. How many families or elders live like this? It is incalculable. So we need those with such Great Love to visit these families. They do not just go once a year, they go all the time. They visit them every couple of days to let them know, “We’re here to keep you company, we bring you joy and blessings.” Those youth treated the old woman like family. It is so heartwarming that these living Bodhisattvas in blue and white spread throughout society. This all comes simply from a thought of love. By identifying with love on the Bodhisattva-path, one produces a beautiful sight.
Limited love gives rise to many afflictions. When causes and conditions come together, love arises. As causes and condition disperse, loneliness arises. Strive to transform personal love into Great Love and walk the Bodhisattva-path.
Earlier we spoke of attachment to False Views. There are Six Cravings. Six Cravings arise when our Five Sense Organs interact with Five Sense Objects and cause our consciousness to discriminate. This creates Six Craving as we judge everything we come across. If “greed” is involved, these defiled attachments causes inexpressible suffering. So “Yielding to greed and desire is Cravings.” Greed and desire are Cravings. Once there is greed, clinging to cravings arises. “Differentiating attachments are False Views.” If we differentiate and cling to those we love, then we suffer when they are gone. Or if a beloved’s heart does not belong exclusively to us, we are jealous and afflicted. Isn’t this the source of so many problems in today’s society? Such attachments, especially to romantic or familiar relationships, cause so much suffering. If we can resolve our attachments, our life has value.
Yielding to greed and desire is Craving. Differentiating attachments are False Views. If we can resolve our attachments and False Views, our lives can be utilized to their full potential.
In a report on Da Ai TV, a 17-year-old was involved in an accident. His mother quickly came from Taitung to donate his body and organs to help others. What happened to the child was not so simple. He had been beaten, so the prosecutors and the court wanted to solve this case. This complicated matters, because we did not know whether they would allow her to remove the organs quickly. But if it was delayed until they officially pronounced him brain dead, his organs would not be transplantable. From how quickly the mother reacted, we could see her determination. She argued with the prosecutors and produced the first case in Taiwan in which prosecutors entered the operating room to examine the body. This was also a way to save others. The mother who insisted on donating her child’s body came to Jing-si Hall on the day they retrieved his organs. She told me, “I’m grateful, Master.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you pioneered this path. I often hear your words on Da Ai TV. So I understand the value of life. I’m grateful to my son. Although this happened to him, his organs can help six other people to live in good health. So he lives on. That’s why I’m grateful.”
I said, “Since this occurred, how are you coping?”
She answered, “Master, I feel very peaceful and at ease. I don’t feel pain at all. I feel very grateful and joyful.”
This is love, unconditional love. We often feel troubled, and suffer because of love. Some suffer beyond words due to love, while the love of others relieves the pain of all who suffer. By using wisdom to expand our Great Love, we can help those who suffer the entanglement of selfish love.
So the world cannot lack love. But some people’s love is full of suffering. The pure and undefiled love of a Bodhisattva can bring blessings to so many people. So “attachment to False Views” and “Yielding to greed and desire is Craving” are about desirous love. “Differentiating attachments are False Views” is about clinging to our own views and understanding. We insist on our way, not letting others benefit from us. We want everything, it is all about us. So much suffering! Don’t all conflicts arise from this?
Everyone, our lifetime is limited. There is so much we have to do, so do not get caught in clinging to False Views. Open your hearts. The Buddha’s teachings are always in our hearts. So our environment and our minds can unite as one, the Buddha-Dharma is inseparable from the way we lead our lives. So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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