Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Six Cravings (Part 3) (六愛三)
Time vanishes with each passing minute and second. Our Wisdom-lives should mature throughout our lives. Everything takes time, so we should treasure time. Learn and practice Buddhism in every moment. If we are indolent and waste time, then both our life and Wisdom-life will vanish with time.
So we need to fully use time. We have already spent two days talking about “attachment to False Views” and Cravings. If we love improperly, our Wisdom-life dies young. If we love properly, Wisdom-life develops. So if our love is defiled, then desires arise.
Love, if applied improperly, shortens our Wisdom-life. Love, if applied properly, nurtures our Wisdom-life.
The coldest time in winter is at night, or right before sunrise. It is cold, yet we still start our day at 3AM when we wake up to the sound of the wake-up board. It is so cold, just the thought of lifting the covers and leaving our warm beds makes us crave the warmth. We hope to stay warm for just a second longer, even though the second quickly passes. In this second, we may pull the covers up, and fall back asleep. So it all depends on a single action. When we hear the sound of the wake-up board, if we can get up immediately, in that moment we start being diligent. Actually, if we lift the covers and dress warmly, this action is not that different from pulling the covers back up. We enter the main hall to be diligent, respect the Buddha and meditate. Everything hinges on that moment.
So in the end, a single “desirous craving,” a desire for more sleep and warmth, is very different from diligence and love of the practice. It all depends on the single thought. “Yielding to greed and desire is Craving.” It is clinging to desire. “Differentiating attachments are False Views.” As for attachments and views, we often say that someone has deviant views and is prejudiced. But this is just our own opinion. Such views are something we need to change.
Spiritual practice is about making changes. We should quickly make changes so we can turn a bad temper to a good one. Thoughts of greed need to be adjusted to thoughts of giving. This is spiritual practice. We often say that spiritual practice is to change our habits. We each possess an innate and pure nature that is uncontaminated. We develop bad habits when our nature is defiled. These bad habits, views and opinions cause us suffering beyond words. We are attached to these discriminating opinions.
How exactly do they arise? From the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body, and from the desires of the five Roots. When we open our eyes, we come in contact with objects of perception. So the Five Roots match the Five Dusts: form, sound, smell , taste and touch. Objects of perception exist if you can see, touch, or feel them. These all mirror the Five Roots. So the Five Dusts easily elicit our greedy desires. These greedy desires are defiled love, which is craving.
“When the Root of Consciousness connects with thoughts assessments become unreasonable.”
The Five Roots precede the Root of Consciousness. This “Consciousness” is in our minds, it is our feelings. Once we have a feeling about something, the Roots differentiate Sense Objects. When the eyes see objects, it is just a “function”, there is no sensation. We have to “sense and feel.” Our “sensation” becomes a feeling, which is our sixth Consciousness. So I often say, you have to hear with your eyes, and see with your ears. This is called “mindfulness.” Use your subconscious and conscious mind to free yourself from the influence of Roots and Sensory Objects. This is difficult for ordinary people. Some people’s “assessments are unreasonable.” That is to say, something is clearly unreasonable, but due to desires of greed and defiled love, they try to possess it at all costs. Thus, “assessments become unreasonable.”
Assessments become unreasonable, and erroneous views arise, such as Nihilism, Eternalism, clinging to existence or clinging to non-existence, etc.
Modern society is already intricately complex. With such complexity, how do we return to the true and pure innate nature that each of us possesses? To attain such a simple and beautiful state in nature requires everyone to share the same goals, and clearly identify their path in life. We are all standing at the starting point, and have to recognize which direction is wrong and which is right. Recognize the direction and path clearly. If we know the direction and path clearly, we will not go astray as we walk. But nowadays, people’s “assessments are unreasonable.” Although they clearly know something is wrong, they deliberately turn wrong into right. Though something does not belong to them, they use any means to possess it. When “assessments become unreasonable, erroneous views arise.” Erroneous views are incorrect and unreasonable. Nihilism and Eternalism are erroneous views.
Nihilism and Eternalism describe the calculations of the mind in making plans and justifying them. Some people do not see doing bad deeds as wrong. They feel life is about enjoyment and indulgence, so they yield to their desires without fear of karmic retribution. Why are they not afraid of karmic retribution? Because they think nothing exists after death. They just want to enjoy and fulfill their desires, instead of being concerned with cause and effect. They do not care about consequences, or what happens in this life or the next. They do not even think about the results of their wrongdoing in this lifetime, let alone the next. They just do as they please, nothing else matters. They do not acknowledge future karmic retributions.
We must know that it is not easy to obtain human form in the Six Realms. Once we lose our human forms, they are hard to regain. We cannot attain Buddhahood in Heaven, and we cannot practice in Hell. We can only practice in the Human Realm. In Heaven, enjoyment drains our will to practice. In Hell, we endure suffering beyond words. If we are constantly in pain, how can we practice? In the Realms of Animals and Hungry Ghosts, how is it possible? We can only cultivate as humans.
In Heaven, enjoyment drains our will to practice. In Hell, extreme suffering prevents us from practicing. The Human Realm is the only place to practice.
In the Human Realm, we must understand principles. We cannot take anything with us except for karma. Nihilism is wrong because of cause and effect. We do not take anything with us, except karma. Karma does not end. What we do in this lifetime is carried into our next incarnation. So how can there be Nihlism? It is not valid. Doing good begets blessings, doing evil begets retribution. Good and evil continue without end. So we cannot adhere to Nihilism.
But we also cannot adhere to Eternalism. Do not think that you can make up for a lack of spiritual practice in your next life. You will not be able to do so because of karma. When facing phenomena in daily life, thoughts of greed constantly arise. Even if someone is monastic, greed can arise with sensations, when sense organs meet sense objects. Beings monastic in this life does not guarantee one will be monastic the next. Having affinity to hear Buddha- Dharma this life is no guarantee that one will hear it in the next life. If one has no feeling when hearing the Buddha-Dharma, then the seed has not been planted. So we cannot adhere to Eternalism or think that if our life is this way, the next life will be the same. We cannot think that way.
Our next life will depend on whether we correct our mistakes in this life. Have we eliminated our habits? Did we develop good habits? Good means returning to our true nature. Have we returned to our sincere and true nature? Did we find our pure, innate nature? We need to reflect often to correct our faults right away, and diligently do what is proper. So we cannot adhere to Nihilism, or Eternalism, or “cling to views of existence, non-existence.” We cannot be attached to existence. We do not have ownership rights over anything in this world, we only have usage rights. We cannot think that everything is non-existent and insist that things do not exist when they do. If they do not exist, what are the objects we use each day?
We cannot be attached to emptiness or existence. We know True Emptiness is Wondrous Existence. But Wondrous Existence is True Emptiness. If we keep analyzing something that exists, we eventually realize it is truly empty. The Buddha spoke of emptiness. Emptiness does not mean that things do not exist, that everything is merely a name. If we think that way, then our perspectives and thoughts have deviated. Buddha used His wisdom to give us this analysis. None of us, at any moment, has a true existence. When I went outside earlier, it was still pretty dark. I have only been sitting here for half an hour, and now it is brighter. I can see the tree shadows. It was dark earlier, and now it is brighter. It happened without us noticing. But time lets us keep track of the change from dark to light.
Now we do not think about how others held us when we were kids. In truth, our parents once held us close to their hearts. Does that moment still exist? Looking at it now, it does not. Back then, our parents were young and we were small. That was the past. Did it happen? It did. But why doesn’t it exist now? Time and our metabolism changed us from babies to toddlers, and teenagers to adults. Our bodies continuously change under the Aggregate of Action. Everything we see is part of this aggregate. Since everything is continuously changing, the past no longer exists. For example when I was outside it was dark and now it is brighter. The darkness has disappeared. But the afternoon, the light will disappear and it will become dark. So it is a cycle of existence and non- existence. We can analyze it until nothing exists.
This flower or tree came from a seed. When we open the seed, nothing is there. We cannot tell what type of flower it is, since it does not exist at the moment. But when causes and conditions converge, it will. We cannot be attached to existence or non-existence. If we are, we cannot broaden our minds and we develop Evil Views and greed. We will create karma.
Everyone, whether our love is defiled craving or a clean and pure love depends on a single moment of thought. So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)