Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Sixteen Views Part 8 (十六知見八)
Everyone, the Buddha-Dharma that we are learning is inseparable from everyday human life. This word “human” in “human life” sounds very simple. The Chinese character has only two strokes. Being human, we all have emotions. These feelings can be very warm and gentle.
Unfortunately, this state of simplicity and gentleness can become most complicated and perilous. There are many contradictions in life. Originally it was quite simple, but now it is full of danger and conflicts. The Buddha, the Great Enlightened One, repeatedly returned to our world, sailing the Ship of Compassion. He appeared in order to help transform others. Whether to provide spiritual guidance, material assistance, etc., since Beginningless Time, He has returned to the Saha World again and again to save sentient beings. Only after three Great Asamkhyeya Kalpas did He become a Buddha.
Looking at the Sutras, we can see this. Even long before 2500 years ago, the Buddha continually came to our world. When causes and conditions ripened, He manifested to show us how He “attained Buddhahood.” People who live after Him should follow what He taught.
In the Sutras, the Buddha said that the Saha World is His world. Every Buddha has His own world. Amitabha has His Most Blissful Land of the West, Medicine Buddha, the Pure Crystal Land of the East. Every Buddha has a world that He transforms. But Sakyamuni Buddha’s world is the Saha World.
This Saha World is where all sentient beings live. We often talk about the Ten Dharma Realms. Whether Buddha, Bodhisattva, Pratyekabuddha, Sravaka, or Heaven, Human, Hell, Hungry Ghost, Animal, Asura, the Ten Dharma Realms all are in the Saha World.
Buddha, Bodhisattva, Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha are the Four Sagely Realms. Heaven, Human, Asura, Hell, Hungry Ghost, Animal are the Six Ordinary Realms.
The Saha World is called, “The land of mixed beings from the Five Destinies.” It becomes complicated talking about this land, where all sentient beings reside together. When we say “sentient beings” we mean having sensation, being alive. If something is alive, and it has senses and sensation, then we call it sentient. If the sentient being is “deluded,” then things become complicated. If the sentient being is “enlightened,” then everything is quite simple. It is divided along these lines.
The Buddha referred to the impure Saha World as His world. He did not fear enduring the pain of Saha, and kept returning. In His last manifestation, He became the Buddha, and left us the Dharma, so that sentient beings can follow the teachings. Would He then cease to return to our world? He still returns again and again. No matter what era, whatever the situation requires, whatever the causes and conditions, He comes to our world to teach.
But the karma of sentient begins is heavy, and it constantly obstructs them. What are these obstacles? They are our afflictions. They cause us to keep creating karma, adding to our afflictions. We are constantly pulled by karmic forces. Creating karma leads to complications. There are more and more people, and the environment has more problems. You may believe that the Buddha, dealing with today’s beings, feels helpless. We are the Buddha’s disciples, so we absolutely must make strong vows. We must rely on His teachings. Since we have the teachings, since we have a path, we must follow them. Even if we sincerely believe in the teachings, we still must walk the path. We are not simply walking by ourselves, we must teach others to walk as well.
The Buddha divided His teachings into the Great Vehicle, Middle Vehicle, and Small Vehicle. A “vehicle” is just like a car. A bicycle is ridden by one person, a motorbike can carry two or three. A sedan can carry four or five people, and then there are bigger vehicles. From buses to trains, these all carry people from one place to another. When we say “take a train,” or “board a plane,” we are talking about riding in a vehicle. Will you take a train or take a plane? Depending on the vehicle, you either go slow or fast. You may go together with many other people, or with few people.
In the same way, when we go from here to our destination, the Buddha wanted us to go in a Great Vehicle. We are all going to the same place.
I am going, and many people are going with me. Our own responsibility is to follow the Buddha’s teaching. If there are only one or two people following, that is too few. Very few follow the Dharma, and most continue to create karma and afflictions. Think about it, there are also derivative afflictions. As the population keeps growing, so does disorder in society.
We should set our intentions and make vows to help others. Since we are human, we can use human teachings to follow the Buddha’s principles. In our personal affairs, we can guide one person, ten people, 100 people, thousands of people, tens of thousands of people, and together we can widely spread the teachings. We cannot just talk about the teaching, we must practice it. If we both speak and practice, then we can influence many people. Their complicated afflictions will subside, and they can return to their simple, pure nature. This is being an “awakened sentient being.” We are already “awakened” and “sentient.”
Set altruistic intentions and make great vows, share the Dharma through speech and practice to eliminate your afflictions and the afflictions of other so that you return to your innate nature. This is the practice of “awakened sentient beings”
Being “sentient” means having sensation. Some people are very happy when they do good; they feel that it is their mission. “I give without asking in return. When I see someone being helped, I am very happy.” This is also considered being “sentient,” having this kind of empathy and understanding the suffering of all beings. We cannot bear it, so we go to help them. Now we often see many “awakened sentient beings.” They are called “practicing Bodhisattvas.”
In everything we see and hear, there are many moving stories. Are there really that many? Not compared to the sheer number of sentient beings. The population keeps growing. There are still many who have not heard the Dharma or had any contact with the Dharma. The ratio is too high. Are those who have heard the Dharma or encountered good teachings putting those teachings into practice? There are many people who talk about it, but to truly practice it in their lives is not really easy. So the Buddha told us, “People all have their own ideas and views.”
Of the sixteen views, previously we talked about “multitudes.” Actually, the afflicted views are innumerable. Now the eighth is “View of a Human.” Doesn’t the Diamond Sutra talk about “View of a Human, View of Sentient Beings, View of a Lifespan” and many other views? No matter how many are discussed in the Sutras, all these views are related to “humans.” Humans are not independent from their environment. In our daily lives, everything we see, everything we sense and how we act following our sensations, these are all a part of being human. Humans are unaware of afflictions in their minds, they are all deluded. Their daily lives are lived in delusion.
When we are deluded, we constantly inflate our egos. With a big ego, we feel self-important. There is even this kind of delusion, “I am someone who can practice. Other people have no way to do so. I have such special causes and conditions. It is even rarer that I have been able to hear the Dharma. I can also speak and practice it.” This causes self-importance to arise. This is the blind arrogance of a practitioner. This kind of arrogance, thinking that “since I practice you should all look at, respect and defer to me, is it correct?” Practice is understanding how to humble yourself, how to serve others, how to enter their hearts, and lead their minds in the correct direction. If we do not humble ourselves, how will we enter people’s hearts?
Spiritual cultivation is about humbling oneself to become so small that one can invisibly enter the hearts of others and lead them in the right direction.
If we are arrogant when talking about practice, then we are not respecting ourselves. We understand self-respect. We must know how to become modest, only then can we be virtuous. We must be modest at all times. Modesty expands our broad-mindedness. When we are broad-minded, we can embrace everything. If instead we become self-important, our minds naturally become narrow. We should know not to have the “View of a Human,” not to differential ourselves as people who can practice, thinking that other cannot, saying, “I can speak the Dharma, none of you can do so. This type of self-importance or arrogance creates many complicated afflictions. Going down this path is dangerous.
The Buddha told us that the world is a narrow pass with many traps. On this kind of dangerous route there are actually quite a lot of traps. If we are not careful in our interpersonal relationships, we will get caught in a trap. And though we will want to free ourselves, we may have already lost the opportunity to do so.
Everything is all in our minds. Some have this View of Self, “I was born human, I am so special.” Then they are cruel to other animals. Animals are also sentient.
In one of the Buddha’s past lives, while He was a practitioner, there was a period of drought. All the grass and trees withered, and many animals died. One day a tigress gave birth to her cubs. After giving birth to her cubs, her won body was weak, without strength. The cubs needed her milk, but could not get any. At this time, the tigress suddenly become intolerably hungry. Her cubs kept trying to drink her milk, and her fierce nature emerged. She turned on the cubs as if to eat them.
The practitioner saw all of this and could not bear it. He thought about finding something to give her, for her to eat. But there was nothing to be found. Then he thought the tiger is a carnivore, even if I found some plants or grains, she would not want them. Then he thought, “human life eventually ends. I am in this forest and I really want to help and save others. In this forest which is my world, all animals are equal, all life is equal. This tigress and her cubs are dying. I should go save them. Not only will I alleviate their hunger and fill their bellies, the tigress will calm down and not eat her own cubs. I can save them.” He thought this and decided to give up his life in order to save them.
As this time, the Sutras say, the heavens moves and let forth a great rain to moisten the whole forest. The rainwater allowed the earth and animals to recover. We should remain simple and return to our Buddha-nature, which everyone innately has. Then we will be awakened sentient beings. If so, our world will be warm and comfortable. Relationship between people and relationships between people and animals will all be peaceful. Isn’t that the best life?
Everyone, always take care of your mind. If you do this, everywhere will be Pure Land. Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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