Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Changing Forms According to Retributions (改形易報入六道)
Since Beginningless Time, all sentient beings have been our parents, siblings and family. With karmic causes and conditions, we transmigrate in the Six Realms.
To learn Buddhism, we must practice the teachings and we must believe in cause and effect. Yesterday I brought up the example of the time when Maitreya was born as a woman, and Sakyamuni was born in Heaven. In previous lifetimes, they were good friends and practiced together. But then one was born as a heavenly being, and the other was born as a woman. The heavenly being felt that this woman had forgotten her past. Because of their friendship, he came to guide her.
Listening to this story yesterday, we recognized that it contained several smaller stories. This woman’s son was once her father. After her father died, he was reborn as her son. Though only separated by one lifetime, they did not recognize each other.
The young man beating the drum was once a cow. After he died as a cow, he was reborn. His cow flesh was eaten. His cowhide was used to make a drum. After he grew up he learned to play drums, but the hide of his drum came from his previous incarnation as a cow.
We also saw a woman holding a child, coddling him. Even though the child was young, he was bad. He kept squirming so his mother could not hold him. When she hugged him more tightly, he pulled on her hair and covered her face in scratches. The child used to be the father’s concubine. The wife and concubine were both jealous and attacked each other. When the concubine died, holding on to her hatred she said, “If I am reborn, I will definitely seek revenge.” She was reborn as the wife’s child. This mother was covered in wounds, all caused by this child. Aren’t there cases like this in the present day?
People forget what happened in their previous life. Actually, people often forget about things even in their current lifetime. We have forgotten what happened as we grew from being children to young adults to elders. Sometimes we cannot even recognize those closest to us. Later in this story, the heavenly being told this woman, “I will come visit you in a few days.” A few days later, the Heavenly Being took on the appearance of a man in rags and called to her.
The woman said, “Who are you? I don’t recognize you.”
“I was just talking to you a few days ago and arranged to meet you in a few days. Do you no longer recognize me?”
She said, “A few days ago, you were dressed properly, so brightly and beautifully. Today you are dressed shabbily. How could I recognize you?” We forget things even from a single lifetime. She could not recognize him after a few days; how could she recognize him in another lifetime?
Yesterday I also talked about consuming the flesh of sentient beings. Let us treat all living beings as our loved ones. Treat older men and women as your parents. Treat those around your own age as siblings. Treat the young as your children. But this is still not enough. We must see ourselves and all beings as one. If we can cherish all sentient beings as we cherish ourselves, that is great universal compassion. All living beings have been a part of our past lives. No matter which realm we were in, even in the Animal Realm, we have been each other’s parents and children. We must recognize that all sentient beings are karmically connected to us. We must learn Buddhism and practice accordingly. We must believe in the law of karma.
So, as the following verses state, “With each rebirth, our forms change according to our retribution, and we no longer recognize each other.”“When we harm others or consume their flesh we severely damage our loving-kindness.” We enter this world through birth and leave it through death. Whether we are entering the world or leaving it, our physical forms change. An elder dies and is reborn as an infant. In each rebirth, our form changes. We have a different physical appearance each time we are reborn. We may not necessarily be human; we may be born in the Animal Realm.
Some people raise cats or dogs. These cats and dogs have special affinities. A cat or dog may have special affinities with certain people and attach itself to them. This person will also love and adore them. Then there are people whom the animals despise. They may bite these people without any provocation. These people just irritate the animals. They must have created negative affinities with each other in another lifetime. So we should love all beings in the Six Realms with an impartial mind. Otherwise, when we are reborn and our forms change according to our karmic retributions, we will not recognize each other and will “harm one another.” It is only a new body, but now we harm and kill one another. Isn’t this completely in distorted?
This also happens among people. We do not even bother speaking to those with whom we have no affinities. Some slander each other; some even fight, kill or harm each other. Someone may be a decent person, but may simply despise a particular individual. If they do not have a good affinity, they will be unable to care for that person or be joyous around him. There are many such examples, whether between colleagues or fellow practitioners. After rebirth, many are born as animals. Some people insist on eating meat. There are many living beings in this world that eat others. We often see and hear examples of the strong eating the weak.
Some people eat in ways that are very cruel. They may skin a fish and fry it while it is still alive. We heard about this happening recently. The people crowd around a table and consume the fish as the fish’s mouth still opens and closes. The people who gather together to eat it will share karmic retributions in the future. When we do something together, or share a piece of meat, we will share collective karma.
In the Earth Treasury Sutra, the mother of the Brahmin girl not only disrespected the Three Treasures, she ate meat. But she did not eat fish split among many people, she ate many small fish in one bite. So, she fell into Hell, and suffered unspeakable pain. Earth Treasury Bodhisattva, who was still a Brahmin girl at the time, tried many times to rescue her mother from Hell.
Think about it. Due to her craving for food, this woman fell into Hell. So in the end, we should treat all living beings as our parents. They have all bestowed kindness on us. We are indebted to our current parents, as well as to our parents from past lives. In the Sutra of Profound Gratitude toward Parents, the Buddha led His Sangha to a graveyard. In India, the deceased were not buried. The dying were carried to the graveyard to be later consumed by birds after death until nothing was left but bones. So the graveyard was filled with heaps of bones. When the Buddha saw one heap of bones, He bowed to it with respect. When his disciples saw this, they were puzzled. As the Buddha was supremely respected, why would He bow to a pile of bones? Ananda asked on behalf of the Bhiksus, “Buddha, as the most respected being and the teacher of heaven and earth, why do you bow to this heap of bones?”
The Buddha answered, “These bones belong to my parents in past lives. It is not only these bones. All of us take turns being each others’ parents and children. So all people are my parents in the past or in future. If eve the Buddha said this, how much more true is it for us?
Truly, how many parents did we have in past lives? Their bones would pile up like a mountain. Then there are our future parents. Perhaps those sitting around you will become your future parents or teachers. So, I should also be very respectful to you. You should treat others as you would your parents, and repay their kindness. Or treat others as your siblings and show them that brotherhood, that deep friendship and camaraderie. We should always have kindness and love for others. Regardless of who they are now, that is simply a changing external form.
After the confusion of rebirth we no longer recognize each other. Being ordinary people, we forget how we were all related in past lives. Then we harm one another. Maybe in past lives we were beloved relatives but due to negative karmic connections we now fight over inheritance. Moreover, we now harm each other or eat each other’s flesh and bones. Where is the sense in this? How did we lose our humanity? This is heartbreaking. This world truly does not practice compassion, especially with the consumption of meat.
What differentiates us from other living beings is that we cherish all lives. Because we know to cherish lives, we can be fully human. So the Buddha said that when human characteristics develop, one possesses character of Buddha.
The verses continue, “Buddha said, before eating others, consider whether you are starved enough to eat your own child.”
It is not that difficult to be a vegetarian. You just need to change your mentality and develop more kindness. Even if we cannot bear to eat other beings, there are still many things we can eat. There are many vegetarians today and abundant vegetarian food. But there are still major and minor calamities. The Three Minor Calamities include famine. Famine occurs when the land is unable to produce vegetation due to severe drought. During such a time, there would be nothing to eat, not even vegetables, not even grass. What is left to eat then? “Imagine eating your own child.” There are also stories about this.
Everyone, we must start to nurture our loving hearts. If everyone has love in their hearts, their collective karma will be positive. With mutual love, there is no evil. With no evil thoughts, there would be no imbalances or disasters in the climate, so the land would not suffer from, drought and famine. Thus, we must nurture positive karma with love. We should create blessings, which will bring regular climates and good harvests. So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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