Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Evil-ender, Demon-scarer and Almsman (破惡 怖魔 乞士)
Date: April. 29, 2013
Spiritual practice is the work of a great person. The world is filled with danger and evil, only by upholding precepts can we prevent wrongs. We uphold precepts so we can eliminate confusion. Samadhi can awaken wisdom; it enables us to destroy demons of the mind and be liberated.
All evil deeds in the world are created by the body. All interpersonal disputes in the world are created by speech. Therefore, the four [evils] of speech and three [evils] of the body make up the Seven Branches. We want to transform these into good deeds. This is achieved through precepts. Samadhi and wisdom, the Three Flawless Studies. Flawless means that there are no afflictions, that all discursive thoughts have been eliminated. Then everything we do is pure and benefits ourselves and others.
Thus, we must subdue the demons of the mind so we can end all kinds of evil, the evils of the threefold karma of body, speech and mind. After we have eliminated them, we will scare demons. We engage in spiritual practice to free ourselves from the Three Realms. If we transform our mindset and want to become monastics, naturally demons will be scared. When one becomes a monastic practitioner, one can transform and save others. So, what most worries the kind of demons in the Three Realms is that his followers may become liberated and freed from the entanglements of his [demon-] kin. The name demon-scarer came about because those on the demon-path are most worried about [those with] the right Dharma eradicating them.
In learning Buddhism, we develop right mind, right actions and the right path, which will naturally destroy demonic powers. So, when we aspire to monastic practice, the king of demos becomes scared. He becomes awed and frightened that his demonic powers may be subdued. This worries the king of demons the most.
Demon-scarer also means evil-ender. [Bhiksus] will surpass the Three Realms, continuously transform others, and free themselves from entanglements of family. They reject evil, subdue those on the demon-path. When people aspire to monastic practice, the demons are awed and frightened. So [Bhiksus] are called demon-scarers.
Monastic practitioners on the path to realization will have three times when they scare demons. People say that once one aspires to spiritual practice, worries and afflictions will appear to obstruct one’s way. Indeed! This is the time to scare the demons away. The demon armies and demon generals will create many afflictions to hinder us. Thus, it is not easy thing to become a monastic. In the past, people always said, “To leave home and become a monk is the work of a great person, difficult even for great leaders.” One must be very brave and willing to let go. Mental afflictions will entangle us. We must have the courage to let go of wealth, lust, fame and profit. Aside from being able to let go of these; we also need to practice diligently and not crave sleep or enjoyment. Those who can do these things truly want to be monastics.
Some people say, “Just thinking about how early.”I must get up as “a monastic practitioner worries me”.“To be a monastic and to practice in a group means there is not much freedom, and that also makes me worried.”Look, it is not easy to be a monastic practitioner.Each person’s daily living and activities need to be on the same schedule as everyone else’s.Daily living is very structured.Being a monastic practitioner is truly not easy.After we have successfully become monastics, even is we practice only for self-enlightenment, that is the first time we scare the demons.
They will leave us alone so we can still our minds and engage in spiritual practice.But if we make another great aspiration to not just enlighten ourselves, but also to benefit others, at this time even the king of demons will become frightened.If we become monastics, we are just one person.
If we keep educating and transforming others, won’t more people surpass the Three Realms?
This is the second time we scare the demons.Then we scare them a third time.As we are about to reach enlightenment, the demons will try to sabotage us again.
But this time it will lead to the king of demons being subdued; so, the demons are scared three times.The first two times we merely scare the king of demons by surpassing the Three Realms and Six Destinies.The third time, we display the strength of our precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, and manifest the power of our perfect enlightenment.
From becoming a monastic to achieving attainment, one scares the demons three times:
Fist by becoming a monastic, second by making great aspirations, and third by attaining perfect enlightenment.
The first two times the demons are merely scared.The last is like waging war; when they are conquered by a Buddha, all become subdued.
We need to surpass the demon armies and subdue all demons so that they will no longer cause disturbances.This means the king of demons has been subdued.When we become monastic practitioners, we will often encounter many spiritual challenges.If we are steadfast, we are guarding the mind, staying firm, and establishing our Samadhi.With this mindset, naturally we will be steadfast, uphold the precepts, follow the principles, and thus inevitably understand this path.
If we uphold precepts, if we follow this path and put it into action, naturally we will understand the path.This is called being a demon-scarcer.
Bhiksus are also almsmen.Another term for the monastic practitioner is the “begging almsman”.What does a begging almsman do?To beg is to ask.Fist they beg for the Dharma to nourish their spiritual path.We beg the Buddha for the Dharma.To beg also means to ask, to request and to seek.We often say, seek the Buddha’s Way.We ceaselessly seek the teachings of the path.The Dharma can nourish our spiritual path; the Dharma is our spiritual provisions.This is just like when, in daily living, we wish to walk a far distance.We must exert physical energy.
Afterwards, we need to eat.This replenishes our physical strength so we will have the energy to keep going forward and to do other things.
Similarly, spiritual cultivation is like walking a path.The person walking the path must have food.In this case, the nourishment is the Dharma.We need to continuously beg for and seek Dharma to be the spiritual fuel which helps our wisdom-life grow and allows us to keep going on this path.
This is to “beg for Dharma to nourish our spiritual path”.So, the Dharma can nourish our wisdom-life.
Next,“they beg for food.” To beg for food to nourish the body. During the time of the Buddha, He set up a system for monastic practice. Once they became monastic practitioners, they had to provide for their own living and go out to beg for food. Before, I have often analyzed for everyone how the Buddha hoped the four castes could be equal and could all live this type of life to discipline their minds. So, they begged for food. This was why they were called begging almsmen. [In Chinese,] the suffix-man is a term of honor, such as [swordsman, congressman, chairman] gentleman, etc. All these titles show respect, especially for those with learning.
So, a great saint is [a similar term of respect for] an enlightened man. A lay practitioners can also be a great saint, which also means Bodhisattva, generally known as a great being. Now, we often speak of lay priests. Although they resemble lay practitioners, they have the heart of monastics. They are called lay priests. Therefore, their transcendent and pure image deserves people’s respect. Those who deserve the respect of people are given a title reflects how they are respects.
They follow the teachings, uphold the path and discipline themselves with principles. They abide by the Buddha’s teachings, and put them into practice. We must apply these principle to ourselves. We cannot be overcome by laziness. We need to surpass our laziness and our discursive thoughts and delusions. [We must] be like the begging almsman, the enlightened great saint and the lay priest. We must take the principles to heart and allow our minds to overcome discursive thoughts and the king of demons who disturbs us.
A begging almsman begs for the Dharma to nourish his spiritual path and begs for food to nourish his body. This person is a great saint, a pure practitioner, and manifests a transcendent and pure image. He is a person others tribute to. The almsman follows the path as it was taught, and used principles to discipline himself so he can inwardly adjust his mind and outwardly transform conditions for others. He follows the teachings to become a monastic, remains pure and upholds precepts, and maintains the purity of the Threefold Karma. He does not live a life of greed or delusions. He only begs for food to nourish himself. With a healthy body, he has the will practice. Monastics uphold the precepts.
Also, why does the almsman go out to beg for alms? In the Buddha’s time, it allowed him to “adjust the mind inwardly and transform conditions for others outwardly.” Inwardly, this helped to tame their minds. In the Buddha’s time, monastic practitioners came from different castes. In India, the four castes were clearly segregated. Uphold entering the door of Buddhism, the four no longer existed and everyone became equal. How were so many people made equal? In order to live, everyone had to beg for alms. When the Buddha first established the Sangha, He wanted everyone to understand the demeanor and behavior of a monastic. When they went out, every day was about transforming others; they taught example and spoke the Dharma. So, internally, they tamed their minds while externally, they promoted the teachings. This also demonstrated the rules of the Sangha and verified to lay practitioners that this was the Sangha led by the crown prince of Kapilavastu. Those in the Sangha practiced to the Buddha’s teachings. If lay people made offerings to a monastic, they could obtain blessings from him. So, another name for monastic practitioners is blessed-field monastics. They inspired people to be joyful and respectful and inspired them to have a giving heart. To be called a blessed- field monastic was the mission of a begging almsman. Inwardly, he adjusted his mind. outwardly, he transformed many others and helps them from blessed karmic affinities with the Buddha and the Dharma.This was how an almsman lived a monastic life according to the teachings.
Our bodies and minds must be very pure, and we need to practice by upholding the precepts. Samadhi arises from upholding the precepts, and wisdom arise from Samadhi. When we uphold the precepts with purity, naturally the Three Karma will be purified. We will “not live a life of greed and delusion.” Since Buddha’s time over 2000 years ago, when they asked for alms for their one daily meal, monastic life has continued to change. Now there are monasteries where disciples bring offerings instead. So, are we monastics content to have just enough for our everyday living? Do greedy thoughts arise now that we do not to go out to ask for alms or to transform others? Disciples will bring offerings to monasteries, but so we offer the Dharma to them? Or, do we only gain the disciples’ liking so they continuously provide us with material wealth? Is it like this? If so, then that is a life of greed and delusion. This is not our Right Livelihood.In the Eight Noble Paths, one is Right Livelihood. To live our life, we cannot astray. We rely on right Dharma to practice.
Everyone, to learn Buddhism. So when we beg for food for nourishment, the body is sound and the will to practice remains. In the Buddha’s time, they only begged for one meal a day for just enough nutrients for the body. It was that simple. With such simplicity, naturally, the body will be sound and healthy, and the path will forever exist in the heart. We should be able to walk smoothly on this path.
I often ask, “Has the Dharma entered our hearts?” When the Dharma enters our hearts, we can walk on the path and work among the people. Thus, becoming a monastic involves upholding precepts, practicing and benefiting almsgivers. An almsgiver is someone who gives. If we do not uphold precepts and lay practitioners bring offerings to us, then we are wasting their food. So, we must uphold precepts to truly benefit humankind.
To receive others’ respect, we need to also bless and benefit them. So, the begging almsman’s other name is “one who eliminates want. Some sentient beings have few blessings. If in previous lives, no Dharma nourished them, and they did not cultivate blessing and wisdom, then in this life they will have many wants. They may live in poverty and not be able to understand the principles of the Dharma. So, a monastic practitioner goes out to eliminate [the wants of] sentient beings who did not receive Dharma nor cultivate blessings, who had neither blessings nor wisdom from past lives.
Since only the almsman can guide them, he is called “one who eliminates want.” Fellow Bodhisattvas, please be mindful when learning the Buddha’s Way. The three Flawless studies, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom form the source of our wisdom-life.
Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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