Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The World’s Ten Arrows of Great Illness (世間十大病箭)
Date: July. 17, 2013
There is a saying, “People spread the Dharma, it cannot spread itself.” After hearing the Dharma, we need to keep passing the teachings to others. This is spreading the Buddha’s teachings. When the Buddha was in this world, He traveled and taught. Previously, we mentioned that after the summer retreat with the Sangha, the Buddha left City of the House of Kings to travel to Magadha. While the Buddha was on His way there, an elder named Bhadrapala had so much respect for the Buddha’s virtues that he recruited 500 elders to welcome Him. Seeing the Buddha’s long procession and how dignified it was, the elders felt great admiration. The Buddha’s every action captivated their hearts so a sense of reverence arose in them. They followed the Buddha’s procession, and when they arrived at the place He was staying, they reverently requested that the Buddha expound the Dharma for them. The Buddha knew that this group of 500 elders had tremendous influence in their country, so He explained the sufferings of life for them. Then the Buddha taught that the major problem in our lives is disharmony. In particular, in our daily living, the Ten Arrows of Great Illness exist all around us. There is always an arrow waiting for the chance to strike.
So, there are Ten Arrows of Great Illness. When they come together, the resultant suffering is great.
An “arrow” refers to something that can very quickly harm our bodies and minds.
Ten Arrows of Great Illness: The arrows of craving, of ignorance, of desire, of greed, of anger, of delusion, of arrogance, of views, of formation, of decay.
“Of these ten arrows,” the Buddha said, “the first is the arrow of craving.” The arrow of craving can harm our bodies in an instant, at any time. Our minds encounter external conditions, [and give rise to] all kinds of material desires for wealth, fame and profit, as well as sexual desires. There are also various kinds of cravings. Once cravings arise in our hearts, it is as if arrows have pierced our bodies. The arrow is a metaphor for craving, and also for ignorance. The second [arrow] is ignorance, third is desire, fourth is greed, fifth is anger, sixth is delusion, seventh is arrogance, eighth is views, and next are formation and decay. These are the ten kinds of arrows. These arrows are poisonous and bring illness. Once you are stuck by one of these arrows, your body and mind will become imbalanced. These are called the Arrows of Great Illness, and there are ten different kind.
These ten arrows surround us in our living.Whenever our thoughts begin to stir, these arrows quickly strike at us.So, of course, the Buddha analyzed them in detail.Everyone listened, and afterwards, everyone heightened their vigilance.These elders were wealthy, famous and powerful.They had absolutely no idea that while they indulged in worldly pleasures, they were surrounded by these ten arrows, which constantly stuck at them.They were not at all aware that they were constantly being harmed in their daily living.They were very forlorn.
Consider how the Buddha could have enjoyed many worldly pleasures in the palace as the prince.
Why was He willing to give up worldly pleasures and undergo so much suffering and difficulty?
He was determined to go through this period of ascetic practice as part of spiritual cultivation.
What exactly was His mindset?
With His wisdom-eyes, the Buddha saw that these 500 elders had come to an awakening.But they still had questions and doubts.The Buddha could see this, so He said, “I was the same.As I enjoyed pleasures, I understood that in life [these arrows] were constantly wearing down the body and mind in every moment, in every day and every situation.If we do not quickly awaken, perhaps our life will be over before we know it.We keep creating karma until we have wasted away our entire lives.So, we must quickly eliminate all our desires; we must quickly eliminate all this suffering.It is as if, in our daily living, we must quickly dodge these ten arrows that are constantly striking at us.In addition to dodging them, if we are struck, we must quickly remove them.”
“Therefore, we choose to become monastics out of pure faith.Only by being monastics can we truly focus on learning because when we remain with our [immediate] families, in this world, there are not only ten, but tens of thousands of arrows that are striking at us.So, only by transcending worldly family matters can we focus on seeking the path of enlightenment.”
“Then we will focus on attaining the fruits of Annutara-samyak-sambodhi, which is to focus on seeking Right Knowledge, Right View, Right Awakening, the fruits of unsurpassed, perfect and universal enlightenment.”
The Buddha talked to these elders about becoming monastics because He saw that they were already moved and could all give up their worldly undertakings.He also wanted to guide these people to aspire to free themselves of sufferings and eradicate their past thoughts of greed, anger, delusion, ignorance, etc., so that they could focus on becoming monastics.This was he Dharma the Buddha taught to Bhadrapala and the 500 elders.
Of course, there are many different methods in the Mahayana sutras and teachings.Yet, all are inseparable from life in this world.In pleasure, there are hidden dangers like arrows that can instantaneously harm us.This was what the Buddha told them.In the Lotus Dharma-assembly, Maitreya Bodhisattva recounted the path the Buddha had taken in this world, the different classes of people He encountered and how He taught according to their capabilities. So Maitreya Bodhisattva said,
“In these lands, I see Bodhisattvas as numerous as Ganges sands, with various causes and conditions, seeking the Buddha's Way”.
Maitreya Bodhisattva explained that everything the Buddha had done was solely to educate and transform sentient beings. So, this passage talkes about the lands that he saw. There were many places, not only the Saha World, but other worlds as well. How many worlds were there? 18,000. With the path the Buddha walked, His light reached far and wide “The light of the Buddha mentioned here is the Buddha's teachings, which reach all places.” When people encounter them, their spiritual ignorance can be illuminated.
The Buddha's wisdom can reach everyone's mind. So it is said, “In these lands, I see. These lands refer tangibly to the 18,000 worlds and intangibly to everyone who was present or everyone the Buddha had encountered. Because they were taught according to their capabilities the Dharma had already entered their hearts. Therefore, there are Bodhisattvas as numerous as the Ganges' sands. With Dharma in their hearts, they form aspirations. If we can encounter the Buddha- Dharma and truly take the Dharma into our hearts, we can awaken our enlightened nature. With this nature, we are enlightened beings. If we help the suffering after we awaken, then we are Bodhisattvas. How many [Bodhisattvas] are there? As numerous as the Ganges' sands, which are countless in number. The Buddha's teachings can be so universal that they reach Bodhisattvas under all conditions.
No matter their causes and conditions, they all seek the Buddha's Way. Consider various karmic conditions [as examples]. Throughout countless past kalpas, the Buddha seized opportunities to live among people. Countless kalpas is a very long time. By seizing these opportunities, He formed affinities with so many sentient beings. Thus as we learn the Buddha's teachings, we must emulate His great heart. If we can open up our hearts, we can gain realizations. So, the Buddha came to this world to help sentient beings realized and enter the Buddha's wisdom.
The Buddha opened up and revealed [His wisdom]. Realizing it is dependent on us. Therefore, [to teach is ] to open and reveal. The Buddha unlocks the door to the hearts of sentient beings. Realization depends on us sentient beings and whether we can open that door and let the light shine into our hearts. If our hearts are open, the light of the Buddha's wisdom can shine in to show us all thing in the world, including how time passes by as quickly as an arrow. All worldly cravings, desires and so on give rise to our ignorance, greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, doubt, etc. This all happens in our minds when we invite something from our external conditions to harm us.
Most people cannot understand this. Only the Buddha can open up and illuminate our hearts with His wisdom. He leads us to realize, “So this is the case!”. After we gain a realization, shouldn't we immerse our hearts in the Dharma? If we take the Dharma into our hearts and devote ourselves to the Buddha-Dharma, then our daily living is inseparable from the Dharma; this is called “entering”. When our hearts are immersed in the Dharma, then the teaching will always be in our lives. Using various karmic conditions, we can advance in our quest of the Buddha's Way. So, in our daily living, it is extremely important to be mindful of our external conditions and internal state of mind.
Next, “There are those who practice giving. Gifts of silver, gold and coral, of true pearls and of mani, of mother-of-pearl and carnelian, od diamonds and of gems, jeweled hand-drawn carts and palanguins are all offered up with joy.”
There are truly many things in this world. On top of cravings for the necessities of life, what else do people crave? Treasures such as gold, silver and crystal. People who walk on the Bodhisattva-path give these things away. Furthermore, they give very joyfully. This shows that these Bodhisattvas who give are practicing the Paramita of giving. Teaching the Bodhisattva-path requires the Six Paramitas or Perfections, six ways to transform sentient beings’ hearts.
The Six Paramitas, or the Six Perfections: Giving, Upholding Precepts, patience, Diligence, Samadhi, Prajna.
How can sentient beings be transformed? First, by giving. By giving we can reach the opposable shore. Paramita means to cross to the opposite shore. How can we truly enter the Path? In the Saha World full of sufferings and traps, arrows of illness are being shot as us all the time. It is easy to fill into a trap with any of our actions. We are oppressed by many sufferings. We need to recognize suffering and renounce it.From this treacherous shore of danger and suffering, we must quickly seek to reach the opposite shore. So, we should rely on these six methods as our tools to reach the opposite shore. From this shore of suffering from this place of impermanence and danger, we want to reach the opposite shore of ever-lasting safely.
So, we must have tools. What kind of tools ? We must have a boat to ferry us across. What [makes] that boat? Giving makes the first boat for safe crossing .The Dharma is like a boat .So, the method of giving is what we use to cross to the other shore. Giving is the Dharma. We must start by being determined to let go, and we must also give joyfully.So the Four Immeasurables of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity are the first step we must take on the Bodhisattva-path.
This means we must put into practice the Dharma we have accepted. So, the Buddha expounded the Lotus Sutra to teach the Bodhisattva-path so that we can develop kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.So, to have equanimity is to give. Thus, we must always accept the Buddha-Dharma and clearly understand “equanimity” .By giving willingly, we can create leave [suffering] behind. Only by giving up everything, [all afflictions, ] can we free ourselves from all kind of suffering.So in learning the Buddha’s Way, we must first recognize suffering and use different methods to let go and give.
So, we should always live according to, and be mindful of, the Dharma. Everyone, please do not lose sight of this when it comes to tangible or intangible actions. We must always be mindful
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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