Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Sentient Beings in a Turbid World will Awaken (身處濁世當覺醒)
Date: December.08. 2014
“In this evil world of Five Turbidities, the turbidity of sentient beings and the turbidity of views are strong. It is difficult hear the Dharma and have faith because of severe obstructions. People are immersed and drowning in greed.”
This tells us that, in this evil world of Five Turbidities, the turbidity of sentient beings and the turbidity of views are very strong. Therefore, listening to the Dharma is difficult and there are severe obstructions to having faith. So, people “are immersed and drowning in greed.” The turbidity of sentient beings and the turbidity of views [exist] because there are so many people in this world. Because there are so many people, they openly fight or secretly plot against each other. Fame, wealth and dominance are the things these people are constantly striving for. Does securing any of these victories actually bring us anything that makes our lives better than those of others? As we live out our lives in this world, isn’t there more than just losing ourselves in the enjoyment of pleasure? We come to this world empty-handed and leave it empty-handed. Yet we seem to not understand this. After a life of painful struggle, or one of deluding ourselves with empty pleasure, or any of these kinds of lives, what else do we have? There is nothing. Yet sentient beings are still constantly competing with each other, creating endless man-made calamities. All this begins with their perspectives.
However, the Buddha-Dharma can cleanse sentient beings’ minds of defilements. But people find it hard to have faith in the Dharma because of these turbidities. The turbidity of sentient beings, the turbidity of views, the turbidity of afflictions and so on, are the layers of obstructions that prevent people from listening attentively to the Dharma. It is already rare to hear the Dharma, but even if people can hear the Dharma, they may not have deep faith in it. Without deep faith, though they hear the teachings, changing their habitual tendencies and turbid perspectives will still be difficult. So “it is difficult to hear the Dharma and have faith because of severe obstructions.”
Because people are drowning in greed, they constantly fall [into the evils realms]. This is very frightening. If the mind gives rise to just one greedy thought, 80,000 obstructions will appear. The Buddha-Dharma teaches us to understand suffering through the Four Noble Truths and simultaneously guides us to realize the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. This allows us to understand how the arising of one ignorant thought results in rebirth and a person forming inside the mother’s womb. All of this is explained by the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. After we are born, in the way we live, the way we grow up and the way we interact with others, karmic causes and effects are constantly cycling through these twelve [stages].
With such causes and such conditions come such karmic retributions. This is how we come to and leave our lives. After learning how we come to and leave our lives, what should we do? We should practice the Six Paramitas, also known as the Six Perfections. This is the Bodhisattva-path that leads us back to our pure intrinsic nature. This is what the Buddha taught to us.
The previous passage begins with, “All of you, Sariputra.” Sakyamuni Buddha addressed Sariputra with this reminder as a way to refocus everyone on the teachings. So He said, “All of you, Sariputra.” He wanted them all to be as wise as Sariputra, so even “Hearers and Bodhisattvas” should know that this wondrous Dharma “is the secret of all Buddhas.”
Though the Dharma the Buddha was speaking of included distinctive labels such as Hearers and Solitary Realizers, He was actually teaching the Bodhisattva Way.Hearers are also Bodhisattvas.After understanding principles, if they are inspired to make great aspirations, then these Hearers would be equal to Bodhisattvas.They could all accept this Dharma.They should all know that this is the wondrous Dharma, “the secret of all Buddhas”.The Bodhisattva-path had been concealed in the Buddha’s mind for more than 40 years.This was something they must know.They must mindfully listen to this Dharma.
The following sutra passage states, “In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, people are still attached to desires. Sentient beings such as this will never seek the path to Buddhahood.”
Everyone must know that, in this world, the first time the Buddha taught, He spoke of suffering, causation, cessation and the Path.Suffering is caused by the accumulation of sentient begins’ ignorance and afflictions.We are now in this evil world of the Five Turbidities.The Five Trubidities are caused by the accumulation of ignorance.
During the Lotus Dharma-assembly, the Buddha wanted to more thoroughly explain and help everyone to better understand where the source of suffering is.In our present world, people create such tremendous turbidities because they “are still attached to desires”.
Sentient beings are deluded by their desire to lose themselves in pleasures, make more money and constantly expand their businesses.If they have a big company, they want it bigger.Running a successful business in their own country is not enough for them.They are constantly planning how they can expand their business from one country to another, and create a chain of companies.This kind of desire knows no limits.But they can never know exactly when impermanence will strike.They only think about expanding their businesses bigger and bigger.
Think about a person’s mind.When we look at his actual brain, it is not very big.So, how can the mind encompass the universe?Yet we have the desire to claim everything in the world as our own.This makes us unenlightened beings.The Buddha’s ocean of enlightenment contains.His realization of the impermanence of this world and His thorough understanding of the law of the arising and ceasing of all things in the universe.
This is the enlightened nature of the Buddha.
His wisdom is extensive and boundless.However, the desires of unenlightened beings are also so extensive that they encompass the mountains and the oceans.We may even want our company to expand to every single country in the world.Think about this.Doesn’t everyone intrinsically have Buddha-nature?However great our Buddha-nature is, our ignorance is just as great.Thus, our ignorance and greed obscure our intrinsic Buddha-nature.This is why we sentient beings create so much turbidity.The Five Turbidities are all created by people.
“Sentient beings such as this” have greed and desires that are so tremendous there will never be an end to them.Once greed arises in our minds, we busily [try to satisfy it], causing significant pollution in the world.As businesses expand, so does manufacturing.
Factories pollute the air and damage the land.So, the Five Turbidities are created over and over.This is why we sentient beings “will never seek the path to Buddhahood”.
If someone is told, “You have such a successful business and have made more than enough money, don’t you want to calm your mind and focus on learning the Buddha’s teachings?” they may say, “No, I can’t. I have such a great opportunity right now. With an opportunity like this, I do not have the time to seek the path to Buddhahood.”This is really a pity, a waste of their life’s potential; they have blessings, but they lack wisdom, and cannot put an end to their desires.
Therefore.“In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, they are still attached to desires.”This is how sentient beings accumulate habitual tendencies, ignorance and delusion; they continue to add to their habitual tendencies.The pure minds we originally had thus become more and more deluded.
In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, they are still attached to desires: Sentient beiges accumulate habitual tendencies, leading to more ignorance and delusion.Strongly attached to pleasures, they gradually drown in the Five Turbidities, yet are still attached to their desires.
We often hear about “sandstorms”. Sand and dust are blown about in the air, making things very murky. People’s minds are strongly attached to desires and pleasures. The [results of] pursuing desires and pleasures are indeed terrifying. Every day when we watch the news, we find it incredible that people in this world can be this vicious. One woman was so obsessed with the lottery that she went into debt. To continue playing the lottery and to repay her debts, she bought life insurance policies for her mother and her mother-in-law. She then poisoned her mother-in-law and her mother. But she did not stop there, there was her husband as well.
When her husband got sick and had to go to the emergency room, she actually poisoned him. While the nurse was not looking, she injected a syringe with a poisonous mixture into the tube administering intravenous fluids. Fortunately, the nurse discovered this in time. The woman left immediately after injecting the poison, so the nurse did not see who did it. But when she saw the change of color in the fluid, she quickly pulled out the IV and rushed the patient to intensive care and rushed the patient to intensive care. After that incident, his hospital room was well-guarded. No one was allowed to take care of him. The woman’s first attempt was not successful after her husband was discharged, he felt unwell again and returned to the hospital. The woman made another attempt, and this time she was successful. One after another, her loved ones, from her own mother to her husband’s mother, died at her hands. She even poisoned her own husband.
According to the news, this woman was sentenced to life in prison, but many people were not satisfied with the verdict. Now she is sentence to death. Among all the death row inmates, she is only woman.
Think about how strongly attached she was to her desires and pleasure. It caused her to sink into a mess of wrongs. She was unable to stop herself. In our modern society, this is the kind of news we see every day.
So, people gradually drown in the Five Turbidities. Attached to their desires, they do not seek the path to Buddhahood. Even with the unsurpassed, wondrous Dharma, some people, after accepting the Buddha-Dharma, can still give rise to overbearing arrogance.
“Those who do not seek the path to Buddhahood, when it comes to the unsurpassed Dharma, give rise to a sense of overbearing arrogance. They claim to have attained what they did not attain. Therefore, these people never seek the path to Buddhahood”
As the Buddha was about to expound this sutra, the true One Vehicle Dharma, 5000 people left. He had opened the provisional, and was now about to reveal the true when 5000 people got up and left the assembly. Even people who had listened to the Dharma had overbearing arrogance, not to mention other people in society. No matter what they do, they say, “I take credit for what went well, but if something didn’t go well, it’s not my fault”. This comes from the kind of overbearing arrogance we sentient beings have. People who have heard the Dharma may act like this, not to mention people who have not heard it.
After listening to teachings, [some people] claim to have attained what they did not attain. In reality, they did not really understand, but they still think, “I understand everything”. With this attitude, they “will never seek the path to Buddhahood”. Therefore, they will never improve. This is something we worry a lot about. If this is how we live, it will be very troublesome.
So, “sentient beings in this turbid world are in a turbulent sea of desires”. Everyone is in this state, but we do not seek to be transformed or escape. This is where sentient beings of this era are confused.
“Sentient beings such as this will never seek the path to Buddhahood: sentient beings in this turbid world are in a turbulent sea of desires, but do not seek to be transformed or escape. Amidst the Five Turbidities, sentient beings are deluded by desires. They listen to the Dharma without faithfully accepting it. The Five Turbidities are the turbidity of life, the turbidity of sentient beings, the turbidity of afflictions, the turbidity of view and kalpa of turbidity.”
What are the Five Turbidities? Please listen and pay attention carefully. The Five Turbidities are desires. Since desires have deluded us, we continue to live in this turbulent world of sensory pleasures. We cannot be saved, because though we listened to the Dharma, we did not faithfully accept and practice it. Thus we created the Five Turbidities. The first of the Five Turbidities is the turbidity of life, second is the turbidity of sentient beings, third is the turbidity of afflictions, fourth is the turbidity of view and fifth is the kalpa of turbidity.
“First, the turbidity of life. Because sentient beings’ afflictions thrive and accumulate, they are mentally and physically exhausted. Thus, their lifespan is shortened.”
The turbidity of life arises because many afflictions thrive and accumulate. How many are there? As many as all the trees, grasses and so on in all the thriving forests on the planet. If we count each one of them, that is how many [afflictions] have “thrived and accumulated”. With so many afflictions accumulating, we continue to create karma. In this turbulent sea of desires, we never think about how much longer we have to live. This is the turbidity of life. Our lifespan is very brief. It ends when we cannot take our next breath. This is the turbidity of life. Second is the turbidity of sentient beings.
Second, the turbidity of sentient beings. Many prople in this world are draw to evil, so they are mentally and physically impure and cannot understand the meaning of the principles.
Each sentient beings in this world has his own habitual tendencies; evil comes from habitual tendencies. If we have negative habitual tendencies, we will mentally and physically impure and cannot understand the meaning of the principles because our minds remain afflicted. This is because we are sentient beings.Third is the turbidity of afflictions.
Third, the turbidity of afflictions. People in this world cling to cravings and desires so they continue to fight over things, get angry and deceive others.
We have cravings, desires and physical affection. We have afflictions of meeting those we hate, parting from those we love and so on. In addition, we fight over objects of desire, recognition, gain, status and so on. If we cannot get what we want, we get angry and deceive others. Thus we continue to create karma.
Fourth is the turbidity of view. The turbidity of view is the improper understanding and views of people in this world.
Fourth, the turbidity of view. People in the world do not have proper understanding and views and do not follow the Right Path. With diverse and confused views and sayings, they cannot come to an agreement.
If people in the world do not have proper understanding and views and do not follow the Right Path, there will be discrepancies in what they say. So, there are various interpretations by those who do not know which principles are correct. We end up saying different things,because our understanding are all different.Firth is the kalpa of turbidity.
Faith, the kalpa of turbidity. Born into a decaying world, famine, epidemics, wars and so on arise one after other. Countless living beings are killed and never live a day in peace.
Kalpa of turbidity means that, in this era, principles have become unimportant. In this world, we see famine and epidemics. In the world, we see famine and epidemics. In our interactions, we fight each other and create disasters. This cycle continues. In addition, the imbalance of the four elements, earth, water, fire and air causes many natural disasters. Because of the karma created by people afflictions continue to multiply. This is why we call this the evil world of Five Turbidities.
Therefore, in this modern time, we must immediately become more vigilant is cycle continues. Earth-shattering disasters frequently occur, so we must have world-awakening realizations, beginning right now. So, everyone please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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