Author: Scott Ogata

Episode 708 – Observe the situation and teach accordingly, encourage good deeds and guide people to correct mistakes

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>> The king of all noble beings has severed delusions and realized the principles. He teaches and transforms us through the Dharma, encourages goodness and guides us to propriety. He teaches tirelessly to transform evil into goodness. All Buddhas only teach the Bodhisattva Way.

>> I tell you Sariputra, regarding those who slander this sutra, if I were to speak of all their transgressions, I could not finish after an entire kalpa. It is because of these causes and conditions that I tell you, Sariputra, do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom.   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> I tell you Sariputra, regarding those who slander this sutra, if I were to speak of all their transgressions, I could not finish after an entire kalpa: The transgressions of slandering the teachings of the Great Vehicle would be difficult to exhaust even in a kalpa. This sutra cannot be taught carelessly for it can impart harm to foolish people.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> The Buddha taught the Dharma solely so that blessings may arise. Confused people who have no faith bring calamity down upon themselves. The One Vehicle of the True and Wondrous Dharma nourishes wisdom-life and nurtures and educates people. If it leads people to transgress, it is harmful to hear.

>> Now, the Buddha teaches tirelessly, so that those propagating the Dharma observe others’ capabilities and so that others will recognize suffering and stop slandering. This is thorough and great compassion.

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“The king of all noble beings has severed delusions and realized the principles.
He teaches and transforms us through the Dharma, encourages goodness and guides us to propriety.
He teaches tirelessly to transform evil into goodness.
All Buddhas only teach the Bodhisattva Way.”

The Buddha came to the world to open and reveal [the Dharma] in the hope that sentient beings will realize the true principles. He hopes everyone can make great vows, form great aspirations and practice the Bodhisattva-path.

He hopes that we can accept the Dharma and return to our pure and undefiled nature. Unfortunately, we are unenlightened beings, and our minds are filled with afflictions. It is because we have so many afflictions that we need to accept the teachings in order to brush aside our ignorance and manifest True Suchness.

This is why the Buddha manifested the appearances of engaging in spiritual practice and attaining Buddhahood to help us understand that his spiritual practice originated in his not understanding certain things about the world and thus searching out the true principles. He himself had to seek out the principles of true emptiness and wondrous existence and He awakened to the true principles of all things in the universe. With this Dharma, one who has become awakened is the king of all noble beings, that is, the Buddha, the Enlightened One.

From the beginning, the Buddha told us that the [potential] to be enlightened was not unique to Him. It is inherent in everyone. Therefore, He wanted to proclaim to everyone that, as long as we can eradicate our afflictions, we will have returned to our intrinsic nature, the nature of True Suchness. But because we are unenlightened beings, we could not understand right away. So, the Buddha taught with all kinds of methods to patiently teach us and encourage our goodness, to “transform evil into goodness.” He transformed the thoughts of ignorance and evil that lie in all of our hearts; once transformed, these become thoughts of goodness. Thus, all Buddhas who come to the world come to teach and transform sentient beings with the goal of helping them all attain Buddhahood. To attain Buddhahood, we must practice the Great Vehicle Dharma, which teaches us the Bodhisattva Way, how to practice the Bodhisattva-path.

So, the Buddha had to use many different methods. In Buddhist sutras, there is a story like this regarding a particular Bodhisattva. “Bodhisattva” refers to an awakened being. This awakened being understood the principles clearly and went among people to serve others. He looked like any other ordinary person, and like them, he made his living by working hard as a laborer. He specialized in moving very heavy objects. Though this manual labor was hard work, he happily took on this job to help others.

One day, after working hard, he stopped at noon to rest. As everyone ate lunch, there were many birds in the tree above them, but their cries were different than usual; they were very noisy. Hearing these sounds, everyone felt very unhappy; this laborer was the only one who was smiling. His fellow laborers thought, “How strange! We are so annoyed by the cries of these birds. How is it that when you listen to these birds, you can remain calm and dismiss it with a smile? What do you hear in the sounds of these birds?”

This laborer told them, “This flock of birds was talking about how, at a great distance from where they are, there was a crane. In the beak of that white crane is a pearl, a priceless treasure. These birds kept saying that they hoped to attain that pearl. They wanted to catch that bird, kill him and take his pearl. After taking his pearl, they could eat his flesh. This is what this flock was saying. They constantly talked about catching that bird and taking that pearl.” They then asked him, “So, why are you laughing?”

He told them, “I already understand the Dharma. The principles of the Buddha-Dharma encourage everyone to do good. Living in this evil and turbid world, we accumulate so much negative karma. This negative karma is inseparable from desire. If something does not belong to us and we try to take it forcefully, that is unjust. Killing is not benevolent. I am not interested in things like that.”

“In my past lives, I have already experienced so much suffering. It is precious that, in this lifetime,” “in this era of Dharma-semblance, I can listen to the Dharma and read the sutras. So, I must not lose my way again. In my past lives, I took what did not belong to me. Therefore, in this present lifetime. I should contribute my strength and constantly help others. I must uphold justness, loyalty and faith and continue to safeguard the goodness in my heart. This is the discipline that I mindfully uphold in my present lifetime.”

After he finished explaining this, everyone held him in great admiration. In life, if we live carelessly, we may easily give rise to discursive thoughts, fail to be benevolent toward others and act in ways that are not just. He had already understood these principles, which is why he was so willing to do these things with an ever-joyful mindset. Everyone was able to understand that these were the benefits of learning the Buddha’s Way.

In truth, the world is filled with suffering. The Buddha came here to teach the Dharma, and though the Buddha is no longer in the world, the Buddha-Dharma still remains. We have the causes and conditions to read the sutras and listen to the Dharma whenever we like. Though we have created and carried our [negative] karma along with us, we also brought positive causes and conditions which will enable us to change our fate. With the negative karma we created, we come to this world to face retributions. We experience all kinds of suffering, but after the bitter comes the sweet. This is like how, after we experience suffering, kind benefactors appear.

There was a young woman from Xiamen. Three months ago, she came here with her mother. The Tzu Chi volunteers in Xiamen brought her here to Taiwan, to our Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital. This young woman was born with a physical deformity. Our feet are like this; when we put them on the ground, we can walk forward. She was born with feet pointing the opposite way. For 26 years, the bottoms of her feet never touched the earth. She knelt and used the backs of her knees to move around.

Yet, this young woman has a sunny disposition and a healthy mental state. She looks very sweet. She had the good karmic condition to eventually meet [Tzu Chi volunteers] in Xiamen. They brought her to Taiwan. When our superintendent emeritus Dr. Chen Ing-ho received this case, he put his heart into it. He said, “I might be able to help. I will try very hard to find a way to turn her feet around.” So, she came back in March.

The surgery was so difficult that it had to be divided into five operations. By the middle of May, after the success of the fifth surgery, she was put into a cast. On June 3rd, they removed the cast. After it was removed, she stood up, and for the first time in 26 years, the bottom of her feet touched the ground. There is no way anyone else could describe her happiness. Not only was she happy, so was everyone else there.

This young woman had the positive karmic causes and conditions to encounter these benefactors. We also saw how, as they prepared for when she would stand up, the volunteers helped her find what to wear. This is because I had asked her, “What is your dream?” [She had replied,] “I hope that. I can stand up, and I hope I can wear a skirt.” For most women, isn’t wearing a skirt such a simple matter? But for her it was her dream. She hoped that she could stand up. She hoped she would be able to wear a skirt.

Finally she was able to stand up. The way she walked, she looked like a proper lady. There is really no way to describe it. It is so inconceivable. We call this “unexplainable,” because it is impossible to describe. The medicine practiced in the hospital we built is so incredible. The doctors and nurses do their best to change people’s lives. This indeed makes me very happy

 “I tell you Sariputra, regarding those who slander this sutra, if I were to speak of all their transgressions, I could not finish after an entire kalpa. It is because of these causes and conditions that I tell you, Sariputra, do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom.”

Here the sutra begins to explain that the suffering focused on in the previous passages is the result of slandering the sutras; the negative karma they create is very severe, so the Buddha called to Sariputra again, to remind him of what He had said before. These people fall into hell, fall into the hungry ghost realm, fall into the animal realm and return to the human realm to face suffering, like physical disabilities, impaired faculties,, illness and other kinds of unbearable suffering. This all happens because, in their past lives, they denied the law of karma and misled people to a place of deviance and biased views. Then people would live a life without principles; this is considered slandering the sutras, slandering the true path.

If we were to speak of their transgressions, indeed, we would never finish. Hence, “I could not finish in an entire kalpa. It is because of these causes and conditions.” Because they slandered the principles and denied the law of karma, with so many similar kinds of karmic conditions, they fell into the evil realms. “It is because of these causes and conditions.” Because they have these causes and conditions, they face retributions for slandering the Dharma. Because of these causes and conditions, the Buddha said, “[Thus I] tell you, Sariputra.” The Buddha said He would tell him, “Do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom.”

This is why, when we teach the Dharma to others, we must observe their capabilities. We must teach according to the person, the time, the place and so on. This is how a wise person teaches according to capabilities. See, even after the Buddha became enlightened and wanted to give teachings, He also had to pay attention to the timing. So, before everyone could accept [True Dharma], He had to establish the Three Vehicles. After patiently guiding them for more than 40 years, He began to teach the Great Dharma. He manifested many [wondrous] appearances to inspire everyone to seek [the Dharma]. Then when He finally began to teach, 5000 people left the assembly.

This teaching had to be given at the right time, to those with the right capabilities. The Buddha was very cautious. This was why He told us again and again that when we accept this sutra, we should do so with genuine sincerity. We must not slander it out of carelessness

I tell you Sariputra, regarding those who slander this sutra, if I were to speak of all their transgressions, I could not finish after an entire kalpa: The transgressions of slandering the teachings of the Great Vehicle would be difficult to exhaust even in a kalpa. This sutra cannot be taught carelessly for it can impart harm to foolish people.

Slandering the Great Vehicle teachings results in negative karma that would be difficult to exhaust even in a kalpa. If we want to describe such transgressions, it would take a very long time indeed. They will face retributions for their transgressions for a very long time as well. Thus it is said, “I could not finish after an entire kalpa.” We cannot speak of this [sutra] lightly; we cannot teach it in a casual manner. Not only would that not help the people who could not understand, but it would instead cause harm to them. “It can impart harm to foolish people.” Foolish people cannot accept this teaching, so they will actually become afflicted instead. So, “It is good that they left”

and [did not listen]. “The Buddha taught the Dharma solely so that blessings may arise,” only for the sake of sentient beings, to create blessings for the world The Buddha taught the Dharma solely so that blessings may arise. Confused people who have no faith bring calamity down upon themselves. The One Vehicle of the True and Wondrous Dharma nourishes wisdom-life and nurtures and educates people. If it leads people to transgress, it is harmful to hear.

These are the most important principles that the Buddha taught. He hoped everyone would return to their intrinsic nature, awaken their wisdom and give to all people. However, “Confused people have no faith.” They are unwilling to believe, and they also slander the Dharma. Thus, “They bring calamity down upon themselves.”

“The One Vehicle of the True and Wondrous Dharma nourishes wisdom-life.” The Buddha used this Dharma to nourish wisdom-life. Besides nourishing wisdom-life, [the Dharma] nurtures virtue and educates people, helping them develop their wisdom-life. For the sake of teaching people, we must determine if these people have the capabilities to accept these teachings. If they are able to accept them, then we should teach them promptly. But if they are still unable to accept them, we must use other methods to guide them patiently so that they will not give rise to discursive thoughts and bring calamity down upon themselves. If we cause them to commit slander, that is harmful to them and brings no benefits. This is what the Buddha warned us of. “It is because of these causes and conditions that I tell you, Sariputra, do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom”

Now, the Buddha teaches tirelessly, so that those propagating the Dharma observe others’ capabilities and so that others will recognize suffering and stop slandering. This is thorough and great compassion.

So, the Buddha patiently guided us and taught us ceaselessly; He unceasingly opened and revealed teachings in the hope that we would propagate the Dharma by observing others’ capabilities. We must have this flexibility and wisdom “so that people will recognize suffering and stop slandering.” If someone is slandering the sutras, we must come up with all kinds of methods to help put an end to the thinking that leads them to commit slander. We must find a way.

For example, yesterday someone said, “Master, I need your help. I have talked to this person about Tzu Chi hoping that he would join us, and he enjoys listening to what I tell him. But when I went to America for a while, after I came back he told me, ‘I have heard people’ ‘saying [negative] things about Tzu Chi’.” This volunteer told me, “I have tried to transform him for over ten years. He is always happy to hear about our work and is very affirming. But after some time passes, he tells me people have told him these things. In this case, what should I do?”

Yesterday I told him, “This depends on causes and conditions.” When the time is right, naturally he will [join]. Before that time has come, people will still [dissuade him]. People who slander the Dharma and true principles are obstructing his path of goodness and are cutting off his seeds of goodness. There are still people who do this. If he has the karma to be cut off like this, then he will be unable to move forward.

In the same way, “[The Buddha leads] others to recognize suffering and stop slandering. This is thorough and great compassion.” This can truly help people develop empathy. With universal compassion, they will understand how everything and everyone in the world are interconnected. When we feel others’ suffering as our own, we will form aspirations and make vows; how can we purify people’s minds and eradicate their suffering? Only by stopping evil and praising goodness can this evil be stopped so people will avoid creating more karma that will cause them to fall into the hell, hungry ghost, the animal realm and so on.

We must make an effort to [spread] the Dharma, but we must teach it according to capabilities. We do not give up on people; we must wait for the right time . The Buddha’s teachings never stray from encouraging goodness, guiding people to propriety. We must do the same. We should also encourage goodness, guide people to propriety and teach tirelessly to transform evil into goodness. This is what all Buddhas come to the world to teach. This is why we should always be mindful.

Episode 707 – The Body Is Impure; Karmic Seeds are the Cause

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>> Contemplate the body as impure and suffering. The karmic seeds of afflictions are the cause. Our parents’ unclean actions are the conditions. These all come together resulting in our physical body. The human body has nine orifices that constantly excrete impurities. Those who have these thoughts are wise and respond by distancing themselves from dust and defilement.

>> Or if they are reborn human, they are deaf, blind or mute, impoverished, with signs of deterioration. They think of themselves as majestic though they are bloated or dried out, have ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses. These and other diseases are worn like their garments.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Next, it says, Their bodies constantly stink, are filthy and impure. Their deep attachment to their view of self escalates their anger and their rage, and they are ablaze with lust, indistinguishable from birds and beasts. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Their bodies stink: Being impure and filthy is a negative appearance. The lotus flower is a metaphor for the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. Its fragrance is sweet and clean, and it is pure in appearance. The one who does not believe and even slanders it obtains the retributions of a foul-smelling body.

>> Their deep attachment to their view of self escalates their anger and their rage. Their evil actions come from the raging of the Three Poisons. Deep attachment to view of self: The poison of deviant understanding and biased views. It escalates their anger and their rage: This means that in unreasonable situations or when things do not go their way, anger arises in their minds.

>> Those who slander the sutras: In the past they never had the cause for seeing the Buddha or hearing the Dharma. They do not know enough to repent and change and are attached to their view of self. Their retribution is their inferior appearance. Others detest them, but since they have no sense of remorse, this only increases their anger and rage.

>> Indistinguishable from birds and beasts: They display the poisons of greed and anger. Of all the bad karma of sentient beings, there is none that does not arise from these three poisons. Their karmic retribution escalates into serious transgressions and deep hindrances, and there is nothing worse than this. >> It says at the end of a kalpa they are reborn, continuing on for countless kalpas without end. These karmic retributions are all due to slandering this sutra.

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“Contemplate the body as impure and suffering. The karmic seeds of afflictions are the cause.
Our parents’ unclean actions are the conditions. These all come together resulting in our physical body.
The human body has nine orifices that constantly excrete impurities.
Those who have these thoughts are wise and respond by distancing themselves from dust and defilement.”

How do we come into this world? We should earnestly contemplate this.

“Contemplate the body as impure.” With everything in our daily living starting from our first sensations, we must consider our body. It is summertime now, so the weather may be quite hot. If we are out under the sun and start to do a little work, the moment we move, sweat immediately starts trickling down our back. Working outside, we also become covered in dirt, causing us to feel filthy. After a day like this, we want to take a bath or a shower to clean ourselves off. But how long can our body stay clean? Very quickly, we start sweating again. Nowadays, people use air conditioning so they can feel clean and cool. Walking out from an air-conditioned home is like walking into an oven from a refrigerator. This kind of feeling is very uncomfortable.

Thus we must mindfully contemplate the Fourfold Mindfulness. “Contemplate the body as impure. Contemplate all feelings as suffering.” Of course, we must also. “Contemplate the mind as impermanent,” and. “Contemplate all things as being without self.” If we can thoroughly understand these principles, we will have no more afflictions. But if we do not thoroughly understand them, we will be afflicted. With these afflictions, we begin to cling to our sense of “self. I love this. I want it done this way. I want to have this”; the list goes on and on! So, we start to create karma. Our afflictions multiply and give rise to karma, so we create even more karma. Of course, this karma is the karma of afflictions. Out of afflictions, ignorance and dust-like delusions, we create karma; these things are the causes. With these, we have the causes and the conditions for remaining sentient beings, and as we create all kinds of karma, we will suffer karmic retributions.

When we come to face our karmic retributions, how do we enter this world? Through our parents. How did our parents come to give us this body? “Our parents’ unclean actions are the conditions.” Their coming together is an unclean action which created the condition [for us to be here]. We have affinities with them, and thus [these causes and conditions] “come together resulting in our physical body.” This is the beginning of our lives.

Now, “The human body has nine orifices.” Count them. The eyes, two, the ears, two, the nose, two and the mouth, one. All together, aren’t there seven orifices on a face? Then there are two more for urine and feces. This is what we humans are like. Once people fall ill, you can see that, all over their body, their seven orifices are discharging impurities. This is our human body;

“[It] constantly excretes impurities.” This is our life. If this body is so unclean, why do we take issue with other people for its sake? [Instead,] we should make the best use of the body we have now to earnestly listen to the Buddha-Dharma. We should make an effort to comprehend our cyclic existence and how we come and go in this world. If we can understand this, “Those who have these thoughts are wise.” Once we understand how we come and go from life, naturally, the principles will become clear. We will naturally be able to “distance ourselves from dust and dirt.” Naturally, we will not say things like, “This person said such and such about me” or. “That person treated me this way” or. “Looking at this matter, I think things should go this way. Why won’t he go along with what I want?” Our minds become filled with afflictions and hateful thoughts.

The greatest liability in life comes from having this body. Our body originally came from such an unclean [action]. In this world, if we can clearly understand principles, then we will recognize the workings of karma. We will recognize that we have created these kinds of causes and formed these kinds of affinities with people. When people treat us [negatively], we think, “Ah, I can get through this easily; I do not need to take everything so seriously. Thank you for going easy on me; I’m grateful.” If we can respond this way, if we always have gratitude in our minds, is there any karma we cannot exhaust? Are there any [negative] affinities that will lead us to continue the cycle of animosity? There will be none. We can do this because we have come in contact with the Buddha-Dharma, understood the principles, eliminated our ignorance and retained wisdom. If we manifest wisdom in our daily living, we can “distance ourselves from dust and dirt.” We can distance ourselves from our afflictions.

We have seen what happened in Lesotho and when [volunteers] from South Africa went to Swaziland. They were holding trainings for volunteers to become certified. When they held this training, it was not like ours, where people can just drive to the training and then go into a room with electric fans or air conditioning. We have a roof, a floor and chairs to sit on. We have a dignified spiritual practice center [In Lesotho,] they did not have any of this. We could see how they held their training under the open sky, on the bare ground. That country is vast and sparsely populated, and the roads everywhere are hard to travel. However, they still wanted to conduct trainings, and the news spread from one person to another.

They also heard Meijuan (Jennifer Chen) share about the Tzu Chi spirit and the Jing Si Dharma-lineage. There in Lesotho, she inspired the locals, led them in chanting the Buddha’s name, led them to accept the Dharma and explained the law of karma to them.

They held two days of training. Over those two days, more than 300 people read Jing Si aphorisms and shared their realizations. They shared about how, in their villages, there are people who are ill, elderly and lonely, or who have disabilities. According to their malady, the local volunteers find a way to care for and serve them. Their faith is steadfast, and they are very dedicated. They are willing to do all this because they have already taken the Dharma to heart.

We also saw Tzu Chi volunteers from South Africa. When they went to Swaziland, they still woke at dawn to listen to my Dharma teaching. They would prostrate and wish me good morning and so on. They did everything properly. See, they have already taken the Dharma to heart. Though these Bodhisattvas are [far away], they are also my disciples and are very disciplined. The videos they sent back were very touching. Clearly, they have taken the Dharma to heart, so they have wisdom. Their wisdom has already been awakened, and they have eliminated their afflictions.

Take for example Tzu Bi (Beatrice Sibisi), a local volunteer who is over 70 years old. Her leg had been broken in two car accidents, so now she walks with a limp. But all the same, she believes that, “This body is very precious. With it, I can listen to the Buddha-Dharma and walk the Bodhisattva-path; I do not want to stop.” She lives out her wisdom-life in this world. She is not just living a physical life, but also making use of her wisdom-life. Thus, she can manifest wisdom and distance herself from dust and dirt. She is not hindered by the long distances. Truly, if she had not come here because of her vows, she would not have this kind of courage.

Thus, with these causes and conditions, though this world is full of suffering, in this place of such extreme suffering, these volunteers can still happily give to others. So, we can compare this to our own lives and surroundings. It is so easy for us to walk the Bodhisattva-path. The [volunteers in Africa] must overcome such great difficulties; they are true spiritual practitioners.

The previous passage states, “Or if they are reborn human, they are deaf, blind or mute, impoverished, with signs of deterioration. They think of themselves as majestic though they are bloated or dried out, have ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses. These and other diseases are worn like their garments.”

This kind of life is indeed filled with suffering. Signs of their severe physical illness include their whole body being putrid, or [problems with] their eyes, ears, voice, etc. Many appearances [of illness] have manifested on their body, like a garment they are wearing. These can be clearly seen by other people

Next, it says, “Their bodies constantly stink, are filthy and impure. Their deep attachment to their view of self escalates their anger and their rage, and they are ablaze with lust, indistinguishable from birds and beasts. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.”

Indeed, the body is filled with impurities. On top of that, if there is an imbalance of the four elements in our body, “The body constantly stinks.” This happens when our body is out of balance. When we are ill or… we may give off a bad odor. When there are a lot of people and no ventilation, we find the smell unpleasant. Moreover, sentient beings refers to more than just humans; there are many other physical forms. Animals take many forms. Pigs are found in a sty, cows in a pen, certain insects in cesspits. Animals live in all of these environments. Humans are just one kind of animal. Even though our bodies are “filthy and impure,” we are stil greedy [for its sake]. Thus, we are “deeply attached to our view of self.” Our body is so impure, yet just due to our perspective of [having a] “self” we give rise to so many afflictions.

Having this human body, most people experience lust. This kind of human desire, the attraction between men and women, etc., is unclean. People with no shame are “ablaze with lust” and are “indistinguishable from birds and beasts.” We all know the ways that birds and beasts live their lives. With the karma of transgressions, “For slandering this sutra, [we] face retributions such as these.”

Their bodies stink: Being impure and filthy is a negative appearance. The lotus flower is a metaphor for the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. Its fragrance is sweet and clean, and it is pure in appearance. The one who does not believe and even slanders it obtains the retributions of a foul-smelling body.

Why is that? “The lotus flower is a metaphor for the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. Its fragrance is sweet and clean, and it is pure in appearance.” This flower grows in the filthy mud, yet it remains clean. It rises from the mud, beautiful and undefiled. It lives in the mud, but is not tainted by it. Yet there are people who use disrespectful words to describe the shape of this lotus flower. By the same principle, we clearly know that the Buddha gave teachings in this evil world of Five Turbidities for the sole purpose of teaching us and helping every one of us emerge from these severe turbidities with a mind as pure as the lotus flower. But some people do not believe in this wondrous Dharma, so instead they slander it. By slandering the Dharma, they sever people’s root of goodness, causing turmoil in people’s minds and in society. This creates very severe karma.

So, the Buddha said to Sariputra, “Stop, stop, there is no need to speak further.” Three times He said, “Stop” because if this Dharma is expounded and people do not believe in it, it will actually lead them to create karma. For this reason, He said “Stop” three times. At the same time, He also analyzed for us why this sutra must be taught to those who are willing to believe in it. If they cannot believe in it, we must not share it with them. That is because if they do not believe in it and instead slander it, they will create very severe karma. This shows the compassion of the Buddha. However, He also could not fail to teach it. His one great cause for coming to the world was to enter the evil world of Five Turbidities and manifest the lotus lower. He hoped that though we are in the evil world of Five Turbidities, our minds can remain undefiled so we can go among sentient beings to transform them.

Their deep attachment to their view of self escalates their anger and their rage. Their evil actions come from the raging of the Three Poisons. Deep attachment to view of self: The poison of deviant understanding and biased views. It escalates their anger and their rage: This means that in unreasonable situations or when things do not go their way, anger arises in their minds.

Otherwise, “Their deep attachment to their view of self escalates their anger and their rage.” Their evil actions come from “the raging of the Three Poisons.” What kind of poisons are these? They come from a “deep attachment to view of self.” Our view of self leads to deviant understanding and biased views. If our understanding is deviant, if our views are biased, our minds will give rise to poisons that lead to slander. Naturally, this “escalates our anger and our rage.” When poisonous thoughts arise, we feel rage, lose our temper, etc.;

all these affliction arise.

Thus, we do things that go against what is proper. When wholesome principles are not to our liking, it is easy for us to feel a sense of rage. So, it will be easy to slander this sutra

Those who slander the sutras: In the past they never had the cause for seeing the Buddha or hearing the Dharma. They do not know enough to repent and change and are attached to their view of self. Their retribution is their inferior appearance. Others detest them, but since they have no sense of remorse, this only increases their anger and rage.

Why do they slander them? Actually, in the past they might not have seen the Buddha or heard the Dharma because they had not created the causes for that. They lacked the causes [to know] Right Dharma, so when they hear others slandering it, they join in spreading those slanderous words. If someone tells them, “You are wrong to do that,” they refuse to change their ways. Once they do something wrong, they persist because they refuse to admit they are wrong. People like this are “attached to their view of self.”

Those who are “attached to their view of self” will suffer from having an inferior appearance. As it says in the previous passage, “They are deaf, blind or mute.” Or, they “have ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses”; their physical appearance is inferior. Because of their lesser, inferior appearance, people detest them. Those who see them reject them. But they think to themselves, “You reject me and ignore me, but I do not need your attention.” They still feel very self-important and do not engage in even a bit of self-reflection to contemplate, “Why do others not like me when they see me?” These kinds of people have no sense of shame, but instead become more and more angry. Not only do they not reflect on themselves, they become resentful of other people.

So, “[They] escalate their rage and their anger, and they are ablaze with lust, indistinguishable from birds and beasts.” All of these things arise from poisonous thoughts of greed and anger. When our state of mind is filled with greed, anger and ignorance, poisonous thoughts will arise. Thus, “Of all the bad karma of sentient beings, there is none that does not arise from these Three Poisons.” Greed, anger and ignorance are the Three Poisons, and karma arises from them. Because we create karma, our karmic retributions escalate. As we replicate our afflictions, we replicate delusions and karma; we create more karma. Because of this, we commit serious transgressions and face deep hindrances. There is nothing worse than falling into the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms before returning to the human realm to face so many [negative] retributions.

Indistinguishable from birds and beasts: They display the poisons of greed and anger. Of all the bad karma of sentient beings, there is none that does not arise from these three poisons. Their karmic retribution escalates into serious transgressions and deep hindrances, and there is nothing worse than this.

This happens because we slandered this sutra, slandered all those principles. Thus we caused a lack of principles in this world, leading people to create turmoil. This is truly frightening. So, “For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.”

How long will this go on? The answer must be calculated in kalpas. At the end of a kalpa of suffering, they will continue to be reborn in the hell realm, in the hungry ghost realm, in the animal realm and in the human realm, always under the most unfavorable conditions. In this world, they undergo the worst suffering. In this world, they have the ugliest physical appearances and worst sufferings from illness. So much suffering will be concentrated in them. Then, when this life ends, they will be reborn to face the same. Having suffered so much in one lifetime, they are unable to then accept the Dharma, they do not repent, nor do they have the chance to engage in self-reflection. Thus, this kind of negative situation will continue to entangle them. They remain “in this continuous cycle for countless kalpas without end”

It says at the end of a kalpa they are reborn, continuing on for countless kalpas without end. These karmic retributions are all due to slandering this sutra.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must have compassion for sentient beings. Since we have these causes and conditions, this kind of opportunity, we must make an effort to accept the Dharma. We are able to listen to the Dharma every day. If we thoroughly understand it and make good use of this body to accept the Buddha’s teachings, accept the Great Vehicle Dharma and benefit ourselves and others, transform ourselves and others, then we resonate with this kind of wisdom. Thus, we can distance ourselves from dust and dirt. So, I hope we will always be mindful.

Episode 706 – Wearing Poverty and Illness as Garments

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>> Illness of the body: An imbalance of the four elements. An imbalance in the element of earth causes the body to become heavy. An imbalance in the element of water causes the body to become swollen. An imbalance in the element of fire causes the body to become over-heated. An imbalance in the element of air causes the body to become inflexible.

>> Illness of the mind: The suffering, afflictions, worry, sadness or sorrow held in the mind. This is the suffering of illness.

>> They often dwell in hell, and stroll about there as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home. Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions like these.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Or if they are reborn human, they are deaf, blind or mute, impoverished, with signs of deterioration. They think of themselves as majestic though they are bloated or dried out, or have ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses, These and other diseases are worn like their garments.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> The transgression of slandering the Dharma results in spending countless kalpas of suffering in the Three Evil Destinies. If they do manage to attain rebirth as humans, they still face harm and evil. They may be harsh, with garments of evil, an appearance of evil and acts of evil.

>> Deaf, blind and mute: Deafness is dysfunction of the ears. Blindness is dysfunction of the eyes. Muteness is being unable to hear properly and being incapable of speech.

>> Impoverished: They lack wealth, are hard-pressed and worn out. This is the suffering of poverty; so, it is said they are impoverished, with signs of deterioration.

>> The actions taken with their Six Sense Organs result in negative retribution. They do not know they have a wicked and ugly appearance which is due to unexhausted karmic retribution. Thus it says they think of themselves as majestic.

>> Carbuncles or boils: Poisonous ulcers that are large and light red are called carbuncles. Poisonous ulcers that are deep but not red are called boils. Now they are called cancer. These are all malicious diseases that are difficult to cure.

>> These and other diseases are worn like garments. These illnesses are very difficult to treat. Worn like garments means they are untreatable and cannot be removed from the body.

>> Those who practice goodness wear good karma for their garments. Those who practice evil wear negative karma for their garments.

>> When they emerge from the Three Evil Destinies and are born as humans, they are blind, deaf and so on. They think themselves to be majestic, not recognizing their ugliness, and wear their bloating and so on like garments, which will never be removed from their body.

>> Disabilities, illness, poverty and the external ugliness and filth are the manifestations of suffering of the body. They also have greed, anger and ignorance, which give rise to evil actions from the mind. These are severe transgressions and deep hindrances.

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There are two kinds of illnesses, illnesses of the body and illnesses of the mind.

Illnesses of the body come from an imbalance of the four elements. What are the [imbalances of] the four elements? First is imbalance in the element of earth. If it is out of balance, we feel as though our body has become heavy. Second is imbalance in the element of water. When it is out of balance, it causes the body to become swollen. Third, an imbalance in the element of fire causes the body to become over-heated. Fourth, an imbalance in the element of air causes the body to become inflexible.

When these four elements are out of balance, we get sick. There are many kinds of illnesses. The element of earth is everything that we can touch in our body, from our skin to our muscles, flesh and bones. These all fall under the “element of earth.” When this element [is out of balance], [we say,] “I feel pain throughout my body,” or, “My body feels so heavy.” Our skin, muscles, flesh, bones, etc., along with our internal organs, any part that we can see and touch belong to the “element of earth.” Any kind of illness [affecting these] will bring us tremendous suffering.

Two days ago, at our hospital, a homeless person came in from the street. He had a boil on his cheek that had putrefied over time, to the point that it affected his entire face. Nearly two-thirds of his face had putrefied.

He put off [seeking treatment] for this illness. This was because he was homeless and had no family or anyone to care for him, no house to live in, etc. He simply wandered through the streets. Though he saw a doctor occasionally, he was unable to get treatment, so his condition worsened until an ambulance brought him to our hospital. We admitted him for treatment and put him in one of the hospital rooms. You can imagine what it smelled like in that room. But our doctors, nurses and also our volunteers did not reject him. Instead, with love, they begged him to eat. They placed the food in front of him, a bowl of steaming hot stew. They tried to help feed him, but he refused to eat. They did everything they could, alternately being gentle and strict. They came close to him, sitting next to him; they were willing to comfort him, to soothe him and care for him. This is truly admirable.

I am deeply moved by them. But [his case] gave us a glimpse of what hell must be like. On his entire face, the only features we could see clearly was a part of his eyes. The remainder was a mess of blood and pus, completely exposed. This suffering must have been truly unbearable. This falls under the “element of earth,”

because it was affecting his flesh, his tangible body parts, his outer appearance. In a story from long ago, Master Wu-da developed a human-faced boil on his leg. This was also due to “an imbalance in the element of earth,” but when he washed it with Samadhi-water and repented, he was able to exhaust his karma. The practice of repentance is not about chanting sutras, but about deeply realizing all the karma we created in our past lives. We must also encounter benefactors to have the chance to repent. Only when we encounter benefactors can we exhaust our karma

[Next is] “an imbalance in the element of water.” Humans cannot live without water, but if there is an imbalance of water, we may drink but be unable to expel it. Then, our body becomes swollen. Some people’s bodies might be very swollen, yet their hands and feet are shriveled and skinny. We encounter many cases like this in the hospital as well. This happens with “an imbalance in the element of water.”

Next is “an imbalance in the element of fire,” which “causes the body to become over-heated.” We become hot and feverish; heat within spreads to the surface of our body. This happens with “an imbalance in the element of fire.”

We usually refer to this as inflammation. “An imbalance in the element of air causes the body to become inflexible.” When the element of air is out of balance, aside from affecting our breathing, our body keeps shuddering, shuddering very violently, and we find it hard to calm our body down.

These are the imbalances of the four elements of the body.

Illness of the mind: The suffering, afflictions, worry, sadness or sorrow held in the mind. This is the suffering of illness.

What about the mind? Illnesses of the mind come from our internal sufferings and afflictions. Our minds give rise to afflictions, ignorance and delusions, [which lead us to] create karma. These are all the sufferings and afflictions we hold in our minds. We fail to understand any kind of principles, so illnesses of the mind are quite prevalent in today’s society. When people do not know that what they are doing is wrong, they cause society and the people to feel scared and unsafe.

Lack of balance in the mind thus brings out worries, sadness, sorrow, etc. These are all mental ailments. Today, there are many recognized mental illnesses, bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, etc. So, the suffering of illness in our lives is indeed unbearable.

As unenlightened beings, who among us has no habitual tendencies? Who among us has no psychological issues? We have our own habitual tendencies, our own habits, afflictions, dust-like delusions, delusions of ignorance, etc. These are what makes us unenlightened beings; these are all illnesses of the body and mind.

It was for this reason that the Buddha came to help us better understand how we can eliminate illness and suffering of the body and mind. So, the Buddha came to the world to “open and reveal” [the Dharma], hoping that we sentient beings would “realize and enter” it. The Dharma is like wondrous medicine; we must accept it and take this wondrous medicine in order to be cured. If we do not accept the Dharma or take it to heart it is like looking at medicine without taking it. Even if we take medicine, we may not take the right medicine for our illness. Therefore, we must be mindful so that we know how to use this wondrous medicine to treat our own illness and the ailments of other sentient beings.

So, everything we have discussed recently is related to suffering. The previous passage states, “They often dwell in hell and stroll about as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home.”

Thus, they come and go in hell. They are also born in the animal realm. “Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel.” People who create karma of suffering often end up in these places. What is the karma that keeps them there? “For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.”

They often dwell in hell, and stroll about there as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home. Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions like these. 

People who slander this sutra slander the principles of the Great Vehicle and deny the law of karma. Their spiritual aspirations are not firm, or perhaps their views and understanding have deviated, so they intentionally damage the Buddha-Dharma. This severs people’s roots of goodness and cuts off their wisdom-life, thus naturally causing turmoil in society. Such karma is tremendous. For this reason, they will constantly go back and forth between the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms.

The following passage states, “Or if they are reborn human, they are deaf, blind or mute, impoverished, with signs of deterioration. They think of themselves as majestic though they are bloated or dried out, or have ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses, These and other diseases are worn like their garments.”

In this world, there are also many kinds of suffering people. Our Bodhisattva[-volunteers] encounter many of them. We see people whose ears cannot hear. As part of the natural course of life, as we age, our Six Sense Organs begin to decline. Our ears cannot hear sounds clearly, and some cannot hear at all. Some people lose their hearing due to illness, not old age. A sudden accident or imbalance of the four elements can disrupt their sense of hearing. With these obstructions, they cannot hear. Blindness refers to obstructed vision [These are] the eyes and ears. Then, there is muteness. Some lose their voice due to illness. Some are born this way, while others were in an accident, or fell ill;

an imbalance in the four elements caused an illness to manifest. They may also be “impoverished, with signs of deterioration.” Many people we come in contact with are living in such poverty. Their houses and their furniture all seem like a pile of trash. Everything appears to be deteriorating. This is what “signs of deterioration” refers to. Yet, they think themselves majestic. It is because they denied the law of karma and slandered the truth that they have this appearance. The things they did in their past lifetimes have resulted in so much karma that they have no choice but to experience this way of life in this world

The transgression of slandering the Dharma results in spending countless kalpas of suffering in the Three Evil Destinies. If they do manage to attain rebirth as humans, they still face harm and evil. They may be harsh, with garments of evil, an appearance of evil and acts of evil.

Now, how long will this last? The previous passage says they will go to the hell, animal and hungry ghost realms, then return to the human realm to face suffering. Thus, “They spend countless kalpas of suffering in the Three Evil Destinies.” As for the suffering people we see now, what did they do in their past life? We have no idea. However, in this life, we see that their way of living, their lifestyle, and so on, is filled with suffering and hardship. Though in the human realm, they live as if they are in hell.

“If they do manage to attain rebirth as humans,” they will face much harm and evil, that is, much suffering and hardship. So many evil and harsh situations all befall this one individual. In this way, they face an endless series of hardships. Thus [they wear] “garments of evil,” meaning that no matter how we look at them, they look as though they are suffering [They have] “an appearance of evil,” which is their physical appearance. Furthermore, some [engage in] “acts of evil.” There are many people like this in the world.

Deaf, blind and mute: Deafness is dysfunction of the ears. Blindness is dysfunction of the eyes. Muteness is being unable to hear properly and being incapable of speech.

Some may also be “deaf, blind or mute, impoverished, with signs of deterioration. Deafness” is a “dysfunction of the ear.” Their hearing is obstructed. “Blindness” is “dysfunction of the eye.” Their eyesight is obstructed. “Muteness” is being unable to hear properly, and, having lost the ability to hear, they are thus unable to speak. They are incapable of making a sound, or they cannot enunciate clearly. These are obstructions to their language ability.When they make a sound, people do not understand what they are saying. So, those who cannot make others understand them can be called mute.

“Impoverished” people lack material things. Their life is very difficult, very lacking. These people suffering from poverty are “impoverished, with signs of deterioration.” Impoverished, with signs of deterioration, expresses that, simply by looking at them others know that they have physical disabilities and that their lives are impoverished and that their sense organs are debilitated. We are constantly receiving such cases and providing help to them. Indeed, they are suffering!

Though they have the appearance of suffering and they have impaired sense organs, they think of themselves as majestic. Their body is suffering the effects of their negative karmic retributions, but they are unaware of their ugly appearance.

The actions taken with their Six Sense Organs result in negative retribution. They do not know they have a wicked and ugly appearance which is due to unexhausted karmic retribution. Thus it says they think of themselves as majestic.

There are many people who are unaware of their physical appearance; they are also unable to engage in self-reflection. There are many people like this. They do not realize that they need to repent and do not know how all this came about. They are just focused on complaining, complaining that people are looking down on them and that people are treating them unfairly. Even with a body like this, they do not know to repent, because they fail to recognize true principles.

There are also other kinds of appearances, “bloated or dried out,” with “ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses.” They are bloated because their body retains water. Of course, this will lead to illness. When we see them, their head, face, hands and feet are slim, nothing but skin and bones, yet, their stomach is distended. There are people whose entire body is bloated, even their hands, feet and face. There is bloating all over their body. This kind of illness causes physiological abnormalities. This is due to an imbalance in the four elements.

Ringworm is a kind of skin disease. Skin diseases are quite frightening. There is a kind of skin ailment called ringworm, which is an infectious disease like scabies. Then, there are also abscesses, which fall under “ringworm, carbuncles or boils.” They may be large and light red and so on. This is the appearance of a poisonous abscess. Today, we may call it cancer, but here it is called a “carbuncle” which is very difficult to treat.

Carbuncles or boils: Poisonous ulcers that are large and light red are called carbuncles. Poisonous ulcers that are deep but not red are called boils. Now they are called cancer. These are all malicious diseases that are difficult to cure.

Abscesses are on the inside and cannot be seen. Carbuncles are visibly swollen. Their whole body, inside and out, is totally out of balance. These changes lead them to develop physical abnormalities. These kinds of diseases are extremely difficult to treat; they are truly unbearable suffering

“These and other diseases are worn like garments.” These illnesses are very difficult to treat. “Worn like garments” means they are untreatable and cannot be removed from the body.

These and other diseases are worn like garments. These illnesses are very difficult to treat. Worn like garments means they are untreatable and cannot be removed from the body.

This is like wearing clothing. We can see the clothing people wear and their appearance. With this kind of illness, people can identify their illness in a single glance. So, it says they are “worn like garments.” And, “They will never be removed from the body.”

Those who practice goodness wear good karma for their garments. Those who practice evil wear negative karma for their garments.

“Those who practice goodness wear good karma for their garments.” If people practice goodness, others see them and feel very close to them. If people practice evil, “They wear negative karma as their garments,” and thus they may be impoverished, with signs of deterioration. They are not just poor in worldly goods; they do not have any wealth of Dharma as well. They do not know the principles, and they lack the basic demeanor of being a good person.

When they emerge from the Three Evil Destinies and are born as humans, they are blind, deaf and so on. They think themselves to be majestic, not recognizing their ugliness, and wear their bloating and so on like garments, which will never be removed from their body.

Thus, “They are impoverished, with signs of deterioration. When they emerge from the Three Evil Destinies, [they] are born as humans” People who suffer like this might have spent their past lives in the Three Evil Destinies before returning to the human realm to face painful retributions. In the human realm, if they do have not have the karmic conditions to encounter a benefactor, no one can save them. Not only is there no one to relieve their physical suffering, but no one will give them the chance to do good deeds. Therefore, they will certainly remain in the Three Evil Destinies.

“When they emerge from the Three Evil Destinies, [they] are born as humans.” They may be blind, deaf or mute but think themselves majestic. This is the life they lead. This is the appearance they have. So, “They do not recognize their ugliness.” Not only are they not self-aware, not only do they not recognize that they brought the karma that resulted in these retributions, they blame and resent others and constantly give rise to negative thoughts, jealousy, resentment, hatred, etc. In this way, they have no chance [to do good]. Thus, “They wear their bloating like garments.” Their body takes on this appearance. It “will never be removed from their bodies.”

Disabilities, illness, poverty and the external ugliness and filth are the manifestations of suffering of the body. They also have greed, anger and ignorance, which give rise to evil actions from the mind. These are severe transgressions and deep hindrances.

When “disability, illness, poverty, external ugliness and filth” are concentrated in one person, it is immediately visible in their appearance. Moreover, the Three Poisons, greed, anger and ignorance, give rise to “internal evil actions.” The transgressions they committed were severe and lead to deep hindrances.

With their minds filled with afflictions and delusions of ignorance, they have no chance to accept the principles and cleanse the defilements from their minds. Thus, they face much suffering. If we unceasingly create karma, layer after layer, never stopping, we have no choice but to face those retributions. So, now that we have been born human and have heard the Dharma, we must make the most of every moment. We must always be mindful.

Episode 705 – The Suffering from Slandering the Dharma

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>> In every world that exists, there is no one who does not age and die. Sentient beings follow the law of cyclic existence, and in every life they will eventually die. Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods. In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.

>> Such transgressors are constantly reborn in difficult places; mad and deaf, minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma. For countless kalpas, numerous as the Ganges’ sands, they are always born deaf and mute, and all their faculties are incomplete.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> They often dwell in hell and stroll about there as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home. Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> This is explaining their transmigration, the retribution of being reborn in the Three Evil Destinies of the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms.

>> Those who slander the Right Dharma, look down on the teachings, or disparage the Buddha, Dharma or Sangha are destroying seeds of goodness and wisdom-life and will long remain in the Three Evil Destinies without any respite.

>> So they often dwell [there]. They cycle in and out constantly, led there by their karmic forces, not by choice.

>> Even if they are born as humans, before long they will again return to the Three Evil Destinies, constantly cycling through remote, solitary hells. Unlike those in the eight cold and eight hot hells that are situated in fixed locations, these people transmigrate according to their individual karma. They constantly go in and out of various other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home.

>> The ancient sages said: Each retribution in the Three Evil Destinies lasts for thousands of kalpas. When will they again appear in the world? Thus they are portrayed as often born in and die in these places

>> Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are livestock used to provide man with labor and food. They constantly come and go between them, thus these are the forms in which they travel.

>> The ancients said: If you do not complete the path in this lifetime, you will return feathered or horned. If the disciples in the fourfold assembly slander the sutra teachings, they face these unexhausted retributions. They inevitably reap what they have sown and are led by their karmic forces into the animal realm.

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“In every world that exists, there is no one who does not age and die.
Sentient beings follow the law of cyclic existence, and in every life they will eventually die.
Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods.
In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.”

Ah, the karmic law of cause and effect! Indeed, we must be very careful.

As the Buddha has told us clearly, in this world, everything is subject to formation, existence, decay and disappearance. Everything goes through this endless cycle. All humans likewise go through birth, aging, illness and death. This is sentient beings’ law of cyclic existence. And our minds? Thoughts arise, abide, change and cease endlessly. We may give rise to a sense of joy and thus form aspirations and make vows. In that moment, our resolve is very firm, but as time passes, our thoughts “change” with our environment, and our mental state shifts. After this “change,” our mindset is different. In the end, after this process, those [initial] thoughts have completely “ceased.”

Sentient beings are always subject to this “law of cyclic existence.” With our present mindsets in the present era, we remain in this period of Dharma-degeneration, an era of declining human morality. So, “In every life, [we] will eventually die.” In the end, everyone will die.

When life comes to an end, we take nothing with us, but everything our minds led us to do, all the good and evil, will still exist. Those seeds remain, so, “Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions.” We created these karmic seeds, so we experience the suffering and joy. This is all stored in our karmic consciousness. The karmic consciousness [encompasses] past causes and conditions, current effects and retributions and future karmic forces, [the workings of karma] over the Three Periods. Our karmic consciousness stores [karma of] the Three Periods, the past, present and future. So, it is said, “In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.”

During the Buddha’s lifetime, He always reminded people to pay attention to cause and effect. At the time, Sariputra had followed the Buddha to the kingdom of Sravasti. One day, after he returned from begging for alms, from far away, he saw a dog by the roadside. The dog had been beaten with sticks and was barely alive. After he asked around, he learned that some merchants had passed by a few days ago after hunting for precious objects in the sea. On their way home, they rested at this place. The dog had wandered over and saw that after these people had eaten, there were leftovers out in the open. Since the merchants were asleep, the dog started eating their leftovers. One of the merchants woke up and saw the dog eating their food. He became furious, and they all yelled, “Beat him!” So, the group of merchants beat the dog

[Once he managed to escape] the dog ran until he did not have the strength to keep going. His bones were all broken, and he had been laying there injured for a few days already. He was injured and very hungry.

Sariputra heard the story and was just on his way back from begging for alms, so he gave the dog some of his food. As the dog ate, tears rolled down his face, and he kept wagging his tail. Sariputra then stayed there and talked to the dog. He explained transmigration in the Six Realms and how doing good and creating positive karma can lead to the blessing of being born human. Then if one is reverent, one can listen to the Dharma, engage in spiritual practice and transcend suffering. He explained the Dharma in this way. He even taught the Four Noble Truths to the dog. Human life is inherently filled with suffering, to say nothing of the life of animals, where the suffering is even more unbearable. As he slowly explained everything to the dog, the dog stopped crying. Looking very serene, the dog took his last breath. Sariputra buried the dog and then left.

Then some time passed. One day when Sariputra was walking in the streets, an elder saw him from far away. The elder asked Sariputra, “Venerable One, why are you out by yourself?” Sariputra replied, “Of course I’m by myself. Who would be my companion?” The elder then said, “You should have an attendant who serves you. My child can follow you into monastic life, but he is only one year old right now. He does not understand much about life. Even if he follows you in spiritual practice, he would be unable to serve you. Can you wait until he grows a bit older?” Sariputra said, “That is possible. That depends on our affinities. Maybe when I return to Sravasti again.” Thus they agreed to meet seven years later.

Seven years later, Sariputra was back in Sravasti. He went to the elder’s house, and the elder told him, “My child is now seven years old, and he is willing [to serve you]. So, I’m putting him in your hands.” This is how this child came to follow Sariputra and become a monastic. When the Buddha saw this child and learned that he wanted to follow Sariputra, He was very joyful. He gave him permission to shave his head and become a novice.

This novice was filled with earnestness and gratitude. Among the Sangha, he was very diligent. One day, while this child sat in meditation, this thought arose in his mind, “Oh, I am truly blessed! In my past life, what were my causes and conditions such that I could become Sariputra’s disciple, meet the Buddha and listen to Him teach? What causes and conditions did I create?”

As he sat in meditation, he came to understand. “I was a dog in my past life. I had the opportunity to receive a meal from Sariputra and listen to him explain suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. He said he hoped I could engage in spiritual practice in my next life. Indeed, now I am engaging in spiritual practice. As long as Sariputra is alive, I will always remain a novice and will not take the full bhiksu precepts.” This was because if he became a bhiksu, he would not be able to remain at Sariputra’s side and be his attendant. So, in this life, as long as Sariputra was alive, he was not going to become a bhiksu. He would remain a novice.

When Ananda heard this, [he wondered,]. “How did this novice and Sariputra come to have this kind of affinity?” He asked the Buddha about this. The Buddha then delved further in the past. He said to everyone, “Listen carefully. A long time ago, during Kasyapa Buddha’s lifetime, there was a young bhiksu who had a loud, clear voice and good memory. He was constantly chanting the sutras. But there was another bhiksu who was very old and had a raspy voice. His recitations were not pleasant to listen to.”

“One day, the young bhiksu heard this unpleasant sound, so he went over to the elderly bhiksu and said, ‘Old Master!’ ‘Your recitation is really unpleasant to hear’ ‘It sounds like a dog barking, very annoying. The elderly bhiksu looked at the young bhiksu, and said, ‘Young man,’ ‘I know your voice is very pleasant to hear,’ ‘but do you know who I am?’ ‘Who are you?’ ‘I am one who has attained Arhatship’ ‘I am a bhiksu following Kasyapa Buddha’ ‘I have already obtained the fourth fruit’.”

“After hearing this, the young bhiksu felt very remorseful [about his rude words] ‘This elderly bhiksu has attained Arhatship!’ ‘How could I have been so rude to him?’ ‘That was not right;’ ‘I must repent right away’! He repented immediately, and the elderly bhiksu was very forgiving and expounded the Dharma to this young bhiksu ‘You cannot just rely on your memory’ ‘and only recite sutras’ ‘You must truly take the Dharma to heart’ ‘You must treat every person as a Buddha’ ‘Then in the future, you will have the chance’ ‘to meet eminent monastics and’ ‘encounter the Buddha-Dharma’.”

“Such were the causes and conditions.” The Buddha said, “The dog was the young bhiksu. Because he had repented, he was able to meet Sariputra. In this life, all these things that Sariputra did for the dog enabled the dog to be reborn as a human. Thus in this life, Sariputra was able to transform him in time. These are their causes and conditions.”

See, this is how, “Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods. In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.” Therefore, we must be mindful. With everything we do in our daily living, the people we see and the things we encounter, we must keep the law of karma in mind.

If we lose our human form and fall into the Three Evil Destinies, we will have to face unbearable suffering.

The previous passage of sutra text we discussed states, “Such transgressors are constantly reborn in difficult places; mad and deaf, minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma. For countless kalpas, numerous as the Ganges’ sands, they are always born deaf and mute, and all their faculties are incomplete.”

We talked about this yesterday. So, we must always be mindful. Or else, once we lose our human form, it can take a very long time [to regain it]. Once we regain it, we might not have the causes and conditions to hear the Buddha-Dharma.

Thus we long remain in the evil realms; we stay there for a very long time. The next sutra passages states, “They often dwell in hell and stroll about there as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home. Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.”

As it states in the previous passage, when these people are reborn in the human realm, all their faculties will be incomplete. Moreover, they will often be in hell, repeatedly returning there. They may even end up in the other evil destinies. In those evil destinies, they are unable to engage in self-reflection and do not have the causes and conditions to listen to the Buddha-Dharma. So, they repeatedly return, as if strolling about in a garden; being in these evil destinies is like being at home. They forever remain within these confines. Why is this? “For slandering this sutra.” This is due to slandering this sutra and denying the law of karma. Because of this, “They face retributions such as these.”

This is explaining their transmigration, the retribution of being reborn in the Three Evil Destinies of the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms [The suffering] they face is indeed indescribable.

This is explaining their transmigration, the retribution of being reborn in the Three Evil Destinies of the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms.

If we in fact end up in hell, the suffering there will truly be unbearable. Sometimes in this world, we see people who face this kind of suffering living impoverished and degrading lives, in particular from facing starvation and manmade tragedies like violence, war and so on. It is hard enough to just stay alive. It is like living in hell, constantly being on edge. This kind of life is filled with suffering!

Why did this happen to them? [Because they] “slandered the Right Dharma. Those who slander the Right Dharma look down on the teachings or disparage the Buddha, Dharma or Sangha.” People like this cut off the roots of goodness and wisdom-life.

We recognize that as we humans continue to create this kind of karma, society will remain in a state of turmoil. This is because people’s seeds of goodness and and [positive] karmic conditions have been cut off. If we do not do good deeds nor clearly understand the principles, we will end up creating this kind of karma. When we [take from], fight and kill each other,

Those who slander the Right Dharma, look down on the teachings, or disparage the Buddha, Dharma or Sangha are destroying seeds of goodness and wisdom-life and will long remain in the Three Evil Destinies without any respite.

We will “long remain in the Three Evil Destinies without any respite.” There is no time to stop and rest. We will always be in the hell, hungry ghost or animal realm. And when we are reborn in the human realm, our lives will be impoverished and degrading, and our body will have incomplete faculties, etc. This will be the course of our transmigration. This is where [slanderers of the Dharma] “often dwell,” which means to be there for a long time. “They cycle in and out constantly.” Sometimes they go into hell. Sometimes they leave hell and go into the animal realm. Then from the animal realm, they go back into hell. After being in hell, sometimes they leave there and go into the hungry ghost realm. After they exhaust their karma for being in the hungry ghost realm, they go into the animal realm again. From the animal realm, they go into hell again. They transmigrate in this way, ․so they “often dwell [there].” They cycle in and out constantly, led there by their karmic forces, not by choice.

Even if they are born as humans, before long they will again return to the Three Evil Destinies, constantly cycling through remote, solitary hells. Unlike those in the eight cold and eight hot hells that are situated in fixed locations, these people transmigrate according to their individual karma. They constantly go in and out of various other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home.

Indeed, many things are beyond our control. “Even if they are born human, before long they will again return to the Three Evil Destinies.” Although they are in the human realm, they do not have the chance to listen to the Buddha-Dharma or to meet good people. Perhaps because of their physical condition or their environments, etc., they do not have the chance to hear the principles or to change their minds and perspectives. Without that opportunity, they continue to create karma that causes them to fall into the Three Evil Destines again.

Thus they are “constantly cycling through remote solitary hells.” Remote places are very underdeveloped places or very lonely solitary hells. With the individual karma they created, they suffer different retributions from others. This is different from the usual eight cold and eight hot hells where many beings suffer together. Because of the karmic forces they created, they experience their own kind of suffering. Their individual karma leads them to constantly go in and out of such hells,

or “various other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home.” They are always going between these places of suffering. As an ancient saying goes, “Each retribution in the Three Evil Destinies lasts for thousands of kalpas. When will they become human again?” In the Three Evil Destinies, the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms, how long will they spend transmigrating? Thousands of kalpas! They will “often dwell [there].” They will constantly remain in these place of suffering. This will go on for a long time.

The ancient sages said: Each retribution in the Three Evil Destinies lasts for thousands of kalpas. When will they again appear in the world? Thus they are portrayed as often born in and die in these places.

Or, they may end up as camels, pigs or dogs. These are also places they constantly come and go from

Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are livestock used to provide man with labor and food. They constantly come and go between them, thus these are the forms in which they travel.

We often see camels in videos. Camels work hard to transport things. The same goes for donkeys. What about pigs and dogs? We often see them hanging in meat stalls. They are killed and eaten by people. In the Three Evil Destinies, they constantly come and go from the suffering of the animal realm. These are the forms in which they travel. Why did this happen to them? “For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such these.” Because they slandered the sutra, they received these retributions.

In the past, in places of spiritual practice, this saying was often heard, “If you do not complete the path this lifetime, you will return feathered or horned to repay.” And there is another saying, “A donor’s grain of rice is as big as Mt. Sumeru. If your three minds still exist, you will return feathered or horned.” Everyone should have heard of this as well.

The ancients said: If you do not complete the path in this lifetime, you will return feathered or horned. If the disciples in the fourfold assembly slander the sutra teachings, they face these unexhausted retributions. They inevitably reap what they have sown and are led by their karmic forces into the animal realm.

So, in our daily living, we must be very cautious. Our minds must be free of desires, and we must work hard. We should come to this world for the sake of transforming sentient beings, not to engage in spiritual practice for ourselves. We come here to widely transform sentient beings. Even as our bodies age, our [aspirations] must not change. This is the truth that the Buddha came to this world to tell us. He hoped we will engage in spiritual practice and “maintain our original aspiration so we can surely attain Buddhahood.” This is the only way for us to return to our Buddha-nature, our nature of True Suchness. This is the true goal for our spiritual practice.

Everyone, as Buddhist practitioners, we must remember that, “Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods. In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.” So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 704 – The Eight Difficulties Arise from Negative Karma

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>> The truth of the law of karma is that action will certainly induce a response, and karmic retribution follows us like a shadow. Whether we create calamity or blessings, there will always be consequences. We create our suffering or happiness and face effects according to the cause.

>> If they themselves get sick, there is no one to save or cure them. Even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases. When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing, they will also be affected by and suffer from others’ calamities.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Such transgressors will never see the Buddha, the king of all noble beings, who teaches and transforms through the Dharma.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> These transgressors severed the roots of goodness, planted seeds of slandering the Great Vehicle and did not create blessed karmic conditions. This negative karma caused their descent into hell, so they will never see the Buddha. They lack good karmic seeds, thus making it difficult to meet the king of noble beings, listen to the Dharma and be taught and transformed.

>> Such transgressors are constantly reborn in difficult places; mad and deaf, minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma. For countless kalpas, numerous as the Ganges’ sands, they are always born deaf and mute, and all their faculties are incomplete. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Those who commit transgressions and create karma receive retributions according to their karma and are constantly reborn in difficult places. They are like drunken people who cannot hear the True Dharma. Mad and deaf, with minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma.

>> Asankya is a period of countless kalpas, so many that they are incalculable, like the sands of the Ganges.

>> For a long time they have been in this cycle, always born deaf and mute, all their faculties incomplete.

They display these eight difficulties: A difficult place is a place where there are many difficulties, which creates many hindrances and makes it inconvenient to listen to the Dharma. Since they cannot see the Buddha, it is difficult to listen to the Dharma. Then, their faculties are not sound, and at birth are incomplete. Such transgressors encounter capabilities and conditions that make it more difficult to achieve deliverance.

>>The Eight Difficulties: The difficulty of hell, of the hungry ghost realm, of the animal realm, of Uttarakuru, of the heaven of no thoughts, of being blind, deaf and dumb, of worldly intelligence and of the periods before and after a Buddha.

The difficulty of Uttarakuru: People in this place have great measures of blessings but do not know of the Buddha-Dharma and thus cannot be liberated from birth and death.

The difficulty of the heaven of no thought: The heaven of no thought is a place where those who follow other religious teachings may be born. The people there also cannot be liberated from birth and death.

The difficulty of being deaf, dumb and blind: Those who are deaf, dumb and blind cannot see or hear the Buddha-DharmaThe difficulty of worldly intelligence: They rely on their limited intelligence and cannot humbly engage in spiritual practice, even to the point of slandering the Buddha-Dharma.

The difficulty of the periods before and after a Buddha: People born in a period before a Buddha appears or after He has entered Parinirvana cannot see the Buddha and cannot listen to the Buddha-Dharma.

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“The truth of the law of karma is that action will certainly induce a response,
and karmic retribution follows us like a shadow.
Whether we create calamity or blessings, there will always be consequences.
We create our suffering or happiness and face effects according to the cause.”

The workings of karma cannot be changed in the slightest. So, when it comes to all the actions we take, we must accept the consequences according to the karma that we create. The only way to change anything is for us to understand the law of karma and then promptly change [our behavior]. This is a true principle. This is the truth of the law of karma. With any action, once we have created karma, a response will naturally manifest. This is certain.

“Karmic retribution follows us like a shadow.” If we do good deeds, the response we will receive in the way other people feel and the way they react to us will be one of respect towards us. This is certain. If we do something unwholesome, people will criticize us in response. This is the workings of karmic retribution; it follows us like a shadow.

So, “We create our suffering or happiness and face effects according to the cause.” No matter what kind of karma, the working are the same. If we experience happiness and joy, it is because we formed positive conditions and created blessed causes in past lives. Thus we are able to happily come together. The same happens with the causes and conditions for suffering. As we interact with each other, sometimes a casual remark can weigh on people’s hearts; this is like a time-bomb. Who knows how long it will be buried in their mind with these karmic forces unceasingly replicating? Then, when causes and conditions mature, those karmic causes become karmic effects. This is why we should not take the law of karma lightly.

There is a story about this. The story is about a businessman traveling to the city to deal with some matters. He quickly hired a donkey to pull his cart, but when the donkey reached the 100km mark, he suddenly stopped. There were only two or three kilometers to go. The businessman was very anxious. “We are almost there; hurry up!” However, this donkey just stood there. No matter how the man urged him on, the donkey just simply refused to move. The businessman had no choice but to come down from the cart. He half-ran and half-walked to take care of his business matters.

After finishing his business, it was late, so he found an inn to rest. That night, he had a dream. The donkey came to him and said, “I apologize for not taking you to your destination. Since I stole a pair of shoes from you in my previous life, I had to repay you by carrying you for 100km. Therefore, I took you exactly 100km so we would not owe each other anything. I have fully repaid the debt I owed you. I want to thank you and to apologize too for stealing your shoes in the past.” Then this businessman woke up. After he awoke, he was very surprised. “That’s right, I am in the shoe business. Many years ago, my shop was indeed missing a pair of shoes. I was really angry. Who would steal this pair of shoes from me? Whoever stole this pair of shoes, I want him to walk at least 100km in repayment.” He recalled what he had said. “This must be the workings of karma!”

Ever since then, this businessman placed great importance on causes and effects. He donated all the money he made from this business trip, and from then on, he constantly did good deeds. He constantly shared this story with other people, encouraging them to do good deeds and counseling them against doing bad deeds. Just from stealing a pair of shoes, we may have to become an ox, horse or donkey and labor in order to repay that debt.

Therefore, the principles of the law of karma must indeed be applied in our daily living. We must believe in them. With other people, we must say kind words and form good karmic affinities. When it comes to things we can do, we must not be afraid of hard work. As long as our body can handle it, when other people are doing things, we should give them a hand. With each thing we help them with, we are forming good karmic affinities. When we help them, they feel grateful. When we say kind words to them, they have a good impression of us. All of these form positive karmic affinities. Causes and conditions for blessings come from constantly helping people. Therefore, we must believe in the law of karma.

The previous sutra passage states, “If they themselves get sick, there is no one to save or cure them. Even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases. When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing, they will also be affected by and suffer from others’ calamities.”

We already discussed this passage yesterday. When a person is sick and we do not earnestly help them find a good doctor, or misguide them when they try to find a doctor or cause a delay in their treatment, those are the wrong things to do. Perhaps this person is clearly taking the right medicine, but their condition remains the same. Day by day, their condition and their suffering grow worse. Their doctor also says, “I have done everything humanly possible. Why isn’t this person getting better?” Not every doctor can work miracles. Even Hua Tuo himself, the legendary physician, died from an illness, to say nothing of his patients. In conclusion, the law of karma is a law of nature we are all subject to.

“When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing,” we will also be affected by their acts of evil. Some people say, “Clearly I had no part in this. I just happened to pass by,” or “Clearly I only heard something; I did not do anything,” or “Clearly….” Sometimes in society, when people are arguing, even if it has nothing to do with us, we may end up being punched by someone. This happens too. In this way, we “suffer from others’ calamities.”

The sutra passage continues, “Such transgressors will never see the Buddha, the king of all noble beings, who teaches and transforms through the Dharma”

[These transgressors] may suffer in hell without interruption. In the hungry ghost realm, the kind of starvation they experience is like a fire that consumes them; that is the kind of suffering they face. They may also end up in the animal realm. We have seen how [animals suffer], especially if, as an animal, they are born with physical deformities. These are the retributions for transgressions that they suffer in the Three Evil Realms. What if they are born human? They may be disabled, impoverished or ill and so on. All of this is caused by the karma they created in their previous lifetimes. If they are born in the human realm, they are tormented by suffering;

this is due to the karma they created in the past. The karmic causes they created led them to suffer these negative retributions. If people face this kind of suffering as humans, they are hindered by their karmic obstructions. Thus they “will never see the Buddha.” Even if the Buddha is in the world, they will not have the chance to see Him. Therefore, in life we must earnestly seize every moment. When there are positive causes and conditions, we must form aspirations together. When we have the good karmic conditions to hear the Dharma, we need to earnestly put it into practice and cherish this precious opportunity. Otherwise, we “will never see the Buddha”

These transgressors severed the roots of goodness, planted seeds of slandering the Great Vehicle and did not create blessed karmic conditions. This negative karma caused their descent into hell, so they will never see the Buddha. They lack good karmic seeds, thus making it difficult to meet the king of noble beings, listen to the Dharma and be taught and transformed.

These transgressors have severed the roots of goodness and have cut off the seeds of wisdom-life. By slandering the Great Vehicle Dharma and not creating blessed causes and conditions, they cannot encounter the Buddha-Dharma nor obtain the principles. Instead, they go astray and create negative causes and negative conditions. They replicate many of their afflictions and ignorant thoughts, so they create much negative karma.

“This negative karma caused their descent into hell.” Because of that, they cannot encounter “the king of all noble beings,” who can “teach and transform them.” They cannot attain [the Dharma]. Even if they can, they will slander it. All of that generates negative karma, causing them to fall into hell. For this reason, they “will never see the Buddha.” This happened in the past, and it happens now as well. We are lacking in good karmic seeds, so “meeting the king of noble beings” would be very difficult. Seeing the Buddha face to face would be even more difficult. Even listening to the Buddha-Dharma, listening to true principles, would be very hard. If all we have are negative causes, conditions and effects, naturally we will face negative retributions. This is a very natural principle.

The following passage states, “Such transgressors are constantly reborn in difficult places; mad and deaf, minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma. For countless kalpas, numerous as the Ganges’ sands, they are always born deaf and mute, and all their faculties are incomplete.”

All this is due to the negative karma we created in past lifetimes. If we committed an act of evil, a transgression, we will have to face the negative retributions. The human realm is like a big prison. Some people’s transgressions are more serious. That means they have to endure more serious karmic retributions. They face a lifetime of unbearable suffering. They often find themselves in extreme hardship. People like this are “mad and deaf, with minds in disorder” because they do not have principles guiding them in their lives.

People who are “mad and deaf” have mental and physical issues. They cannot control themselves, and they do not know what they are doing. When others talk, they cannot understand what is being said. They do not understand the principles. Even though they heard the sounds, they cannot understand the words. Since they cannot understand it, they are like people who cannot hear

Those who commit transgressions and create karma receive retributions according to their karma and are constantly reborn in difficult places. They are like drunken people who cannot hear the True Dharma. Mad and deaf, with minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma.

They are like a person who is drunk. Once a person becomes drunk, he is completely unaware of his demeanor. For those who are constantly drunk, they are so drunk that their minds are disordered, and their physical appearances have been ruined. Unable to take the principles to heart, they cannot guard against wrongs and stop evil, uphold precepts or listen to the True Dharma. As a result, “Mad and deaf, with minds in disorder, they will never hear the Dharma.” How long will they remain this way? For asankya kalpas, for infinite kalpas. These kalpas are as countless as the sands of the Ganges; this is an incalculable length of time.

Asankya is a period of countless kalpas, so many that they are incalculable, like the sands of the Ganges.

Isn’t this the description found in the Earth Treasury Sutra? A grain of sand can be counted as a kalpa. A blade of grass can also be counted as a kalpa. A single leaf can also be counted a kalpa. It is not just the sands of the Ganges. “Countless kalpas” is a very long period of time. During that long period of time, hearing the Buddha-Dharma and learning principles will be very difficult.

For a long time they have been in this cycle, always born deaf and mute, all their faculties incomplete.

Having not listened to them, they will “always [be] born deaf and mute.” This is an endless cycle. They are like people who are deaf and mute, like people who can neither hear nor speak. “All their faculties [are] incomplete.” Perhaps their minds are in disorder, or so on. This lasts for a very long period of time. Then in this lifetime, they are unwilling to accept [the Dharma], or may not have the chance to accept it, or even if they accept it, they may be unable to take it to heart. Perhaps, when they listen to principles, they are limited in what they understand from what they hear.

They cannot go beyond that. When we seriously listen, when we constantly listen, we must hear one thing and understand ten things. Take Christopher Yang for example, he is only in his early teens. Yesterday, after I left the Great Hall, he told me he had some questions. I asked, “What is your question?” He replied, “Master, when you told the story about how the Brahmin maiden saved her mother, you said her mother was able to go to heaven because of the. Brahmin maiden’s merits and virtues. How can the other people who are suffering there also go to heaven with the help of the. Brahmin maiden’s merits and virtues? Don’t they have to face the consequences of their own transgressions?” He said he felt doubtful of this. He said, “In the past, these people must have created an affinity with the Brahmin maiden. It is because of this karmic affinity that they were able to go to heaven at that time.”

I said, “That is right. Your explanation is correct. There had to be a karmic affinity between them [She was] Earth Treasury Bodhisattva and had, in a past lifetime a very long time ago, “vowed to deliver all sentient beings from hell. Over many lifetimes she formed karmic affinities with many people.” At that time, because of her affinities with her mother, she vowed to deliver her from hell. To do that, she created blessings and made offerings to the Three Treasures. Because of these blessings she created, the beings who had the karmic conditions to be in the same [hell] as her mother were also delivered; such were their causes and conditions.

This is why we must earnestly listen to teachings so that after hearing one thing, we are able to understand many principles and delve deeply into them. So, we need [the right] causes and conditions to listen to the Dharma. If we can take it to heart, we should then be able to exercise our wisdom. If we have [negative] karma, we will face all kinds of obstacles. If we have wisdom, we can hear one thing and understand ten. We will not face the slightest hindrance; we can reach understanding without any obstacles. This is what we must cultivate at all times.

They display these eight difficulties: A difficult place is a place where there are many difficulties, which creates many hindrances and makes it inconvenient to listen to the Dharma. Since they cannot see the Buddha, it is difficult to listen to the Dharma. Then, their faculties are not sound, and at birth are incomplete. Such transgressors encounter capabilities and conditions that make it more difficult to achieve deliverance.

“Born deaf and mute” refers to people who constantly listen to the Dharma but cannot take it to heart. They refuse to listen, or they listen and err in their understanding. Thus they do many things to slander the Dharma. So, we need to constantly develop our wisdom. Otherwise, we face the Eight Difficulties. These Eight Difficulties are results of the karma we created that put us in all kinds of difficult places with many kinds of difficulties that prevent us from listening to the Dharma. Thus, we are not able to listen to the Dharma. “Since [we] cannot see the Buddha, it is difficult to listen to the Dharma.” Furthermore, our faculties may not be sound, or they may be incomplete at birth. We may also have other kinds of physical deformities. People who have created negative karma will face these kinds of retributions.

What are the Eight Difficulties? The first is the difficulty of hell. Suffering retributions in hell is very painful. The second is the difficulty of the hungry ghost realm. If we are in the hungry ghost realm, how can we listen to the Dharma? Suffering extreme starvation, how can we listen to the Dharma? The next is the difficulty of the animal realm. Animals live difficult lives; how can they listen to the Dharma? The abovementioned are the Three Evil Realms. “Since their karma is too severe,” they cannot see or hear the Buddha-Dharma

The Eight Difficulties: The difficulty of hell, of the hungry ghost realm, of the animal realm, of Uttarakuru, of the heaven of no thoughts, of being blind, deaf and dumb, of worldly intelligence and of the periods before and after a Buddha.

Next is the fourth difficulty, which is being born in Uttarakuru. It is a place of wonderful pleasures, but we cannot hear the Dharma there.

The difficulty of Uttarakuru: People in this place have great measures of blessings but do not know of the Buddha-Dharma and thus cannot be liberated from birth and death.

The fifth is the difficulty of the heaven of no thought. The heaven of no thought is a place where non-Buddhist practitioners live. In that place, people cannot hear the Right Dharma. This is the difficulty faced in the heaven of no thought.

The difficulty of the heaven of no thought: The heaven of no thought is a place where those who follow other religious teachings may be born. The people there also cannot be liberated from birth and death.

The sixth is the difficulty of being deaf, dumb and blind. If we are blind, we cannot read the sutras. If we are deaf, we cannot hear the teachings. Even if we can hear, [if we are mute,] we would not be able to ask questions. These are difficulties caused by our faculties that make it hard to listen to the Dharma.

The seventh difficulty is the difficulty of worldly intelligence. Being self-conceited, we believe we clearly understand all things in the world. So, we only listen to the Dharma in order to be able to debate with others. We do not take the Dharma to heart at all.

The eighth is the difficulty of the periods before and after the Buddha. We may live in the period before a Buddha appears. Then when the Buddha is here, we are not. Only after the Buddha has entered Parinirvana do we come to the world again. Thus it is difficult to live in the same period as the Buddha. Not only is meeting the Buddha difficult, encountering the Dharma fully formed in the world,  is very difficult as well.

The difficulty of being deaf, dumb and blind: Those who are deaf, dumb and blind cannot see or hear the Buddha-Dharma

The difficulty of worldly intelligence: They rely on their limited intelligence and cannot humbly engage in spiritual practice, even to the point of slandering the Buddha-Dharma.

The difficulty of the periods before and after a Buddha: People born in a period before a Buddha appears or after He has entered Parinirvana cannot see the Buddha and cannot listen to the Buddha-Dharma.

These are the eight types of difficulties, being able to hear the Buddha-Dharma is not that easy.

In conclusion, as Buddhist practitioners, we must have deep faith

In life, we must be able to experience and realize the teachings

After listening to the Dharma, we must take it to heart Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 703 – Giving is the Sturdy Ship Offering Deliverance

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>> We see that the suffering of poverty is deep and vast like the sea. Giving is like a sturdy ship that can deliver those in the sea of poverty. When great compassion arises, the heart’s wealth is a great field of blessings. When we give, though we seek nothing in return, we obtain great blessings for ourselves.

>> Where it speaks of how, Poor and lowly, at the mercy of others, they are often sick, dehydrated and gaunt and have no one to rely upon.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Though they draw near to others, no one cares about them. If they do attain something, in their seeking they lose it again. If they study the healing arts to appropriately cure illnesses, they only add to others’ maladies, or even cause death.   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Though they draw near to others, no one cares about them. If they do attain something, in their seeking they lose it again: Even if they have close family members, those with the closest affinities with them, when they fall into difficulties, no one cares for them, and they have no one to rely on.

>> When the body’s four elements are out of balance, hundreds of ailments break out. The path of medicine is to look, listen, ask and determine [the presence of] the six energies of wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, heat and all the various symptoms.

>> The skill of healing is to follow the principles; its rules are there to correct any shortcomings. Extreme caution is taken not to treat human life lightly, to misguide in the path of medicine or to prolong treatment of the disease, which can even cause other illnesses or kill the patient.

>> If they themselves get sick, there is no one to save or cure them. Even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases. When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing, they will also be affected by and suffer from others’ calamities.

>>This is an analogy for the experience of extreme suffering. Thus, of the extreme suffering in the world, nothing is worse than illness. Especially if when sick and suffering, there is no one to save or cure them and even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases

>>The chaos created by revolt is a calamity to the world. By using force to rob and plunder, people raid one another and wrest away goods, stealing and pilfering other people’s wealth.

>> The manifestation of having lost their blessings explains why those who commit acts of evil, after facing retribution, suffer further calamity. In saying they suffer further calamity, suffer means to encounter mishaps such as violent or sudden death or meeting with unexpected accidents.

>> Those who have lost their blessings: Because they have these evil retributions, they do not have the protection of blessings and so have no one and nothing to rely upon. They may study worldly, skillful work, or study the Buddha’s Way, and may attain something, but then lose it again. Learning medicine is meant to save people, but instead they harm others’ lives. When another person does bad things, they are affected and suffer on others’ account

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“We see that the suffering of poverty is deep and vast like the sea.
Giving is like a sturdy ship that can deliver those in the sea of poverty.
When great compassion arises, the heart’s wealth is a great field of blessings.
When we give, though we seek nothing in return, we obtain great blessings for ourselves.”

Previously we have been describing the many sufferings of life. Besides the human and animal realms, there are all kinds of sufferings in hell, too. When a single thought goes astray, countless negative retributions are created. After falling into hell, the hungry ghost and the animal realms, upon our return to the human realm, we will be born into poverty and hardship. There are many impoverished and suffering people. When we arrive in poor countries, everywhere we look we see people like that. Because of their collective karma, they were brought together to face poverty. There are so many of them, it looks like a vast sea of people. With so many impoverished people, how can we deliver them from their suffering? Charitable giving is the only way.

Charitable giving out of love is like a sturdy ship. It is a very stable, very big ship that “can deliver those in the sea of poverty.” In this sea of suffering, we can pull them up and rescue them one by one to deliver them across this sea of poverty.

“When we give, though we seek nothing in return, we obtain great blessings for ourselves.” Our charitable giving comes from a single thought, to practice giving willingly and joyfully. Thus our charitable giving becomes the activity that makes us the happiest. In this way, though we seek nothing in return, we will naturally become very happy and attain great blessings.

We often discuss how we sometimes see people who have so much love to give, while also living in such poverty. I often explain that this is because they did not create blessings in their past lives. In this life, they have been born human, so they are able to listen to the Dharma turn their lives around, open up their minds and give of the strength they have.

This is like how once, long ago in China, there was an elderly monastic. His temple had become quite run down. The elderly monastic made a vow to restore and maintain this old temple. So, every single day he went out with his alms bowl to beg for alms, hoping people of the villages, towns and cities would help him to fulfill his vow. However, although he did this for many years, he was unable to collect very much.

During this time, there was a child who had been orphaned. This child was constantly covered in filth. Every day, he sold sesame flatbread. He noticed this elderly monastic walking around every day and saw how people in the village showed him no respect and refused to give to him. Seeing this, he felt very sad. Though he himself was very poor, one day he decided, “Even if this means I cannot eat, I’m willing to donate all the money I make today to this elderly monastic.”

When the people in the village saw this, they said, “Oh my, this child cannot make enough to eat three meals a day, yet now he is donating all of his money. What about us?” They looked at each other and then, feeling moved, they each made a donation to help the elderly monastic rebuild his temple. The news began to spread and passed from one person to the next. Before long, construction was able to begin on the old temple.

One day, this child suddenly lost his sight. A few days later, he fell and broke his foot. After another couple of days, because he could not see and was unsteady on his feet, he lost his footing by the latrine pit, and he fell into the latrine pit and died. The entire village gathered to see what happened, and amongst themselves, they all said, “No good comes from doing good deeds!”

While the elderly monk was sitting in meditation, he suddenly saw the child in front of him. The elderly monastic said to him, “You have fallen into the latrine pit and died. How do you feel right now? Do you have any regrets? Do you have any afflictions?”

The child replied with ease, “None at all! I am very happy because I have been liberated. I now know that throughout my past lives, I created much bad karma. I was supposed to suffer painful retributions for many lifetimes. I have already been in the animal realm, and when I was born in the human realm, I was orphaned, with no one to rely on, and my body was always covered in filth. After this lifetime was finished, there was still much karma I had to face, like being born with impaired physical faculties and other retributions for many lifetimes until finally, in my last life, I would be born as a creature in a latrine pit. But with the momentary aspiration I formed, those lifetimes of karmic retributions were all exhausted in that short amount of time. So, this is why I have come to express my gratitude to you. But I still have one wish that I hope you will fulfill for me.”

“The villagers saw me fall into the latrine pit, and now they are all creating karma of speech, telling each other that no good comes from doing good deeds. I would like to ask you to tell everyone of my past and that due to the negative karma I created in my past lives, I was supposed to face lifetimes of retributions. But I have been able to face a milder retribution for my severe karma and exhaust lifetimes of bad karma in one single lifetime. I beg of you; please clearly convey what I have said to the other villagers so that they will not slander the Buddha-Dharma and thereby sever people’s roots of goodness. This is what I ask of you. Please accept my plea.”

Suddenly, the elderly monk emerged from this meditative state. He hurried towards the village. The elderly monastic then told everyone that this child had, over many of his past lives, created much negative karma. Now he had been able to exhaust those lifetimes of retributions in this one lifetime. When everyone heard what he had to say, their minds opened, and they understood.

This story can be applied to [this part of] the Lotus Sutra where it speaks of how, “Poor and lowly, at the mercy of others, they are often sick, dehydrated and gaunt and have no one to rely upon.”

Let us look at the following sutra passage “Though they draw near to others, no one cares about them. If they do attain something, in their seeking they lose it again. If they study the healing arts to appropriately cure illnesses, they only add to others’ maladies, or even cause death.”

“Though they draw near to others, no one cares about them.” Although people may have family, their own flesh and blood, their loved ones, as soon as these relatives or friends fall into difficulties, they may disregard and ignore them.

“If they study the healing arts to appropriately cure illnesses, they only add to others’ maladies, or even cause death.” The human body is subject to 404 ailments, which arise due to imbalances in the four elements in our body. Our body is also made up of earth, water, fire and air. You see, our human bodies cannot do without water. The blood circulating in our bodies consists mainly of water. That is water. Our body also must maintain a certain temperature; if our temperature is not high enough…. Once we stop breathing, we will lose our body heat. This is an imbalance in the element of fire. When we are breathing, this has to do with the element of air. After breathing out, we breathe in. If the element of air is out of balance, we are short of breath. If the element of air is out of balance and our breathing stops, then we pass away. Then, there is earth. Earth is everything in our body that we can touch. Our muscle and our bones are [solid] like earth. When it comes to our body, we need the four elements to be in balance. When the four elements are out of balance, hundreds of ailments break out

When the body’s four elements are out of balance, hundreds of ailments break out. The path of medicine is to look, listen, ask and determine [the presence of] the six energies of wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, heat and all the various symptoms.

There are many professions that the world can do without, but we cannot do without the field of medicine. The path of medicine is a process that helps “appropriately cure illnesses.” According to what doctors learn about diagnosis and medicine, they prescribe medicine according to the illness. So, in the path of medicine, how are illnesses diagnosed? In the old days, to treat an illness doctors had to look, listen, ask and determine. When a patient saw a doctor, the doctor had to meticulously observe. To do this, a doctor must “look” very carefully at the color of the skin and so on. Then the doctor must “ask.” He has to ask questions very clearly. Then he has to carefully take the pulse. So, the doctor looks, listens, asks and determines. He carefully observes and listens to what the patient expresses about how his body feels to determine what this illness is. He must also pay attention to the seasons as well to understand whether there is [an excess of] wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness or heat. These are all signs of illness.

Regardless of whether it is the Chinese Medicine of the past or modern Western Medicine, doctors need to undergo education, training and must have clinical experience “to appropriately cure illnesses.” People say, “If the doctor has good affinities, the patient will be blessed.” If a doctor formed many good affinities with people in a past life, he will have so many blessings that when patients come before him, the sight of him alone will have already cured the patients halfway.

If they have blessed affinities with each other, then naturally the doctor will be able to cure the patient almost immediately. This is a wondrous doctor with wondrous skills and methods. Some doctors earnestly try to treat the illness and help the patient, and the medicine they prescribe is of high quality. Yet the patient’s condition worsens day by day. Though they are “appropriately curing illnesses” and prescribing medicine that is appropriate to the illness, “They only add to others’ maladies.” There is nothing they can do

The skill of healing is to follow the principles; its rules are there to correct any shortcomings. Extreme caution is taken not to treat human life lightly, to misguide in the path of medicine or to prolong treatment of the disease, which can even cause other illnesses or kill the patient.

Thus it is said, “The skill of healing is to follow the principles.” All doctors cure illnesses according to principles. The arts of healing are all alike. Doctors must also be very self-disciplined; “The rules are there to correct any shortcomings.” Doctors have their own methods. Doctors have their own rules. When a doctor treats a patient, he must be very cautious and also very earnest. He places great value on the patient’s life. This is how he treats the illness. So, why would doctors “add to their maladies”? Though treating a patient with the same medicine, they instead add to the patient’s maladies until the patient eventually passes away.

There are times when, even though someone is not a doctor, they may say, “For this illness, you shouldn’t go to a Western Medicine doctor. I will take you to see a Chinese Medicine doctor.” The Chinese Medicine doctor tells the patient, “Listen to me and take the medicine I give you. You do not need surgery.” This may cause a delay. The person guiding the patient led him in the wrong direction, and this other doctor delayed his chance to receive [effective] treatment. We hear often of situations like this, too. There are also people who consult spirits and ask for signs. That is not correct either.

When it comes to treating the body, if we feel ill, we should promptly get a checkup and take the medicine prescribed for the illness. This needs to happen promptly and without delay. It is the same as listening to the Dharma. If we only have a partial understanding or have a mistaken understanding, the teachings we transmit will be incorrect, and we will cut off worldly seeds of goodness and sever people’s wisdom-life; that is not right. So, I hope that everyone will truly heighten their vigilance and be very cautious.

The sutra passage continues by stating, “If they themselves get sick, there is no one to save or cure them. Even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases. When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing, they will also be affected by and suffer from others’ calamities.”

When others are ill, we may add to their maladies by delaying the time it takes for them to get treatment. What about when we ourselves get sick? No one will be able to come and help us. Even if we are taking lots of wonderful medicine, “The severity of [our] illness only increases.” There are many people like this as well. The world is full of suffering, and illness is something beyond our control. One may clearly be a skilled doctor, but there are also times when doctors are unable to successfully treat an illness.

This is an analogy for the experience of extreme suffering. Thus, of the extreme suffering in the world, nothing is worse than illness. Especially if when sick and suffering, there is no one to save or cure them and even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases

Sometimes, the illness takes a turn for the worse. This is an experience of extreme suffering. “There is no suffering worse than illness,” let alone from [an incurable] illness. Indeed, illness brings suffering. Furthermore, “There is no one to save or cure [us].” Or, even if we take the best medicine, that may only increase the severity of the illness.

“When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing, they will also be affected by and suffer from others’ calamities.”

The chaos created by revolt is a calamity to the world. By using force to rob and plunder, people raid one another and wrest away goods, stealing and pilfering other people’s wealth.

Revolts and rebellions cause tragedy in the world. We often talk about manmade disasters; when we look at the world, so many countries constantly experience these manmade calamities. When people fight for recognition, for advantage or for their greed, that country will be unable to achieve peace and harmony. Revolts and rebellions come about when a few people are in conflict over politics or over territory. Many innocent people are harmed, causing a nation of people to become refugees

The chaos created by revolt is a calamity to the world. By using force to rob and plunder, people raid one another and wrest away goods, stealing and pilfering other people’s wealth. Once society is thrown into turmoil, whether from manmade or natural disasters, there will always be robbing and plundering, or the raiding and wresting away of others’ goods, This is the “loss of blessings.” In the past we did not create blessings; thus, we now encounter all kinds of disasters

The manifestation of having lost their blessings explains why those who commit acts of evil, after facing retribution, suffer further calamity. In saying they suffer further calamity, “suffer” means to encounter mishaps such as violent or sudden death or meeting with unexpected accidents.

This explains the karmic retribution faced by those who do evil. They will eventually experience further calamities. They will experience many disasters, manmade and natural alike.

Those who have lost their blessings: Because they have these evil retributions, they do not have the protection of blessings and so have no one and nothing to rely upon. They may study worldly, skillful work, or study the Buddha’s Way, and may attain something, but then lose it again. Learning medicine is meant to save people, but instead they harm others’ lives. When another person does bad things, they are affected and suffer on others’ account

So, “having lost their blessings,” they will encounter negative karmic fruits and will not have the protection of blessings. They do not have the fruits of blessings, thus they have no blessings that can shield them, and they have no one and nothing to rely on. They may learn worldly skills, or they may study the Buddha’s Way, and thus attain [realizations], but they will just as quickly forget them.

When we listen to the Dharma, why can’t we take it to heart? Because we did not practice enough in the past. With our karma, sometimes there is a mental block, so the things we have heard, learned, etc. cannot remain in our minds, and we are unable to penetrate them. We may attain something, but then lose it again.

The purpose of learning medicine is to save people and yet doctors can also cause them harm. Thus we constantly say that those who want to be doctors must create blessings. Only when they have blessings can the medicine they prescribe cure their patients. Otherwise the opposite might happen; their patients may remain the same or get worse, which can threaten the patient’s life.

When others do bad things, we ourselves may suffer the consequences. I did not commit this wrongdoing, they did. How is it that I have become a refugee? That is very similar.

In conclusion, in learning the Buddha’s Way, we must be mindful. We must begin to create blessings right now. The situations we encounter now arise because of what we did in the past. Now that we know this, we must work [for the sake of our future]. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 702 – Negative Effects Come From Deviating Toward Evil

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>> The causes for negative retributions are the negative karmic conditions we create ourselves. Defilements of afflictions and delusion result in negative karmic effects. Slandering the Dharma cuts off seeds of goodness thus we attract our own retributions. The five chronic and acute afflictions lead us to deviate towards evil.

>> They are reborn as jackals and enter the villages. Their bodies are covered in scabs and sores, They are beaten and thrown about by children, thus undergoing many sufferings, even to the point of death.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> “After death in that life, some are reborn in the bodies of pythons with immense bodies as long as 500 yojanas. They are deaf, stupid and have no feet. Crawling about on their bellies, they are bitten and fed upon by many small insects.”  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Pythons are large snakes without poisonous fangs and with long bodies. Those born as pythons have long bodies, as long as 500 yojanas.

>> Their sense of hearing is crude and slow; they are deaf and dim-witted. They are foolish and ignorant and are bitten and fed upon by small insects.

>> night and day, suffering without respite. Because they slander this sutra, this is the retribution for their transgressions.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> If there is doubt of the Buddha-Dharma, one may engage in base actions. For slandering the Great Vehicle Dharma, retribution is not limited to rebirth as animals. They face retributions according to karma, and each are different.

>> If born as humans, their capacities are dull and sluggish. They may be stunted, ugly, deformed or crippled, blind, deaf or hunchbacked. No matter what they say, no one trusts them. Their breath is perpetually foul-smelling, and demons cling to them.    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>>Poor and lowly, at the mercy of others, they are often sick, dehydrated and gaunt and have no one to rely upon.    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

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“The causes for negative retributions are the negative karmic conditions we create ourselves.
Defilements of afflictions and delusion result in negative karmic effects.
Slandering the Dharma cuts off seeds of goodness thus we attract our own retributions.
The five chronic and acute afflictions lead us to deviate towards evil.”

All it takes is just one single thought. In the past, our minds gave rise to discursive thoughts. Once one evil thought arises, a lot of karma is created. So in this lifetime, we wonder, “Why is this person suffering so much?” When one tragedy after another befalls this one family or this one person, we wonder, “Why does this happen to them?” If many things do not go our way and we encounter many negative causes, conditions and effects, all of these stem from our past [karma].

If we understand the past, we will have more insight into the present. As Buddhist practitioners, this is what we must learn.

We must not feel resentful [of our treatment], but rather think about how, in the past, the way we treated them must have created unpleasant conditions for them as well. That is why, in this lifetime, they treat us this way, causing us to feel stressed and pressured, pushing us around, bullying us, inhibiting us, etc. We must also be grateful for the pressure they give us today, because this way we can learn to endure it.

All of you must have heard about how. Purna Maitrayani Putra told the Buddha. “Venerable Buddha, I am willing to go to the most distant borderland, where people are most crude and negative and where the Buddha-Dharma is absent, in order to promote the Buddha-Dharma, to guide them to internalize the principles and eliminate afflictions from their minds.” The Buddha said, “Going there is dangerous!”

Purna Maitrayani Putra replied to the Buddha in this way, “It is because [people there] are barbarous and because they do not understand the principles that I am willing to bring these principles to that place right away.” The Buddha said to him, “If you go there you will encounter many difficulties. They may shout abuses at you.” Purna Maitrayani Putra replied to the Buddha, “Venerable Buddha, do not worry. So what if they yell at me? At least they are not beating me with their fists.”

The Buddha said, “What if they were to beat you with their fists?” [He said,] “I will be grateful that they are beating me with their bare hands and not with sticks. That would not do my body [much] harm.” Then the Buddha asked, “What if they beat you with sticks and really injure your body?” Purna Maitrayani Putra replied, “Venerable Buddha, I would still feel grateful. They are just beating me with sticks, not threatening my life with knives.” The Buddha asked, “And what if they use knives and threaten your life? What will you do then?” Purna Maitrayani Putra replied, “Venerable Buddha, I will be grateful because in the past I must have created this karmic debt by harming them. In a past life, I may have bullied them in this way, such that in this life. I have to repay this debt. I will be very grateful to be able to resolve the karmic entanglements we formed in our past lives.”

The Buddha was very moved. “I pray that, when you go there, you will protect yourself well. They may be stubborn and hard to teach, but remember, all sentient beings have Buddha-nature. As long as you treat them with reverence, there is nothing you cannot accomplish. I wish you good fortune.” So, Purna Maitrayani Putra went with the Buddha’s blessing. His mission took him to the most barbarous places in the south to promote the Buddha-Dharma.

In our daily living, as we interact with the people, matters and things around us, if we encounter someone who has not yet corrected their habitual tendencies, who give us unpleasant looks, or say things that make us unhappy, that is even more reason to think about Purna Maitrayani Putra and his willingness to go to those barbarous places to teach the Dharma. How does what we face in the world compare? Inevitably, many people will have not yet fully eliminated their habitual tendencies and afflictions. When we encounter people like this, we must remind ourselves to be vigilant. For these people with [strong] habits, we must quickly put our palms together and say, “I understand what you mean. I apologize for not noticing this. I will pay closer attention next time.” In this way, after they have lost their temper, they will see us [and realize], “In fact, I am also a spiritual practitioner, I must pay closer attention too. That person said, ‘I will pay more attention,’ and that is something I also need to do.” Thus we can be a good spiritual friend, as well as heighten our vigilance. If others have these habitual tendencies, isn’t it possible that we do too? Perhaps, we did not eliminate these afflictions in our past life, so in this lifetime we encounter conditions that aid our spiritual practice. So, when we suffer the fruits of our evil karma, we must accept them. When we live among people, we must bring peace to ourselves and others. We must happily train ourselves and happily accept [whatever happens]. If we can happily accept our circumstances, we can exhaust our karmic retributions. Then our conflicts with people can also be eased. We must also know the principles and quickly promote the Right Dharma and a correct direction.

So first, as we listen to the Dharma, we must listen to it mindfully. After we take it in, we must develop the correct understanding. We must not hear or transmit it in error; this we cannot do. When we seek the Dharma, we must seek what is true. We must not be mistaken. This is the first thing we must remember. Even more important is that we must not intentionally slander the Dharma. This severs our roots of goodness in this world and our wisdom-life for transcending this world. In this world, if we cut off seeds of goodness and sever our wisdom-life, true principles will not abide in the world, and the world will be filled with evil.

This is truly worrisome. Thus we want to discuss “the five chronic and acute afflictions.” There are five acute afflictions and five chronic afflictions, which easily cause us to deviate. If we intentionally slander the Dharma and guide others down a deviant path, we ourselves are heading down an evil path. This is why we must be very cautious.

The previous sutra passage states, “They are reborn as jackals and enter the villages. Their bodies are covered in scabs and sores, and they are missing an eye. They are beaten and thrown about by children, thus undergoing many sufferings, even to the point of death.”

They face so many negative retributions. After being in hell, they are reborn in the animal realm, where they face all kinds of retributions. Being an animal already brings much suffering, but they may suffer physical illnesses as well, from skin disease to disabilities, such as missing limbs or eyes. When children see them, they mistreat them, beat them, etc. Whether they use stones or sticks, this is indeed unbearable suffering; these animals face such painful retributions.

So, “After death in that life,” for example, if they were hacked to death, “Some are reborn in the bodies of pythons.” In the next life, they have not yet transcended the animal realm. They are still beasts, still creatures, “with immense bodies as long as 500 yojanas.” They are very long and massive. “They are deaf, stupid and have no feet. Crawling about on their bellies, they are bitten and fed upon by many small insects.” This is a state of great suffering!

“After death in that life, some are reborn in the bodies of pythons with immense bodies as long as 500 yojanas. They are deaf, stupid and have no feet. Crawling about on their bellies, they are bitten and fed upon by many small insects.” 

After facing all kinds of suffering and torment, some are then reborn as great pythons, as a kind of snake. This kind of snake is very long. However, they are not venomous, and their bodies crawl across the ground. How long is the body of such a snake? The sutra says it may be up to “500 yojanas.”

Pythons are large snakes without poisonous fangs and with long bodies. Those born as pythons have long bodies, as long as 500 yojanas.

How long is a yojana? About [13 kilometers]. So, how long is 500 yojanas? A snake of that size is unimaginable. However, we do not need to discuss whether such a large snake actually exists. We know this is just a metaphor for a very long, very big snake. “They are deaf, stupid and without feet, crawling about on their bellies.” Sometimes a huge snake like this cannot see with his eyes. “Stupid” means foolish, with dull capabilities. “Deaf” means their sense of hearing is dull; they are unable to hear clearly. Moreover, they are slow to react and ignorant [of their surroundings].

Their sense of hearing is crude and slow; they are deaf and dim-witted. They are foolish and ignorant and are bitten and fed upon by small insects.

In this way, because their reaction rate is slow, many small creatures take advantage and slowly suck their [blood], wantonly biting and feeding upon their bodies. This indeed causes tremendous suffering. When can they escape this kind of life? They experience this pain, ․”night and day, suffering without respite. Because they slander this sutra, this is the retribution for their transgressions.”

night and day, suffering without respite. Because they slander this sutra, this is the retribution for their transgressions. 

Therefore, night and day they face being fed upon by insects. This goes on without a moment’s rest. Suffering like this is truly unbearable.

I have told everyone before that, around 40, 50 years ago, when we started Tzu Chi, I personally went on case visits. What I saw was a man who was just lying there. There was a rat by his foot that was about this fat. He was by the man’s foot, gnawing at it. I said, “There is a rat at your feet! Can’t you see? Don’t you realize this?”

He said, “I had no idea. I have no feeling in my body. I can only move my mouth. My mind is clear, but I have no feeling in the rest of my body.” This man’s job was to lift heavy things. He was traveling with a truck that hauled logs. The logs were stacked on the truck, but they were not secured tightly. When the log on top rolled off, he did not move in time and was crushed under the weight of the entire log. This damaged his spine, and he became paralyzed for life.

He had four children and a wife. This family of six now relied on his wife doing odd jobs. They were two, three, five and six years old. Looking at them, my sadness was indescribable. We had to provide long-term care for this family, giving the children an opportunity to go to school. By now, these four children must be in their 50s or 60s. Then, they were five or six years old.

Think about it. Some people end up with a life like that, just as some animals experience such suffering. Why does this happen? It must stem from a past life. Whether they had already been through hell or experienced the animal realm, even though they have come to the human realm, they continue to face unbearable suffering. This is “because they slandered this sutra,” thus severing people’s roots of goodness and slandering the true principles. This kind of karma is very severe. “This is the retribution for their transgressions.” This kind of suffering, day and night, is truly unbearable

If there is doubt of the Buddha-Dharma, one may engage in base actions. For slandering the Great Vehicle Dharma, retribution is not limited to rebirth as animals. They face retributions according to karma, and each are different.

When it comes to the Buddha-Dharma, we must not have doubts. We must listen very carefully. If we did not hear it clearly, doubts may arise in our minds, and we may look down on the Dharma. When we view the sutras with contempt and devalue them, or even intentionally slander the Great Vehicle, we will be reborn as animals.

Not all animals are the same. There is not just one kind; there are oxen, sheep, horses, pigs, etc., as well as dogs, cats, animals that fly, beasts that walk and insects and snakes that crawl on the ground, etc. We can be born as any one of many kinds of animals “[We] face retributions according to karma.” Following our karma, we may end up as one of many kinds of animals, whether domesticated or wild. The animal we are born as depends on the karma we created in this world and the retributions we have to experience. This is different for each person.

The following passage states, “If born as humans, their capacities are dull and sluggish. They may be stunted, ugly, deformed or crippled, blind, deaf or hunchbacked. No matter what they say, no one trusts them. Their breath is perpetually foul-smelling, and demons cling to them.”

How painful! Even if they are born human, “Their capacities are dull and sluggish.” We often see people like this. They may be born into a poor family or born with physical disabilities. Perhaps they were injured in an accident, and their bodies became crippled or disabled, etc. All this is due to karmic retributions. Since we have been born human, we should open the door to our minds and recognize that the karmic causes we created in our past lives have resulted in the karmic retributions we face in this life. In this world, there are many things that are beyond our control. Not only are some people born short, they may also be “deformed.” Their hands and feet may not grow normally. “They may be stunted, ugly, deformed or crippled,” like those with brittle bone disease. There are also people who are “blind, deaf or hunchbacked.” They cannot see with their eyes or hear with their ears, and they are hunchbacked, etc. This indeed brings great suffering.

“No matter what they say, no one trusts them.” Some people look very proper, yet when they speak, no one believes them. Because they formed bad affinities with people in their past lives and have bad habitual tendencies in this one, they have terrible relationships with people. Even though their body is healthy, their relationships are not. Some people have very bad breath. Others dislike it, and when they speak, other people detest them. Others detest them, yet demons will cling to them. Demons enjoy this scent.

Aside from this, the following sutra passage states, “Poor and lowly, at the mercy of others, they are often sick, dehydrated and gaunt and have no one to rely upon.”

They are born into the human realm after departing that animal form. So, when they return as a human, they are first born into a life of poverty. This does not necessarily mean they are born in Africa. In our own lives, in this country right here, there are also many impoverished people. Otherwise, why would there be a need for humanitarian organizations? There would be no need for the Buddha to teach the Bodhisattva Way, which He did to save sentient beings. Because sentient beings bring this kind of karma into the human realm, there must be Bodhisattvas in this world to help the impoverished and suffering. So, after experiencing life in the Three Evil Realms, those people still have to come to the human realm to experience being poor and lowly. Their lives are controlled by others; they are not free to do what they want.

They are also often “sick, dehydrated and gaunt.” They often drive themselves to become ill, making it hard for them to move around freely. In particular, there are some who, once born, are immediately orphaned. They do not have parents to rely on. They do not have elders to rely on. They do not have siblings to rely on. People like this “have no one to rely on.”

So, think about it; there is so much suffering in human life, not to mention in the life of an animal! The state of animals’ lives is indeed filled with unbearable suffering. Everything that happens comes about because in our past lives, we created the causes for negative karmic retributions. The cause of negative retributions is the negative affinities we created ourselves. We have created many negative affinities in the past. In the past, we were also contaminated by many afflictions and dust-like delusions, and we still have not fully eliminated our habitual tendencies, so we suffer the effects of our negative karma. Thus, we must constantly make an effort to be vigilant and to always be mindful.

Episode 701 – Facing the Retributions of One’s Karma

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>> Good and evil karma cause retributions of joy and suffering. No one can add even the slightest transgression to our karma. No other can suffer the retributions of our own transgressions in our place. Good and evil karmic conditions apply to those with few or many blessings accordingly.

>> Upon emerging from hell, they are reborn as animals like dogs and jackals, haggard and emaciated in appearance, mottled black and covered in scabs. They are beaten and abused by humans.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Then they are also despised by humans and perpetually plagued by hunger and thirst, so their flesh and bones are withered and dry. Their lives are full of torment, and in death they are buried under stones and tiles. Having cut off the seed of Buddhahood, they suffer retribution for their transgressions.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Ten evil retributions suffered by dogs: Haggard, gaunt and sallow, dirty, covered in scabs, beaten and abused, despised by humans, perpetually plagued by hunger and thirst, flesh and bones withered and dry, lives filled with torment, and set to die and be buried under rubble.

>>The Great Vehicle Buddha-Dharma explains that everything is created by the mind. One thought gives rise to myriad actions, and one action produces many fruits. So, upon emerging from hell, they are born in the animal realm. The latter retributions can be deduced by the same principle.

>> If reborn as camels, or donkeys, they are constantly laden with burdens and flogged with sticks. Their only thoughts are of grass and water, and they know nothing else. It is because of their slander of this sutra that they suffer retribution like this. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Four evil retributions faced by camels or donkeys: Four evil retributions faced by camels or donkeys: They are laden with burdens, flogged with sticks, their thoughts are only on grass and water and they know nothing else.

>>Or they are reborn as jackals and enter the villages. Their bodies are covered in scabs and sores, and they are missing an eye. They are beaten and thrown about by children, thus undergoing many sufferings, even to the point of death. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

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“Good and evil karma cause retributions of joy and suffering.
No one can add even the slightest transgression to our karma.
No other can suffer the retributions of our own transgressions in our place.
Good and evil karmic conditions apply to those with few or many blessings accordingly.”

Do you understand this? We ourselves have created all of our retributions. Negative or positive, the karmic causes we have created lead us to retributions of suffering and joy. They have all been created by us. The amount of karma we have created determines the amount of karmic retributions we face; we reap what we sow.

Whatever karma we have created in our past lives, we will have to face those karmic retributions ourselves in this life. If people want to add to our karma, they cannot. If people want to reduce our karma, they cannot. Thus, the actions we took in our past lives determine the retributions we face in this life. As [unenlightened] beings, we need to pay close attention to every word we say, everything we do and every thought we give rise to. We need to be very cautious; otherwise. “Good and evil karma [will] cause retributions of joy and suffering.” We will reap what we sow.

As we recite the Earth Treasury Sutra, we read the story of the Brahmin maiden and how filial she was to her mother [Doing what she did] required the power of great vows. We should already know that this Brahmin maiden, has for many lifetimes, saved sentient beings from suffering by going into hell, the human realm and so on. Who is this Brahmin maiden exactly? The Earth Treasury Bodhisattva. He has the power of great vows. For lifetime after lifetime, he came and went in the human realm and the Three Evil Destinies without rest.

In the first volume [of the sutra], we chant the part about how when the mother of the Brahmin maiden was alive, she constantly slandered the Three Treasures. The Brahmin maiden tried to counsel against this, but no matter how hard she tried, at most her mom might [stop] temporarily. Yet not long after that, she would slander the Three Treasures again. After she passed away, her filial daughter considered her situation. What worried her most was that her mother had fallen into hell. So, she tried to come up with ways to atone for her mother’s transgressions. She sold all their possessions to make offerings to the Three Treasures. The Brahmin maiden often came to the statue of Ease in Meditation King Tathagata to pay her respects. She constantly thought, “Where is my mother right now?”

While praying reverently, she heard a voice speaking from the sky. The voice said, “I am the one you are reverently praying to for help right now, Ease in Meditation King Tathagata. I see how much you care for your mother, how much you miss her, and how you pray with the utmost reverence, as well as how worried you are about where she may be now.”

“I will tell you. Hurry home and bring your mind into a state of stillness. Think about my name; then you will automatically know your mother’s whereabouts.”

The Brahmin maiden believed what she had heard and quickly returned home. At home, she quietly sat in meditation. In that state, with her every thought, she was mindful of. Ease in Meditation King Tathagata. Then a scene appeared in her mind. She was right by the ocean, and the waves were huge. She saw many people in the ocean, floating on the surface and wailing. In the ocean water, many ferocious beasts were swimming about. There were also many yaksas and evil ghosts who tormented the people being punished by dragging them over, tearing them into pieces, then swallowing them. When she saw them, she became frightened.

Then a ghost king came to her whose name was No Harm. He greeted her in a very reverent manner. “Greetings, Bodhisattva; what brought you here?” The Brahmin maiden asked, “Just what is this place?” No Harm answered, “This is the first great sea on the western side of the great ring of iron mountains. The people who come to this place are either people who created this karma or Bodhisattvas with awe-inspiring virtue. They are the only ones who can come here”

[The maiden asked,] “Is this place hell? I have heard that hell is within the great ring of iron mountains.” The ghost king answered, “That is right. This is just the first great sea outside the great ring of iron mountains. To the east of this sea is another sea. The sentient beings suffering there are facing even worse misery and cruelty. To the east of that great sea is yet another sea. The suffering in the third great sea is even worse; it cannot be described in words. It is really excruciating.” Hearing this, the Brahmin maiden became very worried and afraid. The ghost king asked her, “What brought you here?” She said, “I am here because my mother has died. I really want to know where she is right now.”

No Harm asked her, “What is your mother’s name? My mother’s name is Yue Dili.” Upon hearing that, No Harm immediately told the Brahmin maiden, “Bodhisattva, please rest assured. You can go home immediately. Yue Dili, who was to be punished, did indeed fall into hell. However, she has a child who is very filial. This child is always respectful and has shown love to everyone and benefited them. She made offerings to the Three Treasures and prayed to. Ease in Meditation King Tathagata with such reverence that it was very moving. This virtue has extended into hell. With the help of these merits, her mother has ascended into heaven; and not just her mother, but those being punished alongside her have also ascended into heaven.”

Then, the Brahmin maiden woke up and returned to herself. “I am so grateful!” So, she went back and made a vow before this Buddha to spend all her future lifetimes saving all sentient beings, Even if she had to go into hell or come back to the human realm, she would continue in all subsequent lifetimes. Thus, Earth Treasury Bodhisattva said, “Until hell is empty, I will not attain Buddhahood. Until all have been transformed, I will forego enlightenment.” Only one with great merits and virtues can do this.

The Brahmin maiden had been kind from birth. She constantly helped sentient beings out of love and always counseled her mother to have faith in the Three Treasures. She did not do this for just one lifetime. According to the Earth Treasury Sutra, Earth Treasury Bodhisattva had accumulated merits and virtues from saving lives over many lifetimes. It is because she had accumulated so many merits and virtues that she was able to save her mother. Therefore, we should always be mindful. When we create karma, “No other can suffer the retributions of our transgressions in our place.” Nobody can take our place and face the retributions of the karma we created. Similarly, no one can take away any of the blessings we have created.

This applies to blessed and negative retributions. Depending on how many blessings we created, “Good and evil karmic conditions apply to those with few or many blessings accordingly.” If we created just a tiny amount of blessings, what can we really ask for? If we have created a lot of blessings, positive retributions will naturally come our way. If we do not have good karma, all we have is evil karma, therefore we will face much suffering in the world and produce many afflictions that we will bring with us into our next life. Will we end up suffering in hell, in the animal realm, or in the hungry ghost realm? There are countless layers of suffering; they truly never end. Thus, we should thoroughly understand that we create the positive and negative karmic causes that lead us to face retributions of joy and suffering.

As we mentioned previously, those who slander the Great Vehicle principles will fall into hell “Upon emerging from hell, they are reborn as animals like dogs and jackals, haggard and emaciated in appearance, mottled black and covered in scabs. They are beaten and abused by humans.”

Not only are they born as animals; they have skin disease and are handicapped. When people see them, they become unhappy, so they beat them, etc. This is their karma. Being born an [animal] already brings suffering, and if they also have this kind of karma, their suffering will be unbearable.

The following sutra passage states, “Then they are also despised by humans and perpetually plagued by hunger and thirst, so their flesh and bones are withered and dry. Their lives are full of torment, and in death they are buried under stones and tiles. Having cut off the seed of Buddhahood, they suffer retribution for their transgressions.”

Regardless of whether they are animals or humans, the sight of them makes people unhappy. They often suffer from poverty and hardship and are born in very humble places. Moreover, they are always thirsty and hungry. Even though they left the hungry ghost realm to come to either the animal or human realm, they still do not have enough to eat. Hence, they are like hungry ghosts in either the human or the animal realm. So, “Their flesh and bones are withered and dry,” making them physically very skinny.

“Their lives are full of torment.” While they are alive, they already experience so much misery. What about after they die? They cannot be buried properly. They are still treated like rubbish. Broken tiles and rocks, stones and sand, are used to casually bury them.

This is what happens Ten evil retributions suffered by dogs: Haggard, gaunt and sallow, dirty, covered in scabs, beaten and abused, despised by humans, perpetually plagued by hunger and thirst, flesh and bones withered and dry, lives filled with torment, and set to die and be buried under rubble.

Why did this happen to them? “Having cut off the seed of Buddhahood, they suffer the retributions for these transgressions.” We do not know what they were like in their past lives and how much karma they accumulated. They brought that karma to their present life. And this karma that they brought with them, where did it come from? Everything is created by the mind.

The Great Vehicle Buddha-Dharma explains that everything is created by the mind. One thought gives rise to myriad actions, and one action produces many fruits. So, upon emerging from hell, they are born in the animal realm. The latter retributions can be deduced by the same principle.

“One thought gives rise to myriad actions.” With one single thought, the mind can create either good or evil karma ․The Great Vehicle Buddha-Dharma explains that everything is created by the mind. One thought gives rise to myriad actions, and one action produces many fruits. So, upon emerging from hell, they are born in the animal realm. The latter retributions can be deduced by the same principle.

With our minds we can spread the Dharma and bring purity to people’s minds. With our minds we can also cut off the Dharma and the seeds of Buddhahood, causing people to be confused about the principles. So, “not being subject to the law of karma” and “not being ignorant of the law of karma” differ by only one character [in Chinese]. If one is “not subject,” one will not fear and will deny the law of karma. “Not being ignorant of the law of karma” means they clearly understand cause and effect. The difference in writing is just one character, but the difference in mindset is very great.

“Everything is created by the mind. One thought gives rise to myriad actions, and one action produces many fruits.” One action can lead to many karmic retributions. Not only may they fall into the hell, hungry ghost or animal realm; even if they are reborn human they will face much suffering. In this way, they reap what they sow. Their lack of faith in the principles leads them to destroy others’ thoughts of goodness. That creates very severe karma. Everything is created by the mind. If we do not take good care of our minds, one single thought can lead to many retributions. This is indeed frightening.

The sutra passage continues by stating, “If reborn as camels, or donkeys, they are constantly laden with burdens and flogged with sticks. Their only thoughts are of grass and water, and they know nothing else. It is because of their slander of this sutra that they suffer retribution like this.”

This is frightening! It describes the lives of camels, camel hybrids and donkeys. One of the Chinese characters for “camel hybrid” looks very similar to the one for “donkey.” Their fathers are donkeys, and their mothers are cows. This hybrid of two species is called a camel hybrid. They look almost exactly the same as a pure camel.

“Their only thoughts are of grass and water, and they know nothing else. It is because of their slander of this sutra that they suffer retribution like this.” Being born into the animal realm, whether as camels, donkeys, oxen or horses, they all have to perform hard physical labor. These animals face four kinds of evil retributions. They are laden with burdens; oxen and horses need to pull loads, while camels and donkeys must carry them. Instead of pulling carts, they use their body to carry heavy burdens. When they walk slowly, they are flogged or beaten with sticks and rods. They suffer greatly and do not ask for anything in return; all they ask for is water and feed. They do not even think of seeking comfort or objects of desire. That is not possible for them. So, for them, “Their only thoughts are of grass and water, and they know nothing else.” They do not ask for anything else.

If reborn as camels, or donkeys, they are constantly laden with burdens and flogged with sticks. Their only thoughts are of grass and water, and they know nothing else. It is because of their slander of this sutra that they suffer retribution like this.

When born as this kind of animal, what can they possibly ask for? Being able to eat their fill is good enough. They just obediently toil and suffer. This is the suffering of animals

“Or they are reborn as jackals and enter the villages. Their bodies are covered in scabs and sores, and they are missing an eye. They are beaten and thrown about by children, thus undergoing many sufferings, even to the point of death.” This is also tremendous suffering!

野干：似犬而小，體瘦面長，性聰明，敏感、狡滑，亦稱狐狸。 Jackals go into the villages. In fact, jackals closely resemble canines and dogs. However, they are much skinnier, and their faces are long. They are characterized by their cleverness, and they are also very sensitive and cunning. The same is true of foxes.

In the past, I have told a story about a fox traveling with a tiger. The fox in this case was a jackal. These jackals and foxes [are similar]. This story explains the saying, “A fox exploiting the tiger’s might.” The fox earnestly flattered the tigers so he could walk around with them. One time, as the tigers walked around the forest, the fox walked alongside them. When all the ferocious beasts and animals saw these tigers, they all scattered. The fox put on a very self-satisfied air, giving the tigers the impression that everyone was afraid of the fox, hence they admired him greatly. In fact, the fox clearly understood, “I am relying on the might of the tigers with me. People are scared at the sight of the tigers, not me.”

In addition, some jackals are born with deformities all over their body. Even though they are clever and cunning, they still face the four evil retributions, being covered in scabs, being blind, being beaten and tortured by children and even being maliciously killed.

So, no matter how clever they are, they still have to suffer these torments, physical deformities, etc. Therefore, in life we need to properly adjust our minds. We must return to our pure intrinsic nature and have a deep understanding of principles. Principles can enliven our wisdom-life, can help us to develop it. This is how true principles can help us return to our nature of True Suchness. They are the seeds of Buddhahood. If people do not want to pass on the true principles and instead slander them, they are cutting off the seed of Buddhahood and severing people’s roots of goodness. The consequences for this world would be unimaginable. The retributions for this transgression are very serious.

“Good and evil karma cause retributions of joy and suffering.” We must place great importance on this. No one can add to our transgressions. No one can suffer retributions on our behalf. We face the retributions of the karma we create. So, we must create blessings, not diminish them. Thus we must always be mindful.

Episode 700 – The Painful Results of Slandering the Dharma

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>>Domestic animals are raised by their owners. These are oxen, horses, pigs, sheep and the like. All animals receive their retribution because of speaking flattery, having inferior capabilities, ignorance, taking no joy in seeing and hearing the Dharma and committing slander.

>>When their lives end, they will enter Avici Hell. They will pass an entire kalpa there, and at the end of the kalpa, they will be reborn. They will then continue on in this way for a period of countless kalpas.    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>>Upon emerging from hell, they are reborn as animals like dogs and jackals, haggard and emaciated in appearance, mottled black and covered in scabs. They are beaten and abused by humans.    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>>Those who slander the Lotus Sutra, upon emerging from hell, suffer the retribution of being reborn as animals. They become dogs, jackals, camels, donkeys or pythons.

>>Dogs [or] jackals, haggard and emaciated in appearance: This baldness explains the karmic effects jackals and dogs face in their retribution of being reborn as animals.

>>Mottled black: They are mottled with black and yellow spots, looking drab and lusterless.

>>They are beaten and abused by humans: They are struck and interfered with, flogged and abused.

>>The Great Vehicle Buddha-Dharma explains that one thought gives rise to myriad actions, and one action produces many fruits. So, upon emerging from hell, they are born in the animal realm. The latter retributions can be deduced by the same principle.

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“Domestic animals are raised by their owners.
These are oxen, horses, pigs, sheep and the like.
All animals receive their retribution because of speaking flattery, having inferior capabilities, ignorance,
taking no joy in seeing and hearing the Dharma and committing slander.”

When we look at this passage, we should indeed make an effort to cherish our human existence. We must not say, “Making changes in this life is very hard for me. I’ll wait to make changes in the next one.” In our next life, will we have this opportunity? We did not seize the causes and conditions that would allow us to makes changes, so in our next life, negative causes and conditions will continue on in this way, in a cycle of hatred and animosity. Will we be born human again in our next life? As a being in the hell, hungry ghost or animal realm, we will have even less control over things.

Hell is filled with unbearable suffering! There is no freedom at all in the animal realm, and the hungry ghost realm is full of suffering, so these opportunities will not arise. Only by being born human will we actually have a measure of freedom. When a thought of goodness arises and causes and conditions come together, we should earnestly seize the moment and use that opportunity to accomplish something. We must promptly accept the Buddha’s teachings, as well as the chance to put the Bodhisattva-path into practice. This is our true opportunity as humans.

You see, “Domestic animals are raised by their owners.” These kinds of animals are kept and raised by humans; they have an owner. Why is your owner raising you? If you are born an ox, it is to plow the fields. As an ox, you will haul all the heavy things. The same applies to horses. In ancient times, they were means of transportation and were also ridden into the battlefield. This is to say nothing of pigs and sheep, who are raised to be sold and butchered for food. Thus, beings in the animal realm have no freedom at all. The animal realm is really terrifying.

No matter how much we suffer as humans, human life is a mix of good and evil. Some people bring the good karma they created in their past lives to this life to enjoy blessings. Some are very wealthy, well-educated and have a dignified appearance. Everyone they meet envies them. With a life of abundance like this, they live as if they were born in heaven. Some people’s lives are middle-of-the-road; their children are filial, their wife pure in heart. A family living harmoniously and happily like this is living a normal life.

There are people who are very wealthy, but there is no peace in their family. There is no affection between parents and children and no love between husband and wife; mutually they harbor doubts and resentment. There are many families like this in the world.

I heard this from a Malaysian businessman. He shared his story with me. In the past, all he was focused on was money. He had no friends but had a thriving business. Every day, he was very busy. He said that in his brain, whenever he saw people, he thought only about his own personal gain and how he could make money from them. When he shared a meal with someone, he insisted on paying because by making this deal, he would make a big profit.

But due to the guidance of Tzu Chi volunteers, he came to a Jing Si Lifestyle Camp and heard many people share [their stories]. He quietly and calmly contemplated, “Indeed, how long will this life be? How much time do I have? On hearing about the principle of impermanence, it was instilled in his mind. “Indeed! This simple word, ‘impermanence,’ is terrifying. I must change my ways right away. I keep growing my business, but what use is that?”

When he returned home, he shared his feelings with his wife. Upon hearing this, his wife felt, “That is right. I’m always telling you this. You are so focused on your business that you never think about your family. Have you ever really spoken with your son? He has been complaining about this.” With that, he suddenly came to a major realization. He began to delegate more of his business. This gave him more free time to spend with Tzu Chi volunteers, who brought him to volunteer and listen to teachings. As he listened to and understood the Dharma, he began participating in all the activities.

Describing his participation in the activities, he said, “I feel so happy. As the people here talk with each other, their emotions and interactions are really genuine. We accomplish all the tasks together, and then everyone says to me, ‘We are grateful’. I too have learned to say ‘I am grateful’. I have so many friends now, and money is no longer my focus. At home, my son and I always have something to talk about. Sometimes when I’m volunteering, my wife will come with me. Right now, I’m very content with my life.”

This is the kind of freedom we have in our lives. We are free to choose the kind of life that we want to live. If we do not seize the moment in this lifetime to create [good] relationships, if all we think about is satisfying our insatiable greed, in the future, without any say in the matter, we will be born in the animal realm, where we will be fed and raised by our owner and have to work on their behalf. Or we may eat and live in a state of oblivion, and when the time comes we may be led to the slaughterhouse.

Why do living beings end up in the animal realm? Because of the causes they created in past lives. In their past lives, they greedily tried to satisfy their desires, lying and cheating to get what they wanted. People like this are found everywhere. They “have inferior capabilities and are ignorant.” Their capabilities are quite inferior. Even if the Buddha-Dharma and the principles are presented to them, they refuse to faithfully accept them. Even if they do faithfully accept them, they constantly act in ways that are harmful to and slanderous of the Dharma and the principles. Perhaps they use the Dharma to flatter, curry favor or show off. “I understand a lot, I’m so smart. The principles are very clear to me.” Actually, they want people to make offerings to them and want to find a way to gain some kind of advantage. All of this happens because of their inferior capabilities.

They “take no joy in seeing or hearing the Dharma.” They may hear these teachings or read them. Clearly, the Buddha-Dharma is right in front of them. After listening to it, not only are they unhappy and unable to put it into practice, instead they slander it and will then have to face the resulting karmic retribution. What is the karmic retribution for slandering [the Dharma]? They are “kept as domestic livestock by men.”

In future lives, aside from being born in the Three Evil Destinies, they may suffer painful retributions as humans. Therefore, if today we are living in peace, if today we are very blessed, when we witness suffering, we should recognize our blessings. Recognizing this, we should seize every opportunity to be diligent and engage in spiritual practice.

Next, let us look again at the previous sutra passage “When their lives end, they will enter Avici Hell. They will pass an entire kalpa there, and at the end of the kalpa, they will be reborn. They will then continue on in this way for a period of countless kalpas.”

“They” refers to people who hear the Dharma but do not mindfully listen to it nor faithfully accept it. Instead, they slander it and cut off the seeds of Buddhahood. People who do so will descend into Avici Hell, which, as we said before, means unremitting. There is no pause; the suffering is unremitting. This lasts for a long time, and continues unremittingly. For this long period of time, there will be no space and no time to stop and rest. This is Avici Hell. When that kalpa ends, they will be reborn and continue on in this way for countless kalpas. If what we do in this lifetime leads us into hell, we may not be saved for thousands or even tens of thousands of lifetimes.

The following sutra passage then states, “Upon emerging from hell, they are reborn as animals like dogs and jackals, haggard and emaciated in appearance, mottled black and covered in scabs. They are beaten and abused by humans.”

They spend a long time in hell, enduring suffering. When they finally exhaust their karma for being in hell and emerge from it, where will they go? They will then be born in the animal realm again.

This is because of the evil they committed in the human realm. Whether it be the Ten Evils or five offenses, the karma they create causes them to fall into hell. After they exhaust these karmic retributions, [they still have karma from] their past lives of taking advantage of people in their business dealings or seizing people’s wealth or valuables. When we [take] people’s things, we will eventually have to repay them. Once we owe something to others, we must repay them. How will we repay this debt? In a future life, we will be reborn as an ox, horse, pig, dog or some other kind of domestic animal, and they will be our owner. They will treat us like merchandise; they may sell us for profit or slaughter. This is how we repay this debt. Another way is to suffer torment at their hands.

Those who slander the Lotus Sutra, upon emerging from hell, suffer the retribution of being reborn as animals. They become dogs, jackals, camels, donkeys or pythons.

So, being “reborn as animals” is also the fate of those who slander the Lotus Sutra, the Great Vehicle Dharma

All of the Great Vehicle Dharma is contained in the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra is the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. If people listen to the Lotus teachings but do not earnestly accept them, they may instead slander the Right Dharma. By slandering the Right Dharma, they sever people’s roots of goodness and cut off the seeds of Buddhahood. This creates very severe karma, leading them to fall into hell. Then, upon emerging from hell, they are born in the animal realm. They face the retribution of being born in the animal realm because not only did they cut off the seeds of Buddhahood, they deceived, cheated and swindled people, thereby owing them a karmic debt that they eventually have to repay. Thus they are born in the animal realm to face negative retribution.

The animal realm includes dogs, and besides oxen, horses, sheep, pigs, etc., there are also canines, jackals, camels, donkeys and pythons. All of these are beasts of the land in the animal realm.

Dogs [or] jackals, haggard and emaciated in appearance: This baldness explains the karmic effects jackals and dogs face in their retribution of being reborn as animals.

They may be “dogs [or] jackals, haggard and emaciated in appearance”. Some living beings, once born in the animal realm, already face unbearable suffering. Moreover, you have seen dogs whose entire bodies are ragged, or with legs that are broken and so on. Not only have they been born animals, they are abused and disparaged by humans, beaten by sticks and so on. With this kind of appearance, no one feeds them [Malnourished,] they develop skin diseases all over. We have all seen [animals] like this, “haggard and emaciated”; because of their skin disease, they have no hair. Not only may they be born as dogs or foxes, in addition to that, no one feeds them, and then on top of that, they are diseased. If we think about it, they are animals that live as if they are in hell; they face tremendous suffering.

These kinds of jackals and foxes resemble a dog in physical appearance, and they are classified as canines. These are called jackals. Jackals are very clever, devious and cunning. There is a story about a jackal who was hungry and had nothing to eat. Being crafty, he joined a pride of lions where he constantly exhibited his skills in flattery. If a lion did not finish his food, he would go eat it. He thought that it would be a safe thing to do.

One day, after a lion had finished eating, he saw this jackal approaching. Suddenly, the lion reverted to his fierce nature and caught the jackal to eat him. Before the lion could fully swallow him, the jackal was still able to make use of his cunning and his craftiness. He was able to call for help from the lion’s throat. He sounded very sorrowful, and upon hearing this, the lion was moved. He opened his mouth to explain that, “I have fed you for so long and have been waiting for this day to come.” But when he opened up his mouth to talk, the jackal escaped. So, we can see jackals are so devious and clever. They are even able to escape from the jaws of a ferocious beast.

Mottled black: They are mottled with black and yellow spots, looking drab and lusterless.

This is what jackals can do. Though they find ways to survive, they cannot prevent their bodies from becoming diseased and ragged, developing skin diseases, etc. Thus it says they are “haggard and emaciated.” Furthermore, they are “mottled black and covered in scabs. They are beaten and abused by humans.” Their body may also be covered with black and yellow spots, and [their coat] is absolutely without luster. Their hair is entirely filthy; there is no luster at all. The hair all over their body may be tangled. This kind of appearance comes from scabies, a skin disease; it is a contagious skin disease. They may also develop sores, pustules etc. Thus, people dislike having them around, so they “beat and abuse” them with their [fists], or with sticks, etc. No matter where they go, they are unwelcome. Humans drive them away by kicking them, swinging sticks at them, etc. “Struck and interfered with” like this, there is nowhere they feel safe and peaceful. They are also “flogged and abused,” etc.

This is all because in their past lives, they slandered the Great Vehicle Dharma; they sought to destroy the Buddha-Dharma and the principles. Not only did they [slander] the Buddha-Dharma, they sought to destroy people’s sense of morality.

The Great Vehicle Buddha-Dharma explains that one thought gives rise to myriad actions, and one action produces many fruits. So, upon emerging from hell, they are born in the animal realm. The latter retributions can be deduced by the same principle.

This happened because of their minds, because “One thought gives rise to myriad actions.” One thought may lead us to commit the five offenses, deny the law of karma, seize things out of greed. A single thought can lead us to do anything. Thus “One action produces many fruits”
A single action can result in karma that land us in hell, in the hungry ghost realm and in the animal realm. All this results from the negative karma we create because of a single thought. So, one action can result in many retributions. Indeed, there may be so many karmic fruits that it may be hard to face them all. “So, upon emerging from hell, they suffer the retribution of being born as animals.” When they finally emerge from hell, they end up in the animal realm. After the animal realm, they end up in the hungry ghost realm. And after they exhaust their retributions in the hungry ghost realm? The cycle continues again because they do not have the causes and conditions that allow them to be saved or to save themselves. They lack these karmic conditions.

As we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must be mindful. As people interact, there are no causes that do not form conditions and no conditions that do not bring effects. If we had not created negative affinities with people in the past, there would not be evil people setting traps for us. Therefore, our karmic retributions are all created by our minds.

So, I hope that everyone will remember this. Oxen, horses, pigs and sheep are all sentient beings. And how did they come to be born in these forms? In their past lives, they were flatterers, or had inferior capabilities and ignorance. People like this will fall into the animal realm in a future life. This is because, having listened to the teachings, not only could they not faithfully accept and practice them, they gave rise to afflictions, committed slander, thus cutting off the seeds of Buddhahood. We must be vigilant not to do these things, and we must always be mindful.