Category: TLS Chapter 3

Episode 556 – Treat Ignorance By Training the Mind

---

>> “Ignorance and desires blaze due to the lack of wisdom-water. The wondrous Dharma that can save the world must be used to train our minds. Everything is created by the mind; this is the Dharma of perfect enlightenment. The mind and the Buddha are equal in great compassion.”

>> “I should now devise skillful means to allow all my children to avoid this harm.”

>> “The father knew his children, that they each had their own preferences for all kinds of precious toys or unusual objects, which would surely bring them joy.”

>> The father knew his children, that they each had their own preferences: This explains the reason behind the Three Vehicles. He knew that they each had preferences, things which they sought, just as the Buddha knew sentient beings’ abilities gave them strong or weak powers of wisdom. He considered their capacity to accept and apply the Dharma before giving it to them.

>> “He knew they each had their own preferences and things which they sought.”

>> This also shows that their habitual natures were the cause, and their own spiritual practice was the effect. The directions each followed to attain merits were all different. This is why the Tathagata first adapted to their preferences in order to teach the Dharma.

>> Most people take pleasure in various valuable and precious objects, things they can admire and play with, and are attached to desires and sensory pleasures. This is an analogy for the Two Vehicle practitioners, who only take joy in liberating themselves. They are attached to benefiting themselves and take joy in their own teachings.

>> Those with great capabilities had originally studied the Great Vehicle. This is the meaning of “knowing each had their own preferences.” The various precious toys are the. Four Truths, Twelve Links, Six Paramitas etc., which are rare in the Three Realms. Thus they are called unusual objects. He knew what enlightened beings took joy in, so he directly gave them what they liked.

---

“Ignorance and desires blaze due to the lack of wisdom-water.
The wondrous Dharma that can save the world must be used to train our minds.
Everything is created by the mind; this is the Dharma of perfect enlightenment.
The mind and the Buddha are equal in great compassion.”

Isn’t the purpose of spiritual practice to help all of us train our minds? If we do not train our minds well, ignorance will arise, which opens the door to many obstacles. If we can train our minds to be stable, the mirror of our clear wisdom will manifest. So, we must always be mindful in training our minds.

During the Buddha’s lifetime, something like this happened in His Sangha.

When the Buddha was at Jeta Grove, there was a group of bhiksus following Him to engage in spiritual practice. The environment of Jeta Grove was beautiful. In springtime, all the flowers were in bloom and the trees flourished. There were also many flowers and grasses. These beautiful springtime images were very enchanting.

Among [the monastics] was a group of four bhiksus. As they sat there, one of them said, “If I could spend every day in this place, I would feel peaceful and at ease. I could enjoy the scenery of the mountains and of the flowers together with others. If I could do this, then I would be very happy.” Another bhiksu said, “If I could be with a few friends and relatives and have a drink, sing a little song and dance together, enjoying the song and dance, that would be so wonderful.”

Another bhiksu said, “If I could live in this kind of state and also have plenty of wealth and treasures, beautiful clothing, an extravagant cart and horses and so on, so that I am the envy of everyone who sees me, if I could live in such a state, that would be so wonderful.” Another replied, “Indeed, I would add one more thing to this state, which is a beautiful wife and concubines. They would be dressed beautifully, have wonderful singing voices and play instruments. If we could enjoy this kind of life, wouldn’t that be the most delightful thing? Playing and enjoying ourselves in this place would be such a wonderful pleasure in life!”

When He heard this, the Buddha felt, “They already took vows and left the lay life. However, their minds are still connected to those states. This is really a pity.”

“It is precious to hear the Dharma and have the aspiration to become a monastic, yet their minds are still connected to these various states, causing these thoughts to stir in their minds.” The Buddha, in His compassion, called for them. He told them, “Everyone should know that life is impermanent. After the spring passes, the blazing heat of summer comes. If it is dry, all the flowers will wilt. Come autumn, all the leaves on the trees will wither. The beauty of this world is impermanent.”

“Also, if you want to gather in a group and enjoy yourselves, remember that, no matter how close you are, you will eventually have to part. If you want wealth and treasures, you must understand that they never truly belong to us. We must also know, if we want beautiful wives and concubines, and the pleasure and entertainment they provide, we must know we will suffer from parting with those we love and from meeting those we hate. Nothing in this world is everlasting. We must all understand this. With your current thinking and mindset, if you continue to connect with conditions, that will be very hazardous. That could evoke and lead you toward depression and fear; it is a path to danger and even death.” This is what the Buddha told these four bhiksus.

So, we have said, “Ignorance and desires blaze.” If ignorance and desire arise, they will blaze like a fire. Similarly, if the fields of our minds are not nourished by Dharma-water, desire will cause the fields to become completely dry, which is very hazardous.

Recently we have spoken of the Three Realms as a great house with many people living in it. If people’s undisciplined minds become impatient from being arid and parched, they will not be able to calm down. So, the house of the Three Realms has been decaying in this very dry state. But the people within are still unaware. Under these circumstances, being in this great house is very hazardous. Not only is it dangerous, already “all at once, a fire broke out.” This fire is ablaze on all four sides. This is how the Buddha warns us to quickly start training our minds. We must aspire to save the world. As the fire begins to burn all around us, we must quickly find ways to extinguish it, or, if the fire has grown too big, we must quickly escape. This is how we save this great house.

To save the world, we need wondrous Dharma. The first method in this wondrous Dharma is to train our minds. The Buddha also told us that. “[To know] all Buddhas of the Three Periods, [know that] all things are created by the mind.” Everything, even past, present and future Buddhas must begin with the mind.

So, “Everything is created by the mind; this is the Dharma of perfect enlightenment.” The Dharma is a method of achieving balance. It can help us balance and stabilize our minds so that we retain our pure intrinsic nature and reach a state where our mind is equal to the Buddha’s. This requires applying great compassion.

We must know that everyone lives together in the great house of this world. So, everyone’s minds must be pure. Right now, the macrocosm of the world is in an era where there is an imbalance of the four elements. Good and evil are mixed up in people’s minds. Most people have strayed from the path of morality. So, what should we do? We must quickly think of a way to help everyone to be more proactive and call out in one voice. The voice of one person is too weak. We need to bring more people’s voices together and call out in unison. This is the only way for the Buddha to not be doing this alone. If the elder is by himself, he will be very lonely. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must have this awareness.

The previous sutra passage states,

“I should now devise skillful means to allow all my children to avoid this harm.”

We spoke of this before. The elder repeatedly called to them, but the children remained inside. So, he had to quickly think of various methods to draw them out. These children have been immersed in desires, so he had to find methods based on what it was that delighted them in order to draw them out. This was the compassionate father, the elder of the world, the world-transcending enlightened one, the Buddha.

The next passage states,

“The father knew his children, that they each had their own preferences for all kinds of precious toys or unusual objects, which would surely bring them joy.”

This explains the Three Vehicles. The Buddha wanted to share the enlightened state He had attained with everyone so that everyone’s minds would be in a state equal to the Buddha’s. Sadly, their habitual tendencies were already quite severe, so He had to teach the Three Vehicle Dharma.

The father knew his children, that they each had their own preferences: This explains the reason behind the Three Vehicles. He knew that they each had preferences, things which they sought, just as the Buddha knew sentient beings’ abilities gave them strong or weak powers of wisdom. He considered their capacity to accept and apply the Dharma before giving it to them.

Next,

“He knew they each had their own preferences and things which they sought.”

This is an analogy. The Buddha knew that among sentient beings some had exceptional capabilities and some had very limited capabilities. Therefore, He had to mindfully contemplate and evaluate them to see what kind of people they were and what types of methods He would need to use.

The Buddha always observed their capabilities and taught accordingly. According to each person’s “habitual nature as the cause,” He allowed them to attain “spiritual practice as the effect.” Each person’s habitual tendencies determined the teaching that each could accept. This was the cause. Then, the effect depends on their capabilities and how they engage in spiritual practice.

This also shows that their habitual natures were the cause, and their own spiritual practice was the effect. The directions each followed to attain merits were all different. This is why the Tathagata first adapted to their preferences in order to teach the Dharma.

Those with great capabilities walked the Bodhisattva-path. Those with average capabilities observed the states of the four seasons and so on. In this way, each followed their own capabilities to “attain merits.”

Those who walk the Bodhisattva-path engage in internal cultivation and external practices. Those with average capabilities only engage in internal cultivation. Their spiritual practice is focused on themselves. This has a certain effect. Although engaging in internal cultivation to “purify their own minds” likewise allows them to attain virtues, they are not Bodhisattvas who go among people. The Dharma they spread is not that of the Four Great Vows so it does not result in that great virtue. So, they each engaged in their own practice, and each attained their own virtues. Thus, “They were all different.”

The Tathagata adapted to their preferences and used various treasures and various valuables to entice them from that place. Depending on what they wanted, they could quickly come out to get it. This is the mindfulness of the Buddha.

Most people take pleasure in various valuable and precious objects, things they can admire and play with, and are attached to desires and sensory pleasures. This is an analogy for the Two Vehicle practitioners, who only take joy in liberating themselves. They are attached to benefiting themselves and take joy in their own teachings.

Most people “take pleasure in various valuable and precious objects.” The things that people can play with or admire are the things that are craved by many people. Some people are happy when they see wonderful things, so they want to take them, to possess them. Clinging to them, they lose their resolve. They remain immersed in that state and do not want to move forward or exercise the pure potential of their nature. They remain immersed in and greedily cling to that state. This is an analogy for Two Vehicle practitioners, who only seek to awaken themselves.

This is true whether they are. Solitary Realizers or Hearers. Solitary Realizers realize on their own that all things in the world are impermanent. They are like Sariputra, who had stopped with the [realization of] true emptiness. He could not penetrate wondrous existence, how to transform sentient beings to help them return to their intrinsic Tathagata-nature.

After penetrating the principles, he had made use of them himself. He understood “true emptiness,” but not the Buddha’s original intent. The Buddha’s heart is as vast as the universe; “His mind encompasses the universe.” He sees the Three Realms as His own house and sentient beings in the Three Realms as part of His own family, His own children. This expansive and spacious mind is truly in a state of “wondrous existence.” Meanwhile, Sariputra had stopped with realizing the principles of “true emptiness” and sought only to awaken himself.

Others still had desires in their minds. These Hearers were like the four bhiksus we just spoke of. They were in a place of spiritual practice but still allowed discursive thoughts to arise. You see, these Hearers had heard the Buddha expound the Dharma, yet this was still their state of mind. Their minds were still fluctuating. So, these were all Small Vehicle practitioners. They had not yet realized great principles, so the Buddha had to use various methods to draw them out.

This is how the Buddha teaches according to sentient beings’ capabilities, based on what the practitioners would accept. What exactly do they want? So, when it comes to joy, the Two Vehicle practitioners only take joy in liberating themselves. “They are attached to benefiting themselves and take joy in their own teachings.” This is [the mindset] of ordinary practitioners. They have not yet taken the Great Vehicle Dharma to heart and still dwell on the Two Vehicle Dharma.

Those with great capabilities “had originally studied the Great Vehicle. This is the meaning of knowing each had their own preferences.”

Those with great capabilities had originally studied the Great Vehicle. This is the meaning of “knowing each had their own preferences.” The various precious toys are the. Four Truths, Twelve Links, Six Paramitas etc., which are rare in the Three Realms. Thus they are called unusual objects. He knew what enlightened beings took joy in, so he directly gave them what they liked.

The Buddha already “knew that they each had their own preferences.” In the past, some had developed great aspirations and had maintained their capabilities up to the present. So, they could quickly accept the Great Dharma and go out to transform sentient beings.

Thus, “the various precious toys are the. Four Truths, Twelve Links, Six Paramitas, etc. Four Truths” refers to the Four Noble Truths. “Twelve Links” refers to the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. The Six Paramitas are the teachings of the Bodhisattva-path, giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. These Six Paramitas are truly “rare in the Three Realms. Thus they are called unusual objects.” This Dharma really is very precious.

We understand that enlightened sentient beings are Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are enlightened sentient beings who would certainly be delighted with it, so He gave them their favorite Dharma. They form great aspirations and make great vows, so the Buddha taught the Six Paramitas to them.

Engaging in spiritual practice is like the way farmers cultivate a field. The field cannot survive without water. See the many countries experiencing droughts now. The ground is cracked and left uncultivated. If the fields are unplowed, crops cannot be harvested. Thus, the people’s lives are in crisis. If we do not cultivate the fields of our minds, we will lose our wisdom-life. When there is ignorance in our minds, it is like an arid land with dried out grass; the slightest spark of fire will set it ablaze. So, we must have the water of wisdom.

Then we can earnestly use our wisdom to train our minds. If our minds are trained well, the mirror of our minds will be like a flooded paddy, which reflects the moon in the sky so the image of a bright moon appears. The mirror of our minds is just like this. We must exercise great compassion to go among people. Suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, the Four Noble Truths, must be understand along with the. Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence of our past, present and future. Most importantly, we must practice the Six Perfections. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 555 – Developing Liberated Understanding and Views

---

>> “The Buddha, with an ocean of enlightenment and the love of a kind father, contemplated and had thoughts about how to save His children. He established wondrous provisional teachings by teaching the Three Vehicles. Like clouds suddenly dispersing, afflictions will be eliminated.”

>> At that time, the elder had this thought, “This house is already burning with great flames. If I and my children do not get out now, we will certainly be burned.”

>> “I should now devise skillful means to allow my children to avoid this harm.”

>> “I should now devise skillful means to allow all my children to avoid this harm”: The elder, in his old age, worriedly thought about how to quickly get the children out, to protect them and help them avoid being injured by the fire.

>> This explains how He contemplated the methods for saving sentient beings from severe hindrances of attachments and afflictions: Lethargy and afflictions will disturb our minds and spirits so that we cannot reveal our wondrous and bright nature. This is the obstruction of afflictions.

>> This is an analogy for how the Buddha’s affinity with the world was almost over. The Three Vehicle practitioners had not fully attained liberated understanding and views, and His only fear was not saving them in time.

>> Sentient beings had lost focus and were greedy for, attached to and deluded by all the external conditions they connected with. Thus they could not remember their original goodness. They had lost sight of their nature. The Buddha could not bear for this to happen. He compared [the children to] “sentient beings who had lost focus” and were “greedy for, attached to and deluded by all the external conditions they connected with.”

---

“The Buddha, with an ocean of enlightenment and the love of a kind father,
contemplated and had thoughts about how to save His children.
He established wondrous provisional teachings by teaching the Three Vehicles.
Like clouds suddenly dispersing, afflictions will be eliminated.”

This tells everyone that after the Buddha’s enlightenment, His mind encompassed all things in the world. Therefore, we refer to the Buddha as the Great Enlightened One of the Universe. The Buddha’s wisdom encompasses all things in the universe. How could His wisdom possibly be so great? Because His love is limitless. This is why we talk about compassion and wisdom. [That love] is His compassion. With His compassion and wisdom, He is one with the universe and has the love of a kind father.

This “kind father” is different from ordinary parents. Once we make the comparison to parents, we think about how parents’ hearts are such that however badly their children behave, they will generously forgive them, hoping their children can return to a proper path. These parents never stop hoping. But, no matter how great their parental love is, it only lasts for one lifetime; they only have the karmic conditions to be parents to their child in this life. However, the Buddha is a kind father with an ocean of enlightenment in His heart. The love of such a kind father lasts lifetime after lifetime.

However vast the universe is, His heart is just as vast. However long the universe lasts, His enlightened nature will last just as long. The Buddha’s loving-kindness makes Him the father of the Four Kinds of Beings, and this state of mind is everlasting. He is not only our kind father for one lifetime, but will be the kind father of sentient beings forever. His love for all sentient beings in the world is everlasting.

This is why we always talk about unconditional loving-kindness and universal compassion. How “universal” is His compassion? He treats all people as He would His own body. With the Buddha’s ocean of enlightenment and His loving-kindness, He treats sentient beings as if they were a part of His own body. This is how much He cares for them. The suffering of sentient beings is suffering that the Buddha experiences as His own.

As we live in this world, we unceasingly give rise to afflictions and karma. We have accumulated so much collective karma. The world is already giving us constant warnings. These warnings tell us, “Look at the state we are in!” In the macrocosm of the world, there have been endless disasters of water, fire, wind and earthquakes. See how an imbalance of the four elements results in frequent disasters in this era. The Buddha sensed this, so over 2000 years ago He made predictions about what things would be like now. He continuously “contemplated and had thoughts about [this].” The Four Kinds of Beings in the Three Realms are like His children. How could He bear for them to stay in this world, in the Three Realms? All these disasters in the world are

caused by the impurity and evil in the human mind. We sentient beings in this world just continue to create karma and do things to harm the land, all in order extract the earth’s resources. People continuously mine mountains and dig into the earth. This planet was once very safe, but humans, for their personal gain, unceasingly excavate and destroy the land.

Yet regular people do not care about this and only think about their own comforts. They continue to enjoy themselves and play. Even if a father is anxiously waiting outside, repeatedly warning [his children], they are foolish and “merely look at their father.” They do not know how to react. This is because the world’s sentient beings have let afflictions cover their wisdom; their wisdom has been covered, so their ability to react slows down greatly. They are always greedily attached.

This is why the Buddha continued to engage in contemplation, devising many provisional teachings to teach the Three Vehicles. But sentient beings were still slow to understand. Now, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, the Buddha urgently called out to them to “tell them of these fearful matters.” He began to tell the people in the world that this world is truly frightening and fearsome. He began to call out to them and also say to them, “Come back quickly. Return to your intrinsic nature of True Suchness. Do not be an unenlightened being any longer, trapped in that burning home, not knowing that disaster is closing in from all sides. You must immediately awaken. Ignorance is like a black cloud. Only when that cloud is swept away can afflictions be eliminated.”

So, I hope that everyone will [understand] that the Three Vehicles the Buddha taught are in fact wondrous provisional teachings. These teachings are called “wondrous” because they contain true principles. It is just that we lack the capabilities to directly accept them. We also have the intrinsic nature of True Suchness that enables us to attain Buddhahood, but we do not know how to bring it out, so the Buddha taught us various methods.

The best way is to eliminate our sense of self. We must open up our hearts and minds and cherish all things in the world. Only by cherishing all things can we understand their true principles. The most accessible way for us to experience this is by going among people. We must go among people and experience their suffering. Only by doing this can we clearly understand the principles. In this way, “Like clouds suddenly dispersing, afflictions will be eliminated.”

At that time, the elder had this thought, “This house is already burning with great flames. If I and my children do not get out now, we will certainly be burned.”

The previous passage stated, “At that time, the elder had this thought,” that this house already had flames surrounding it on all sides. “If I and my children do not get out now, we will certainly be burned.” They could wait no longer; time was running out. There was no time to take things slowly, to listen gradually and gradually awaken, no. He was already out of time. It was time for them to awaken right away.

The next sutra passage states,

“I should now devise skillful means to allow my children to avoid this harm.”

After the Buddha had attained enlightenment, He wanted to share the state of mind He realized with everyone. But sentient beings are foolish and dense, so they could not embrace it immediately. Then He had no choice but to use skillful means to save them from their ignorance and habitual tendencies. He taught methods to help them to quickly sweep away their ignorance and afflictions.

So, in over 2000 years, how many lifetimes have we gone through? Have we been able to accept the Buddha-Dharma? If we have accepted the Buddha-Dharma, have we attained any realizations? So, the Buddha endlessly devised skillful means, and we have accepted the Buddha’s skillful means and have been gradually guided by them. However, our progress can no longer be gradual; it must happen quickly.

So, seven years before He entered Parinirvana, the Buddha gave the Lotus teachings. It took the Buddha seven years just to teach it, to say nothing of us unenlightened beings. The era we live in now and the way people live now are different from the Buddha’s lifetime. As I expound these teachings every day, have you comprehended them? As disasters occur more frequently, we must immediately discover ways of escaping this burning house and awakening to the Buddha-Dharma so we can still our minds and earnestly consider how we can live in harmony with all things in the world. This is why we must make an effort to reflect on ourselves and awaken.

“I should now devise skillful means to allow all my children to avoid this harm”: The elder, in his old age, worriedly thought about how to quickly get the children out, to protect them and help them avoid being injured by the fire.

“The elder, in his old age” refers to the master of this burning house. This elder was already advanced in years, ․so he felt more and more urgency. Seeing his children becoming more undisciplined, his sense of urgency grew, especially as the house was becoming older and more dilapidated. “He worriedly thought about how to quickly get the children out.” No matter what the children were like, he just wanted to get them out quickly. This illustrates the Buddha’s thinking. With wisdom, He devised methods for relieving sentient beings from “severe hindrances of attachments and afflictions.”

This explains how He contemplated the methods for saving sentient beings from severe hindrances of attachments and afflictions: Lethargy and afflictions will disturb our minds and spirits so that we cannot reveal our wondrous and bright nature. This is the obstruction of afflictions.

What are sentient beings attached to? To our desires. Our ignorance and desires have brought about our state of delusion. With desires come delusions. Look at the many countries which are experiencing natural and manmade disasters. Sentient beings, in their delusion, have brought about many natural and manmade disasters, This is because people’s desires and possessiveness give rise to delusion, confusion and attachments. These are very serious obstacles. Most of us are just like this;

we experience “lethargy and afflictions.” These afflictions cause us to become lethargic so that we cannot awaken. We seem to keep falling asleep. As soon as we listen to the Dharma we nod off. Then we remain asleep until the teaching is over. This is a lethargic and afflicted state. This happens because we unenlightened beings are dense when it comes to pure, wondrous Dharma. Because we lack wisdom, we are slow when it comes to the Dharma, very lethargic and afflicted. These obstructions are afflictions. These afflictions “disturb our minds and spirits.” They have disturbed our minds so that we are unable to concentrate. Though we listen to the Dharma, our minds are not focused.

“We cannot reveal our wondrous and bright nature.” Because we still cannot focus, our precepts, Samadhi and wisdom continue to leak away. So, our practice of the Three Flawless Studies is still not very stable. As soon as we take the Dharma to heart, it quickly leaks out again. Because of this, “We cannot reveal our wondrous and bright nature.” This is the obstruction of afflictions.

Every morning after listening to the Dharma, we chant, “I vow to eliminate the Three Obstructions and all afflictions. I vow to attain wisdom and true clarity. I universally vow to eliminate all karmic obstacles and life after life follow the Bodhisattva-path.” For our minds, we “vow to eliminate the. Three Obstructions and all afflictions.” In our daily living, are there discursive thoughts in our minds? We are filled with discursive thoughts. Whose discursive thoughts are these? They are ours. Who can eliminate your discursive thoughts? Only you can.

So, if we vow to eliminate them but do not actually make the effort to clear them away, that is like hoping a filthy place will become clean but refusing to pick up any cleaning tools to tidy things up. Who will do it for you? Perhaps a Bodhisattva will come and clean for you. But a Bodhisattva can only clean the things that are around you. Tzu Chi Bodhisattva[-volunteers] constantly help people clean their house. But how can they clean the inside of someone’s mind? They have to put the Bodhisattva Way into practice and first purify their own minds before dedicating themselves with love to clean other people’s living environments. This is the way they move people and teach them.

So, we vow to “comprehend the great path,” have “wisdom like the ocean” and “lead the people harmoniously.” If we do not “comprehend the great path,” we cannot eliminate the Three Obstructions. If we do not have wisdom, then we cannot mature. If we do not penetrate the sutras, there will be no Dharma in our hearts to nurture our wisdom. If we cannot develop our wisdom, we cannot cultivate virtue. If we have no virtue then we will be unable to eliminate our afflictions and will be unable to deliver sentient beings.

So, we must “eliminate the Three Obstructions and all afflictions.” We must constantly clear out our discursive thoughts and hold fast to precepts, Samadhi and wisdom in our minds. This is the only way we can go among the people.

This is also an analogy for the Buddha’s karmic affinity for being in this world. We always say that time is running out. Indeed, there is not enough time left.

This is an analogy for how the Buddha’s affinity with the world was almost over. The Three Vehicle practitioners had not fully attained liberated understanding and views, and His only fear was not saving them in time.

The Buddha lived in this world for 80 years. Out of these 80 years, He spent 49 teaching the Dharma. Those 49 years passed quickly and. His “affinity with the world was almost over.” The Buddha taught [the Three Vehicles] because sentient beings’ limited capabilities prevented them from directly accepting that the Buddha’s enlightened state of mind is intrinsic to everyone. He wanted to share this with everyone, but there was no one who could comprehend it, so He had to teach the Three Vehicles. He taught with the Three Vehicles for 40 years.

But though they heard the Dharma that was taught, they would take in one part of Dharma but give rise to nine parts of afflictions. This is why they remained in the Six Realms and among the Four Forms of Birth, transmigrating endlessly. This was what worried the Buddha the most. Time was running out. We are now in the evil world of Five Turbidities. There are more and more opportunities for us to be tempted to create afflictions. We keep losing the sense of love in our hearts and the compassion in our relationships. This is why the Buddha felt a sense of urgency,

especially as He was in His later years. His “affinity with the world was almost over,” and the “Three Vehicle practitioners had not fully attained liberated understanding and views.” They still did not clearly understand. So, He feared “not saving them in time.” This is why the Buddha felt a sense of urgency. He was like the elder who quickly devised more methods to see if he could quickly get everyone out. Only if everyone could escape the burning house would the elder, the father, feel at ease.

“Sentient beings had lost focus and were greedy for, attached to and deluded by all the external conditions they connected with. Thus they could not remember their original goodness. They had lost sight of their nature. The Buddha could not bear for this to happen. He compared [the children to] “sentient beings who had lost focus” and were “greedy for, attached to and deluded by all the external conditions they connected with.”

This is because they come in contact with external conditions. When the Six Sense Organs connect with the Six Sense Objects, the mind takes in external phenomena and begins to engage in thinking, leading us to act and create much karma. This is the mind of unenlightened beings. If those who hear the Dharma are still attached to their external conditions, if they hear the Dharma but still stubbornly cling to all the external phenomena they have encountered, “they cannot remember their original goodness.” They have already forgotten that people are inherently good. This is how they lost their intrinsic nature. The Buddha could not bear this.

Everyone, the Buddha is so compassionate that. He hoped that His children could quickly perfect all the ways of living in and transcending the world and have the flawless wisdom to transform themselves and all sentient beings.

Everyone, time is passing by with every second, yet there is so much Dharma left to teach. Everyone, in this world that we live in, everything is the Dharma. But we are not consciously aware of this, so we treat everything as something separate from and unrelated to us. In fact, we are all part of the same world. If there is a disaster anywhere, how can we feel at peace? So, we must awaken right away. To transform others, of course we must first transform ourselves. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 554 – A Father’s Urgent Concerns

---

>> “Sons and daughters all over the world do not understand their parent’s hearts. With long-lasting compassion and great love, parents forever cherish their children. The children are ignorant and defile their consciousness with attachments to sensory objects. Confusion and awareness are decided in a single thought; good and evil are created by the mind.”

>> Moreover, they did not know what fire was, what the house was or what the danger was. They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father.

>> “At that time, the elder had this thought, ‘This house is already burning with great flames.’ If I and my children do not get out now, we will certainly be burned.”

>> In the Buddha’s kindness, He did not have the heart to allow anyone to remain ignorant and undisciplined. Absorbed with their playthings, they lost their resolve and did not awaken. The fire had already been ignited, yet they remained unaware.

>> The kind father saw his children weakening their virtues and their resolve and remaining completely muddled and ignorant. Thus the father worried for his children. His heart burned with anxiety, so he quickly called for them to come out.

---

“Sons and daughters all over the world
do not understand their parent’s hearts.
With long-lasting compassion and great love,
parents forever cherish their children.
The children are ignorant
and defile their consciousness with attachments to sensory objects.
Confusion and awareness are decided in a single thought;
good and evil are created by the mind.”

Are sons and daughters all over the world able to understand their parents’ hearts? The way people live now is completely different from the past. In the past, three generations, four generations or even five generations lived in the same place as one big family. Everyone lived together, mutually upheld proper family relationships and respected their elders. This was how they lived.

Things gradually changed over time; these days, once the children grow up, they move out of the house. The parents remain in their hometown. Will their children’s children, the grandchildren, the next generation, actually know their grandfather’s name or their grandmother’s maiden name? It is possible the second and third generation’s affection for the first generation has continued to fade away. So, there is no sense of closeness between them. This is the way families are now.

For those people who live in cities, even if they are living with their children, when they become elderly, they may think, “If I live at home, I’m a bother to these young people. I’ll go to the nursing home.” But they are still hiding a feeling of sadness and loneliness, a deep loneliness.

In some families, people are unable to care for their sick parents, so they likewise send them to nursing homes so that professionals can take care of them. There are a lot of these kinds of issues with the elderly now.

We often sigh about how life is full of suffering. In our current society, people have lost sight of morals and ethics. These values have faded and become distant. As we take a look at people’s families, many seniors still live in the countryside. As for the many seniors in the nursing homes, when we ask them, “Do you have children?” [they say,] “We do. Then why do you live here? I don’t want to be a bother to the young people.”

When parents are taking care of their children, no matter how poor they are, they still want their children to be well-fed and warmly-clothed. Parents who are wealthier work hard to expand their business so they can give their children a solid foundation. As the children grow up, they encourage them to increase their knowledge in order to earn a higher status. This is the mindset of parents. Gradually, the mindsets of the parents and of their children become polarized. Everything parents do is for their children’s sake. But their children eventually leave them and move far away. This is a phenomenon we see in the world right now. The lack of understanding children show for their parents is the suffering elderly people experience most these days.

“With long-lasting compassion and great love, they forever cherish their children.” Whether they are living in nursing homes or somewhere else, parents still have “long-lasting compassion.” They will always be concerned about their children and grandchildren living far away. They constantly think about them. These people who are in their later years have these kinds of worries; this is the mentality of seniors.

However, what exactly do these children do after leaving [their parents]? “The children are ignorant.” After leaving their hometowns, many of them lead an undisciplined life. This is really worrisome for their parents. If their children become successful, they are too busy with their work or career to come home. Then, when their parents are asked, “What do your children do? He is a teacher, She is a professor” and so on, is how they proudly respond. But if their children stir up trouble and do bad things, or if they should become frustrated and depressed, as parents they will be concerned. They worry that people will find out. With this fear comes a sense of disgrace. This state of mind also causes suffering.

Actually, affection and love are inherently impermanent. Unfortunately, nowadays, people easily forget about the affection and love their parents have shown them. But with other kinds of affection and love, they become inextricably entangled. Love, hate, affection and animosity all lead to great suffering.

In summary, in this world, just the feelings of affection and love alone can cause many complications. Are they really that complicated? Actually, they are very simple. Whether we are deluded or awakened is decided in the space of single thought. Goodness comes from following ethics and morals. When we follow these ethics and morals, everything we do will be good. If we deviate from them, we will commit evil deeds. Good and evil both arise from the mind. Oriented one way, our minds think good thoughts and can turn from evil toward goodness. But with a shift in mindset, we can also turn from goodness toward evil.

In this world, there is so much imbalance in the macrocosm of the world and so much confusion in the microcosm of people’s minds. These lead to poor physical and mental health. Once people’s minds are unhealthy, every action they take will be wrong. This is the reason that so many interactions between people in this world have caused such large-scale disturbances. These problems all originate from the mind. The majority of people are living in suffering. Take a look at Mozambique. A group of compassionate South African volunteers has been bringing their love across the borders into Swaziland and then all the way to Mozambique. Wherever Tzu Chi volunteers have walked, lotus flowers bloom with each step.

Though these Bodhisattvas from South Africa are themselves poor and lacking in material goods, their hearts are filled with an abundance of love. At the beginning of this year (2013), when Mozambique experienced a disaster, South African Tzu Chi volunteers once again accompanied the local Bodhisattvas to visit the disaster area and taught them how to survey the disaster and conduct assessments of each [affected] family. After learning these methods, the Mozambican volunteers put them into practice, steadfastly following their teachings.

One of them was a volunteer named Victoria. She had gone into those filthy conditions. Several months after the flood, the places that were affected had still not been cleaned up. In the places she had to pass through, there were many dead pigs and dogs. Many things were still rotting in the water and there was a terrible stench because the garbage and stagnant water had not been cleared away. To pass through areas like this, Victoria would take off her shoes, roll up her pant legs and walk through these filthy and foul-smelling areas to care for people. What she did was very touching. But she said, “My family is very poor, and I am also living in poverty, so I cannot offer food to the survivors. However, I have feet and good health, so I can walk. I will visit this place every day and at least let the people who are suffering know that someone cares, that there are still people with love who care.”

She also said, “Now, if I don’t do a good deed every day, or provide care to one or two people, I do not feel at ease, mentally or physically.” This all comes from the mind. In the past, [some volunteers] complained a lot. In the past, they felt, “You are poor; well, so am I. You are suffering; so am I.” They did not want to give something they needed to anyone else. This kind of mindset they used to have is that of the poor among the poor. Now, we see a large group of volunteers who are happy every day. Each day, they take care of other people. This brings the volunteers great happiness. When they encounter the elderly and the sick, they care for them by physically guiding and supporting them.

Though volunteers who live in these conditions lack material wealth, they have spiritual wealth. This long-lasting compassion and great love is not limited only to their own parents and children. Actually, their great love has expanded to encompass all human beings. Their compassion goes beyond loving their own parents. They also often hold activities that honor parents. They teach people ways of practicing filial piety by encouraging children to wash their parents’ feet. They said, “We have never done this before. Now we do this often.” In that place of poverty, people are getting back on the right course. Because they have extended their compassion and spread great love, every day, the volunteers think of the suffering. Their love is gradually growing.

So, delusion or awakening are still determined by our minds. In this burning house of the Three Realms, we need to find ways to help everyone quickly awaken to the fact that being immersed in this state of delusion is not right. Everyone must quickly awaken and find ways to change the environment so it can be safe for everyone. They need to learn how to put out the fire, to avoid the places where the fire is burning and to rebuild their home. This is very important. It is said, “Harmony and unity are precious.” With harmony and unity in our hearts, we will work together in concert and rebuild the compassion and love between all people.

The previous passage mentions how the elder saw that the children were still inside the burning house. They did not realize how the fire was raging, so they remained inside and “just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father.” They just kept on playing.

Moreover, they did not know what fire was, what the house was or what the danger was. They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father.

Now, this sutra passage continues,

“At that time, the elder had this thought, ‘This house is already burning with great flames.’ If I and my children do not get out now, we will certainly be burned.”

He was thinking, “If I do not quickly get out, what will I do?”

Though the elder was already outside, he saw his children continuing to play. The fire was almost upon them, but they still treated it as a plaything. No matter how their father cried out to them, they merely looked at him. They did not want to listen to what he was saying. From this passage, don’t we see how hard it is to be a father? He had already contemplated and devised many ways to reach out to them, yet the children did not change their ways.

This is an analogy for how, “In the Buddha’s kindness, He did not have the heart to allow anyone to remain ignorant and undisciplined.” Though the father was standing outside and crying out to them, everyone inside still remained indifferent. This burning house was very hazardous. If they did not get out immediately, they would certainly be burned by the fire. This is how the elder felt. The elder is the Buddha, and in His compassion, His heart went out to those sentient beings.

In the Buddha’s kindness, He did not have the heart to allow anyone to remain ignorant and undisciplined. Absorbed with their playthings, they lost their resolve and did not awaken. The fire had already been ignited, yet they remained unaware.

The Buddha continued to establish teachings, but when He directly taught the True Dharma, people could not understand. Therefore, He used skillful means to expound various teachings. Actually, the Dharma and the truths He taught encompass all things in the world. Unconditioned Dharma was taught with causes and conditions, analogies and various other conditioned phenomena. The workings of matter, body and mind, known as the Four States and the Three Principles, and all kinds of material and tangible things were used as analogies.

In this world, we also see the Four Kinds of Birth. They are womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born and transformation-born. Human beings are womb-born. [Because of this] we can be compared to many other womb-born animals. The Buddha used these animals as analogies for our lives. With the suffering experienced by animals that we can see, the Buddha taught about the law of karma. We can see suffering people, so the Buddha taught about hell. We see people who suffer from starvation, so the Buddha taught about the hungry ghost realm. In life, some people enjoy great wealth, so the Buddha taught about the heaven realm and how the karmic law of cause and effect guides transmigration in the Six Realms, all to help everyone understand more clearly. The Buddha used various kinds of analogies, but those listening to the Dharma still had not truly awakened; it was as if they were sleepwalking. So, people “remain undisciplined” and unaware. Therefore, “Absorbed with their playthings, they lost their resolve and did not awaken.”

When we are inspired, we must form great aspirations, make great vows. “We vow to deliver countless sentient beings. We vow to eliminate endless afflictions.” Then we must put these vows into practice. With unconditional loving-kindness and universal compassion, we go among people. Such is our resolve and such are our great vows. Unfortunately, after listening to the Dharma, people only partially understand and remain partially deluded.

“Absorbed with their playthings” means indulging in their desires, and thus being unable to awaken. “The fire has already ignited.” The disasters that people have caused are like the fire that has been ignited. Think about the society we are living in. According to what we discussed at the beginning, people used to clearly understand family ethics. Nowadays, the ethics of family interactions have already been lost. Moreover, often when people interact, they oppose each other, fighting openly or plotting secretly. They do all this to satisfy their desires. So, habitual tendencies are hard to eliminate. This has already brought about disasters; a fire has already been ignited. Yet “they remain ignorant.” So, the elder said, “If I and my children do not get out now, we will certainly be burned.” If they did not quickly escape, they would be burned. “The kind father saw his children weakening their virtues and their resolve. Weakening virtues” refers to how people who like to play only want to play. They do not want to do anything serious.

In today’s news reports we often hear about how young people want a workplace that is more relaxing, more comfortable, with higher salaries and many other perks. So, when they look around, they do not see any jobs that suit them. See, many people nowadays just want to play. Even when they are working, they may still be playing on their computers or using the internet. Out of ignorance, they weaken their resolve and focus on their playthings. Where do virtues come from? Without spiritual cultivation, how can one attain virtues? People have already “weakened their virtues and resolve” and so they “remain completely muddled and ignorant.”

The kind father saw his children weakening their virtues and their resolve and remaining completely muddled and ignorant. Thus the father worried for his children. His heart burned with anxiety, so he quickly called for them to come out.

The father was very worried, and his heart burned with anxiety. Therefore, he loudly called out, “Everyone, get out now.” He yelled this over and over, feeling a great sense of urgency. He had already reached the stage of “calling out.” This is because if we sentient beings do not quickly reflect upon ourselves, repent and immediately change our ways, who knows what society will be like tomorrow. Therefore, we must constantly take the Dharma to heart and manifest it in our actions. Thus we must always be mindful.

Episode 553 – Practice The Three Flawless Studies Together

---

>> “Practice and learn the Dharma to transform sentient beings. With the freedom of a pure mind, we make Bodhi-vows. With clear minds, we realize the Three Wisdoms and the Four Noble Truths, and practice the Three Flawless Studies together.”

>> Moreover, they did not know what fire was, what the house was or what the danger was. They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father.

>> They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father: This is an analogy for sentient beings who cling to their cyclic existence and transmigration in the Three Realms. As for what the Buddha said, they are completely unaware of it.

>> Earlier it was said that the fire arose from all four sides. Now it is said that the house is burning. Earlier it was said that suffering and pain threatened them.

>> Now we are likely to be burned and in danger of losing our lives. “I and my children will certainly be burned.” This is an analogy for why the Buddha used the Great Vehicle to transform and save their wisdom-life. “Now we will certainly be burned.”

---

“Practice and learn the Dharma to transform sentient beings.
With the freedom of a pure mind, we make Bodhi-vows.
With clear minds, we realize the Three Wisdoms and the Four Noble Truths,
and practice the Three Flawless Studies together.”

We have all aspired to learn from the Buddha and to take the Buddha-Dharma to heart. We must also aspire to save other people. We do not merely benefit ourselves, but also benefit others. We do not want only to transform ourselves, but also to widely transform sentient beings. This is our goal in learning the Dharma.

In order to transform others, we must first develop “the freedom of a pure mind.” First, we must purify our minds, so we engage in spiritual practice for the sole purpose of cleansing ourselves of all afflictions. Ordinary people suffer greatly. We suffer from afflictions, ignorance and having many desires. This causes our minds to be deceived by afflictions so we cannot attain freedom. So, Guanyin Bodhisattva is also known by another name, “Contemplating Freedom.” Indeed, we must engage in contemplation and cleanse our mind so that it is like a mirror. When our surroundings are reflected in our minds, everything we see can be clearly understood. But like the surface of a mirror, our minds must not be covered by any kind of taint. This is “the freedom of a pure mind.” A pure mind can discern external conditions without becoming defiled by them. This is the “great perfect mirror wisdom.”

Along with purifying our minds, we must feel free. How can we achieve this sense of ease? By vowing to attain Bodhi, that is, to seek enlightenment. As we learn and practice the Buddha-Dharma, first we must eliminate our afflictions and free our minds to walk the Bodhi-path.

If we can achieve this, then “with clear minds we realize the Three Wisdoms and the Four Noble Truths.” Then naturally our minds will be clear. The Three Wisdoms and Four Noble Truths were discussed yesterday. The Three Wisdoms are wisdom from listening, contemplating and practicing. As we listen to the teachings, we listen with our ears and also

with our hearts and minds. When we are mindful, the Dharma enters our ears and then our minds. This is [wisdom from] listening. After listening to the teachings, we must then contemplate them. We must earnestly consider, “Does the teaching that was just given make sense or not?” If these teachings contain a path and make sense, then they give us a road that we can walk and help us face the right direction. Once we have contemplated these teachings, we must begin to take action. This is [wisdom from] practice. Therefore, listening, contemplating and practicing are essential when we hear the teachings. These are the Three Wisdoms.

In addition to the Three Wisdoms, there are also the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths is something that we discuss every day. Life is suffering! There is much suffering in life. From the moment we are born until we grow old, the entire process is full of suffering. Some people do not feel it. They have no idea they are experiencing suffering, so they continue to plant more causes of suffering and create negative karmic connections. They themselves do not recognize all the troubles that they have faced in their lives, the way their lives have passed, until they grow old, get sick and die. In life, they suffer from their own unawareness and unknowing, yet they blame it on the heavens or on others. They are confused and deluded sentient beings.

We are very fortunate that we are able to hear the Buddha-Dharma and know that life is “suffering.” The “causation” of suffering is accumulation. By accumulating many causes and conditions, we have the experience of suffering. So, this accumulation comes from the process of creating karma. Without being aware of it, we create much karma. We are unaware that external phenomena entice our minds to make a connection with our external conditions, which gives rise to afflictions. These afflictions lead us to act. After we act, the results of our actions become seeds in our eighth consciousness. The material things around us were not brought with us at birth nor do we take them with us when we die, but these seeds [of karma] follow us lifetime after lifetime. None of our wealth or possessions can be brought with us; we cannot take anything with us when we die. Except for what? Except for our karma.

Indeed! Karma is the seeds in our eighth consciousness. The seeds in the eighth consciousness are what we have accumulated over our [previous] lifetimes. All that karma is brought to the present lifetime in these seeds. We love the good people around us. We could spend every single day with them. These are the people that we love, but sadly, life is impermanent, and we “suffer from parting with those we love.” There is another kind of person, those we dislike. However, causes and conditions bring us together with them. We may have to see each other every day and work closely together. When we see people we dislike, we feel annoyed and angry. But this “suffering from meeting those we hate” is not always within our control. This is a result of the causes and conditions that we accumulated in the past. Meanwhile, with “the raging Five Aggregates” in our minds we will replicate our afflictions; all of these things continue on endlessly. This is the cycle we are caught in. This is the “causation” of suffering; it originates from what we accumulate.

We understand this. Since we have learned the Buddha’s teachings, we understand. I always watch “Grassroots Bodhi,” a show about our recycling volunteers. It is on every day. We can hear about the lives of many elderly Bodhisattva-volunteers. In the past they experienced many hardships. After listening to the teachings, [they share,]. “Master Cheng Yen says, ‘When we willingly repay [karmic debts], ‘we get 20 percent off.’ So, I let him have it his way; I won’t get upset with him. Now we can truly get along harmoniously.”

After we understand the law of karma, we must open up our minds to be accommodating. We take a step back to see the bigger picture and distance ourselves from our karmic causes and conditions so that we do not remain entangled by them. Then we will eventually pay off our [karmic] debt. If we keep borrowing money as we pay our debts, or if we just keep borrowing money, we will continue to incur more debt and will never be able to pay it back.

After we learn the Buddha’s teachings and understand the Dharma, we will comprehend clearly these cycles of kindness and resentment. So, when we give to others, we do not ask for anything in return and we constantly express our gratitude to them. Whomever we encounter, we should do something good for them, benefit them and create good karmic connections with them. This leads to the “cessation” of suffering. Knowing the truth of suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, we must practice the Path, which is the Bodhisattva-path. These four [truths] are the foundation for our spiritual practice.

We must also “practice the Three Flawless Studies together.” We must cultivate the Three Flawless Studies so that when we take the Dharma to heart, none of it will leak out. We must practice all three Flawless Studies. What are the Three Flawless Studies? Precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.

Indeed, once we understand the Dharma, we must constantly take good care of our bodies and our minds. We must follow the rules of being a good person and walk the correct course through life. This is following precepts. With precepts, we can attain a state of Samadhi so that we will not be constantly confused or have wild and unruly minds that are constantly disturbed by external conditions. Thus, if we abide by the precepts, our minds will naturally be in a state of Samadhi, and our course will be correct. So, we need precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. If our minds are in Samadhi, we will naturally grow in wisdom.

So, we “practice the Three Flawless Studies together.” Indeed, if precepts, Samadhi and wisdom are all in our minds, our minds will be open, our thoughts will be pure. We will not be defiled by the ignorance in the world around us. Therefore, to avoid stoking the fires or attracting the winds [of ignorance], we must earnestly engage in spiritual practice and abide in precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. This is very important.

Recently we have been talking about the “burning house of the Three Realms.” So, in the previous passage, the sutra says people did not understand what fire was.

Moreover, they did not know what fire was, what the house was or what the danger was. They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father.

As we just discussed, over our lifetime we create and reproduce karma all without being aware of it; in the same way, within this burning house, the fire was creeping ever closer. Yet those inside did not understand what fire was and continued to play with it.

[They did not understand] “what the house was.” Just what kind of state are we actually in? [They did not understand] “what the danger was.” How did we lose all that we had? We originally had wisdom equal to the Buddha’s and the same pure intrinsic Tathagata-nature. How did we then become unenlightened beings? As unenlightened beings, we face so much suffering. How did this happen? This is [not knowing] “what the danger was.” We are unaware of our perilous situation and how we came to be in this burning house. We do not have a clue.

“They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father.” This is speaking of Buddhist practitioners; it is an analogy for people who have already heard the Dharma, but have not yet clearly understood it. Some practitioners who have heard the Dharma still do not clearly understand how they came to this life and where will they go [after they die]. They are already Buddhist practitioners but still have not realized the Buddha’s intention or the teachings that He gave, not to mention ordinary people and the four kinds of beings.

As we discussed yesterday, if sentient beings have not heard the Dharma or learned the Buddha’s teachings, how much can they understand? So, we must now mindfully experience the Dharma; we cannot continue to “just run about as [we] play and merely look at [our] father.” We cannot just look at the Buddha. We cannot just pray to the Buddha and expect to be protected by Him. That is not what we are doing; we want to realize the Buddha-mind and penetrate the principles He taught. Thus, this passage is also an analogy.

They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father: This is an analogy for sentient beings who cling to their cyclic existence and transmigration in the Three Realms. As for what the Buddha said, they are completely unaware of it.

“Sentient beings cling to their cyclic existence and transmigration in the Three Realms.” We simply remain within the Three Realms; we are constantly troubled but unaware of the reason behind it. We transmigrate within the Six Realms, and the Six Realms are inseparable from the Three Realms. The Three Realms are like a burning house; this is what we are unaware of. “As for what the Buddha said, they are completely unaware of it.” We still do not really understand the principles that the Buddha taught and are unaware that what we are doing in our lives keeps us trapped in cyclic existence. As Buddhist practitioners, if we listen but do not seek to experience the truth and put the Dharma into practice, we will forever remain in the burning house of the Three Realms.

The previous passage mentions that “the fire arose from all four sides.” These flames arose from all sides at the same time.

Earlier it was said that the fire arose from all four sides. Now it is said that the house is burning. Earlier it was said that suffering and pain threatened them.

Whenever I read this passage, my mind goes to faraway places, to fires around the world. I often hear about forest fires in the US. Recently (in October, 2013), I have also heard about massive fires in Australia, hundreds of fires burning at the same time. Many people’s houses have already burned down.

According to the sutras and what the Buddha said, the Three Realms are like a burning house. This is a description found in the sutras. The Buddha, in His wisdom, described the world that would exist in His future, in our present. We have all heard of disasters which seem to be continually arising in. Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia. The four elements are already out of balance.

This passage again states, “This house is already burning.” Flames are leaping up on all four sides. Earth, water, fire and air are not in balance, resulting in many disasters in this world. So, “Suffering and pain threaten them.” The previous sutra text mentioned, “the fire arising from all four sides” and how “suffering and pain threaten them.” As these disasters become more concentrated, the people living in those areas suffer greatly.

In the world today, there are not only environmental disasters that can be seen. Every day, looking at news from around the world, we see these kinds of unusual conditions. In many developed countries, we see discord among people. All across society today, people’s minds are not in balance. So, “fires of anger and winds of rage” arise in people’s minds and cause “suffering and pain [to] threaten them.” Therefore, if people’s minds continue to be in a state of imbalance, everything will be consumed in the blaze.

Now we are likely to be burned and in danger of losing our lives. “I and my children will certainly be burned.” This is an analogy for why the Buddha used the Great Vehicle to transform and save their wisdom-life. “Now we will certainly be burned.”

In this era, people will certainly get burned. They are not just watching a distant fire; it is already pressing in on them, so they are “in danger of losing their lives.” If the fire reaches us, we will lose our lives. If we do not earnestly practice the Dharma, we will lose our wisdom-life as well.

So, the elder in this parable actually refers to Sakyamuni Buddha. He said, “My sons and I shall certainly be burned.” This shows that when sentient beings suffer, the Buddha is not at ease. This parable is about why the Buddha transforms with the Great Vehicle Dharma. With teachings, He transforms everyone in the hope that they can save their wisdom-life.

Sentient beings create collective karma. Not much can be done about karma that has already been formed. But the Buddha will not give up. He uses the Great Dharma to transform them, hoping that they can preserve their wisdom-life. We may lose our physical life due to collective karma, but we must protect our wisdom-life.

We cannot just keep playing in the burning house and not understand that we must immediately put the Buddha’s teachings into practice. We cannot listen to the Dharma, yet go the opposite way. Acting in this way will give rise to karma upon karma and suffering upon suffering. Naturally, as our minds fluctuate between good and evil, we fall into a state of delusion. We constantly experience ups and downs. When we do good we ascend, with evil we fall. Some say, “I’m doing good deeds,” yet if the Dharma is not in their hearts, they will quickly be tempted to stray by others. Habitual tendencies are still hard to eliminate. Though they are doing good deeds, habitual tendencies are hard to eliminate.

So, we rise and fall between goodness and evil. This is why we cannot escape this burning house of the Three Realms. So, we must always be mindful. We must preserve our wisdom-life. Right now, in this world, not only must we preserve our wisdom-life, we must help it grow as well. We must “learn and practice the Dharma to transform sentient beings.” We must cultivate ourselves and quickly transform others. We must purify our minds and walk the Bodhisattva-path. We must, “with clear minds, learn the Three Wisdoms and Four Noble Truths.” We need to have precepts, Samadhi and wisdom in our minds in order to escape this burning house. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 552 – The Three Wisdoms Cannot Arise

---

>> “The kind father of the four kinds of beings is protective of His children. He cannot bear for living beings to suffer from disasters. The imbalance of the four elements is imminently pressing in on us. The only solution is to purify our minds and turn to goodness.”

>> So, “Moreover, they did not know what fire was.”

>> “[Nor did they know] what the house was or what the danger was. They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father.”

>> They did not understand what the house was. They did not know the reason the Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) was lost. They did not know what the danger was is analogy for cultivating wisdom and then allowing it to leak out, thus being unable to give rise to wisdom.

>> This explains that with blunted and dull Roots, we cannot give rise to the Three Wisdoms. Then nothing can be done. Those with average and limited capabilities cannot accept the Great Dharma. Bodhisattvas on the path of accumulation can also be considered Hearers with great virtues.

---

“The kind father of the four kinds of beings is protective of His children.
He cannot bear for living beings to suffer from disasters.
The imbalance of the four elements is imminently pressing in on us.
The only solution is to purify our minds and turn to goodness.”

The Buddha, the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and kind father of the Four Kind of Beings, has protected all sentient beings with the heart of a kind father. No matter how many there are, He treats them all as if they were His only son, the way a father cherishes his children. This is something we can all feel and understand.

The Buddha loves all sentient beings in this way, lifetime after lifetime. He has cherished and protected all beings by protecting their wisdom-life, not only their physical life. All living beings have Buddha-nature,

and they come from the four kinds of birth, womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born and transformation-born. Sentient beings are always born in one of these four ways. So, the Buddha is considered to be the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings. Parents in the human realm only love the children who are their own flesh and blood, but the Buddha cares deeply for all four kinds of beings, for all sentient beings. All are loved and cared for by the Buddha. He loves and is protective of His children, the way human parents love and care for an only child. Because of this love, He has compassion for us and cannot bear for us living beings to suffer; this is the Buddha’s heart. With His whole heart, He hopes that everyone will see [their] intrinsic Buddha-nature. Everyone’s intrinsic nature is pure; we all have a pure Buddha-nature. So, He hopes for everyone to achieve Nirvana.

The state of Nirvana is the land of calm illumination. When we return to our pure intrinsic Buddha-nature, we are in a land of calm illumination. When our hearts are pure, we are living in a pure land. This is the state of Nirvana. Nirvana is a tranquil and pure state, very still, clean and radiant. I often talk about a state that is “tranquil and clear.” This state of mind is very pure, very bright and radiant. Because of His loving-kindness, the Buddha hopes that everyone’s mind will always be in this land of calm illumination. Because of His loving-kindness, His hope for everyone is not limited to their feeling happy and blessed. When it comes to happiness in this world, “Extreme pleasure gives rise to sorrow.” The Buddha wants everyone’s mind to be tranquil. If everyone’s minds can be clear, this will be everlasting.

Think about the sun itself, about its fundamental nature. The sun is always shining. In our [solar system,] our planet goes around the sun and as it rotates, we experience day and night. When we are on the part of the planet facing the sun, we experience day. When we are on the part facing away from the sun, we experience night. Just because our part of the planet is facing away from the sun does not mean that the sun is any dimmer, not at all. It remains as bright as ever.

The Buddha is compassionate; He hopes we can all return to our pure intrinsic Buddha-nature. Then we experience everlasting blessings and joy. This is the intent of the kind father, the intent of the Buddha. Sadly, we sentient beings are unwilling to learn. When one thought of ignorance arises, we begin to replicate it countless times. With ignorance, we obscure our own minds, so we experience much suffering. In our insignificantly small lives, the time between our birth and death is short, yet we create limitless amounts karma. Our karma leads to all kinds of disasters. The Buddha cannot bear to see this.

He cannot bear it because of His compassion. With compassion, “We feel others’ pain as our own.” If someone else is wounded, we feel his pain in our hearts. When we are hurt, it is hard to bear the pain. In the same way, when someone else is wounded, we feel their pain in our hearts and we cannot bear for them to suffer. This great compassion is called universal compassion. When we realize all beings in the universe are actually one, the pain of one is the pain of all. Out of this compassion, we will protect all sentient beings and cannot bear to let them suffer. However, there is not much that we can do, because sadly, the four elements are imbalanced. We are already in a state of emergency and many disasters are already closing in on us. This is most worrisome to the Buddha. The only solution is to bring purity to people’s minds.

Everyone, as Buddhist practitioners, we must learn to take the Dharma to heart, then put it into practice and go among people to set an example in order to transform others. We transform ourselves and others so that we can turn peril into safety and suffering into joy. This is why we must, with great urgency, take the Dharma to heart. We must make good use of our body and mind. The mind refers to our perspectives. We must immediately purify our perspectives and with our body put the Dharma into practice.

Recently, we have often seen that as different countries experience disasters, Tzu Chi volunteers are there to help. Don’t these images show the body in action? We see how survivors endured the disasters and how our dedicated volunteers went to provide disaster relief. The survivors have limited supplies and food, so the people who benefit them are Bodhisattvas who cultivate both blessings and wisdom by promptly providing supplies and food to them. These Bodhisattvas also guide the survivors to find their own inspiration. By putting the Dharma into practice, [volunteers] give with utmost respect and love. They are Living Bodhisattvas in this world.

The Buddha came to purify our hearts. By teaching the Dharma, He hopes that we can all turn the evil in our hearts into goodness. “Do all good deeds; refrain from all evil.” This is the Buddha’s most fundamental teaching. So, He turned the Dharma-wheel to help us turn ignorance into wisdom and to turn evil thoughts into good thoughts. This is the way to purify our hearts and minds.

Therefore, everyone must be mindful and [put this into practice] immediately, instead of saying “Let me take my time.” Around this great house of the Three Realms, a fire has already begun to burn on all four sides, so the Buddha continuously calls out to us. He has used all of His mental powers to contemplate this situation. What method should He use to teach? What kind of causes and conditions should He talk about? What kind of analogies should He use? Using all of these methods, He kept calling out. Did we hear Him at all? Yes, we heard Him; but were we receptive? According to the burning house parable, as we repeated earlier, “Moreover, they did not know what fire was.” This describes a hopeless situation.

We have already seen this fire, but we treat it as pleasant scenery, not recognizing that fire can hurt people. If we get burned by the fire, then we will die. All matters and objects in this world as well as [the pursuit of] fame and profit are potential traps for us. If we pursue material gains, or, for the sake of fame, profit and status, oppose each other and fight openly or in secret, we are playing with fire, which is very dangerous. We may not realize that this is harmful. Not only are we hurting ourselves, we are hurting other people as well. This also disrupts our community and our society. This is truly like fire; everyone is playing with fire. It is very saddening.

So, “Moreover, they did not know what fire was.”

Next, this sutra passage states,

“[Nor did they know] what the house was or what the danger was. They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father.”

Indeed, people are very foolish! They do not recognize what fire is and treat it as beautiful scenery, wanting to get close and play with it. They have lost their discerning wisdom. Further, they did not know “what the house was”; they had no idea what it was. “House” is also an analogy. Not understanding what the house was means they did not know how they had lost their Dharmakaya.

They did not understand what the house was. They did not know the reason the Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) was lost. They did not know what the danger was is analogy for cultivating wisdom and then allowing it to leak out, thus being unable to give rise to wisdom.

We all have a Dharmakaya of wisdom. Dharma refers to truths and universal principles, which is wisdom. But where does wisdom come from? Our nature of True Suchness. Our nature of True Suchness is something we are born and die with, yet we do not recognize its existence. This is how we have lost our Dharmakaya. Why is there so much ignorance in us? Why don’t we recognize the dangers that surround us? We continue enjoying ourselves while in danger because we have not yet recognized our intrinsic Buddha-nature. Why is our wisdom so limited? What has caused this? We do not know the answer ourselves.

This is our ignorance. So, we did not know “what the danger was.” Why has our intrinsic nature been buried so deeply? Where is it actually buried? Where is this True Suchness? This is an analogy for cultivating wisdom. To cultivate wisdom, we must engage in spiritual practice. We do this in order to manifest our wisdom. We do not know where True Suchness is buried, so now we must try and recover our nature of True Suchness. This is why we are cultivating wisdom, but even as we cultivate it, we keep losing it. So, we are cultivating flawed wisdom; it has leaks. Although we listen to the Dharma, even before we fully understand the principles, they will leak out. “Using a vegetable basket to carry water” is an analogy we often use to describe this. If we pour water into a basket, it will leak out. This is why we cannot give rise to wisdom. Even as we are cultivating wisdom, it continues to leak out. This is the reason wisdom does not arise.

This explains that with blunted and dull Roots, we cannot give rise to the Three Wisdoms. Then nothing can be done. Those with average and limited capabilities cannot accept the Great Dharma. Bodhisattvas on the path of accumulation can also be considered Hearers with great virtues.

So, “This explains that [we have] blunted and dull Roots.” This is telling everyone that we ordinary people have been constantly covered by ignorance. This makes all of our Roots blunted and dull; our Five Roots and Five Powers are weak. Our Roots and Powers have become dull.

We constantly make use of the physical body and its Five Roots, which are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body. These things give rise to greed when we connect with conditions. In connecting with the outside world, we have already become defiled; what defiles us is ignorance. Thus, our Roots become blunted and dull. Therefore, the Three Wisdoms cannot arise. What are the Three Wisdoms? Wisdom from listening, wisdom from contemplation and wisdom from practice.

Listening, contemplation and practice can help us grow in our wisdom. We must often listen to the Dharma, contemplate it and and put it into practice. Only by doing this can we truly develop our wisdom. This is the only way to give rise to the root of wisdom and to our wisdom-life. Otherwise, all we have is flawed wisdom. This is why we “did not know what fire was, what the house was or what the danger was.” We did not understand any of this because we have lost our intrinsic nature, the wisdom-life of our Dharma-nature.

So, how do we help our wisdom-life grow? By cultivating the Three Wisdoms simultaneously. By listening, contemplating and practicing, we will be replete with the Three Wisdoms and will have the Three Insights. With these three powers, everything will be clear. We still must earnestly listen, contemplate and put the Dharma into practice. If the Three Wisdoms do not arise, “Then nothing can be done.” No matter how much is explained, it is of no use. People do not want to earnestly listen, or after they listen, earnestly contemplate it and earnestly put it into practice. If they are not motivated to take action, no matter how many teachings they hear, it will have been useless.

Sometimes I feel helpless, but I cannot give up; I must continue calling on people and continue encouraging them. This is because I believe that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature and will certainly awaken one day. This is why we must work hard to cultivate the Bodhi-seed in our minds. We must be the gardener of our minds and help our Bodhi-seed to sprout. We must bring our wisdom to a higher level. If not, with only average or limited capabilities we “cannot accept the Great Dharma.” We will be unable to accept the Great Dharma.

We must immediately form great aspirations and make great vows, develop great capabilities and wisdom. Only then can we accept the Great Dharma. After accepting the Great Dharma, we must put it into practice and turn the Dharma-wheel. Most of us have average or limited capabilities and wisdom and cannot accept the Great Dharma. Once we have great capabilities and wisdom, we can walk the path of accumulation. We must unceasingly accumulate [good deeds] and “do all good deeds.” We must do good deeds and benefit others. Recently we have been talking about benefiting others and widely creating good karmic connections. Bodhisattvas on the path of accumulation must ceaselessly accumulate good deeds. We cannot tell ourselves that small good deeds are not worth doing. We must accumulate them non-stop, so we do good deeds, benefit others and create great karmic connections to be Bodhisattvas on the path of accumulation. We must ceaselessly accumulate good deeds. This is also a way to engage in spiritual practice.

We are of average and limited capabilities so we need to do good deeds, benefit others and create good karmic connections, then we “can be considered Hearers with great virtues.” If we can listen, even if we cannot yet realize the Three Wisdoms and the Three Insights, even if we have not yet achieved that state, we must understand now that, after listening to the Dharma, we need to “refrain from all evil and do all good deeds.” So, “doing all good deeds” is the practice of. Bodhisattvas on the path of accumulation. Then we can be considered Hearers who advance by accumulating virtues.

As people with average or limited capabilities, we cannot realize the Buddha’s state of mind, but we can practice according to the teachings. Indeed, we must practice according to teachings. The fire continues to burn and is coming closer. The Buddha keeps calling [to all sentient beings] just as the elder is calling [to his sons]. The children merely look at their father and ignore what he says. They continue running around and playing their games. When they act like this, nothing the father does has an effect on them. Therefore, as Buddhist practitioners, we must pay attention to the Buddha-Dharma and put it into practice in this world. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 551 – Be Diligent and Do Not Play with Fire

---

>> “The space between heaven and earth is analogous to a big house. Countless sentient beings coexist in the Five Destinies. Impurities, discursive thoughts and greed are the sources of evil. The fires of anger and the winds of rage lead to jealousy of the capable and virtuous.”

>> Although the father, in his compassion, used kind words to persuade them, his sons happily indulged in their playing, and refused to believe him. They felt no alarm, no fear and had no intention of leaving.

>> “Moreover, they did not know what fire was, what the house was or what the danger was. They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father.”

>> The meaning of this parable is that the Buddha had once contemplated and wished to teach sentient beings the wisdom of the fruition of Buddhahood. If we believe in Right Dharma and accept it, our body and mind will be strong and sharp, and we can cultivate purifying practices.

>> Spiritual powers: Spiritual powers come from the mind. A still mind reflects all things, clearly discerns all things and transforms sentient beings with Samadhi.

>> Due to the severity of their obstructions, sentient beings are very far away from achieving the merits and virtues of Buddhahood. They are unable to accept them.

>> All the children are engrossed in their play. Their minds are confused, blurry and unknowing. They see the fire as amusing and beautiful. When playing with others, their virtues weaken. When playing with things, their resolve weakens. They do not know to fear being burned by the fire.

---

“The space between heaven and earth is analogous to a big house.
Countless sentient beings coexist in the Five Destinies.
Impurities, discursive thoughts and greed are the sources of evil.
The fires of anger and the winds of rage lead to jealousy of the capable and virtuous.”

Originally, under the heavens and on the earth, the place where all beings coexist, was so prosperous. In the beginning, this was a luxurious mansion, but gradually, we humans have made things in this land more and more complicated. “Countless sentient beings coexist in the Five Destinies.” Over time, this place has slowly fallen into disrepair. All the structures and walls were peeling and falling down; everything kept deteriorating. Even the beams and columns were also rotting away.

This is an analogy; during the Buddha’s lifetime, His wisdom was like a newly constructed house. Such an abundance of Dharma was provided for everyone’s use. Everyone came to listen to the teachings, to draw near to and accept the Dharma. After hearing it, they were all very joyous and put the teachings into practice accordingly. This was during the Buddha’s lifetime, the era of Right Dharma. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, slowly, with the passage of time, the spiritual practitioners of that era passed away. People in the next era also engaged in spiritual practice. Knowing that the Buddha-Dharma was great, they worked to help preserve the Dharma. So, they focused on preserving its appearance by building temples, creating sculptures, painting images and so on. Carving and copying sutra texts also became commonplace. [Right Dharma] became “Dharma-semblance,” where one could see the outward appearance of the Dharma flourishing.

Gradually, as people’s desires grew and grew, their way of life changed. Spiritual practitioners changed with the times, gradually forgetting to practice the Buddha-Dharma. The Dharma-semblance, whether [printed] sutras or sculpted images of the Buddha, has now become commercialized and produced without a sense of true reverence. Spiritual practitioners have become more like the era that they live in, which is more and more secularized. So, we are now in the era of Dharma-degeneration. Compared to the time of the Buddha’s awakening when His mind received all the truths of the universe and. His ocean of enlightened wisdom opened up,

things are completely different. Now, in this era of Dharma-degeneration, things have already changed. This enlightened state of mind has disappeared. The number of people who seek to experience and awaken to this state of mind is very small, nearly non-existent. And so, returning to the analogy of the house, no one has made an effort to take care of it. No one tried to make repairs. Left alone, it became filthy and dirty. With no one to care for it, it began to deteriorate even more quickly.

We constantly see. Tzu Chi volunteers going into the homes of people who are elderly or ill to help them clean up. “How did this house become so rundown?” Before it was in such poor condition, it was once nice and new, but if over time, no one makes repairs or looks after it, garbage will pile up, and the house will become rundown, so this is the analogy we use. [People wonder,] “How did this house, which was once so nice, become so rundown? How did it get so dirty?” We can think of the reasons. It is because people are greedy and behave badly. They have ceaselessly accumulated [impurities] which have become sources of evil. This is expressing that the great house of our world is also just like this. Recently we have discussed the three major and three minor calamities, how an imbalance of earth, water, fire, air and other factors has caused damage to the planet. Not only has the land been damaged, the air has also become polluted. This is caused by the accumulation of greed and sources of evil.

“The fires of anger and the winds of rage lead to jealousy of the capable and virtuous.” This describes modern people’s state of mind. When we get angry or lose our temper, it feels like a fire is burning within us. Our anger, the emotion of losing our temper, is like a fire. Our rage is like the wind. Think about what happens when the tinder is lit and the wind blows; there will be fire and wind at the same time.

[In 2012,] the Philippines experienced wild fires on top of flooding. After the earthquake in Japan, a tsunami shortly followed. When the tsunami struck the shore, fires also started burning. Whole villages were burned down. Then the nuclear reactors experienced radiation leaks. The effects of this disaster are still being felt. There are still pollutants in the ocean, in the air and on the land. Wasn’t this caused by the human mind? Once a disaster strikes, many problems occur at the same time, causing unbearable suffering.

We can extend this example to the entire world. If we had not constantly caused damage to nature, would our climate be like this? Would there be so much pollution? Would there be so much devastation to the land? The collective karma of sentient beings leads to endless disasters. Therefore, the elder of this great house constantly calls out, “Everyone must quickly leave this burning house. This house is surrounded by fire on all sides. This is very dangerous! You must get out now.”

This is an analogy for what the Buddha does in this world. He comes to the world all for the sake of awakening everyone to the fact that we must quickly eliminate greed, anger, doubt, arrogance, etc., from our minds, because these things turn our minds into sources of danger and evil.

So, the previous passage starts with, “Having thought in this way.” The elder had already seen the fire arise on all four sides, so he wanted everyone to leave quickly. But they still remained inside, playing around and having fun. They saw the fire as a kind of enjoyable scenery. They were not afraid, so they did not want to leave.

The previous sutra passage describes how the children were all still playing inside and refused to believe their father’s [warnings]. The elder stood outside, yelling “Come out now!” but no one believed him. They felt no alarm, no fear, no terror and had no intention of leaving; they did not want to leave. This made the elder, their father, very anxious.

Although the father, in his compassion, used kind words to persuade them, his sons happily indulged in their playing, and refused to believe him. They felt no alarm, no fear and had no intention of leaving.

The next sutra passage states,

“Moreover, they did not know what fire was, what the house was or what the danger was. They just ran about as they played and merely looked at their father.”

They ran here and there, continuing to play. As their father kept calling to them, they simply looked at him from afar. Because they did not know what fire was, they treated it as part of the scenery. Because they did not see the house as a whole, [they did not know] “what the house was.” They did not have the whole picture, so they only looked at what was nearby as they played with the fire. Isn’t this what people are like today? The things they do are very dangerous, yet they do not recognize the danger and do not see the whole situation. Therefore they did not fear, did not recognize and did not understand “what the danger was.” When people think about how much they have and the situation they are in, they see it as their ideal. This is what people are like nowadays; they create crises without realizing it.

They indulge in material wealth and fame and profit for a time, but what are the ultimate consequences? The results will not affect only that individual, but all of humankind. A mind inclined to greed and anger thinks, “If I cannot get [it], I will not allow anyone else to get it either.” How many manmade calamities do we see right now? So many countries are engaged in civil wars, external conflicts and so on. They are all playing with fire.

The Buddha applies wisdom to continually find ways to save sentient beings. This is why He devised suitable teachings that were in accordance with what we could accept.

The meaning of this parable is that the Buddha had once contemplated and wished to teach sentient beings the wisdom of the fruition of Buddhahood. If we believe in Right Dharma and accept it, our body and mind will be strong and sharp, and we can cultivate purifying practices.

After we have listened to the Buddha-Dharma, once we can eliminate our afflictions and sweep them aside, our wisdom will manifest. When wisdom manifests, we will believe in and accept the Right Dharma, follow the teachings and put them into practice. Not only must we cultivate our bodies, but we must cultivate our minds as well. Then “our body and mind will be strong and sharp.” This wisdom is truly powerful. As long as we can break open our afflictions, we can exercise our wisdom and work for the benefit of all in the world. This should be our mindset.

However, we must remember to cultivate purifying practices. Purifying practices are cleansing. If we cannot purify our minds, we cannot brush aside our afflictions. Afflictions are unclean, which means that they are impure. If you want to be pure, you must eliminate the filth first; only then will you be clean.

Consider our Bodhisattvas-volunteers. They cannot bear to see the elderly, the ill and the disabled living in filth. So, a group of volunteers will go to the houses of those in need, clean their surroundings, then bring them out, help them wash their bodies, trim their hair and put on a fresh change of clothing. They help to clean up these people’s hair in addition to cleaning the inside of their houses. By painting the walls, they also brighten up the place. By the same principle, if we do not work hard to clear out the impurities in our minds, our underlying purity cannot manifest. So, “cultivating purifying practices” is very important.

“Purifying” means to cleanse, to make things clean. Once we stop engaging in impure conduct, we can wash away our defilements and make an effort to be clean. This will protect our bodies and minds. It is also one of the Buddha’s spiritual powers.

Spiritual powers: Spiritual powers come from the mind. A still mind reflects all things, clearly discerns all things and transforms sentient beings with Samadhi.

The spiritual powers we are speaking of are not powers of transformation. The Buddha turns the Dharma-wheel, which turns impurity into purity and evil into goodness.

Within the Buddha lies a “still mind [that] reflects all things.” When the mind calms down, it is still like water. When there is a moon in the sky, “There are a thousand moons in a thousand rivers.” As long as the water is still, it will reflect the moon. So, the “still mind reflects all things.” Take a mirror for example. If its surface has been well-cleaned, when we look into it, we can see everything around us reflected in it. Thus, “a still mind reflects all things, clearly discerns all things.” This is what the Buddha’s mind is like. But, in response to sentient beings’ capabilities, [He] “transforms sentient beings with Samadhi.” Sentient beings are all different and their capabilities may be great or limited, their faculties may be keen and dull. With His [ower of Samadhi, the Buddha’s still mind reflects all things. Though there are many kinds of phenomena in our surroundings, the mirror itself is fundamentally unmoving. Everything around us may be moving but the surface of the mirror remains still. This same principle applies to how sentient beings have continually changed over time, while the Buddha-Dharma has always remained bright and clear.

The principles will never change; they will always remain the same. However, sentient beings face severe obstacles [in trying to understand them].

Due to the severity of their obstructions, sentient beings are very far away from achieving the merits and virtues of Buddhahood. They are unable to accept them.

We can listen to the teachings, but [when asked,] “Can we follow it? I will take it slow.” We are told, “That is not the right thing to do. You must change more quickly. Okay, I will change my ways but I will do it gradually.” If we change slowly, we will not be able to withstand objects of desire or the temptations around us. Then defilements and desires will quickly drag us astray.

Unfortunately, many sentient beings are obstructed by great afflictions. We have said that the door of this great house is narrow and small. Actually, it is not that the door is too small, but that our “heads are small and our bodies big.” This means that the mind we use to connect to the Buddha-Dharma is small, yet it can still create very large afflictions. For this reason, we cannot escape the burning house and we cannot pass through the door of wisdom. Our afflictions are still too great.

We are still too far away from achieving the merits and virtues of Buddhahood, so we are unable to accept the Buddha-Dharma. For this reason, as this passage states, “They did not know what fire was.” Because of this, we have so many afflictions. The flames make it difficult to see the great house. [The elder’s children] only saw the fires, which appear to be pleasant scenery; they were unaware that it could hurt them. For this reason, “All the children are engrossed in their play, their minds confused, blurry and unknowing.” As they continue to play and enjoy themselves, they have no idea that the fire will hurt them.

All the children are engrossed in their play. Their minds are confused, blurry and unknowing. They see the fire as amusing and beautiful. When playing with others, their virtues weaken. When playing with things, their resolve weakens. They do not know to fear being burned by the fire.

“They see the fire as amusing and beautiful,” like a beautiful part of the scenery. They think the fire looks beautiful, so they enjoy playing with it. As a result, “When playing with others, their virtues weaken. When playing with things, their resolve weakens.” They just focus on having fun and indulging in luxury and debauchery. People like this weaken their virtues and use any means necessary in order to obtain whatever they want, whatever they desire. People like this are only concerned with luxury and have lost their pure intrinsic nature. They are frivolous and do not care about anything. They do not respect anything in this world and only think about how to have fun. People like this easily weaken their virtues.

Always playing with things, they are immersed in the things they crave. Some people love to gamble and suffer when they are not gambling; other people love precious objects, so they mine the earth. Did you know that obtaining even a single gem is very damaging to mountains and rivers? Yet many people love them. When playing with things, people weaken their resolve and virtue. Indeed, by using things in this way, they do not have any fear of being burned; they are unaware. This is the state of confusion we live in.

Dear Bodhisattvas, in our spiritual practice, we must be Bodhisattvas in more than name alone. We must be a Bodhisattva with true resolve and put the teachings into practice. We must engage in purifying practices, so that we have pure minds when we go among people. We want to help people return to their pure intrinsic nature. This is called turning the Dharma-wheel. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 550 – Firm Aspirations Need a Deep Root of Faith

---

>> “Sadly, in life we are deluded and attached. If our root of faith is not deeply planted, our spiritual aspirations will not be firm. Then we will not understand all Dharma and will obstruct the path and hinder the Dharma.”

>> “I must tell them of these fearful matters. This house is already in flames, and this is the time for them to quickly leave so they will not be burned in the fire.”

>> “Having thought in this way, [the elder] told his sons, ‘All of you must come out quickly!'”

>> “Although the father, in his compassion, used kind words to persuade them, his sons happily indulged in their playing and refused to believe him. They were not alarmed nor afraid and had no intention of leaving.”

>> Having thought in this way, he told his sons: This means the elder is compassionate, so he explained that cyclic existence is a fearful matter. Therefore, they must quickly seek to escape the burning house of the Three Realms.

>> “All of you must come out quickly!” Although the father, in his compassion, used kind words to persuade them: This refers to wondrous, provisional teachings and to the Great Vehicle. However, ignorant sentient beings did not know to be alarmed and afraid, so he had to teach with parables.

>> The Buddha could enable sentient beings to readily attain Bodhi. This is why the elder told his sons, “All of you must come out quickly!” The following text immediately explains what it means for them to come out quickly.

>> He thought further about how to reveal the door of the causal practice of the Great Vehicle, but sentient beings could not give rise to faith, so they had nowhere to begin their practice.

---

“Sadly, in life we are deluded and attached.
If our root of faith is not deeply planted,
our spiritual aspirations will not be firm.
Then we will not understand all Dharma
and will obstruct the path and hinder the Dharma.”

Indeed, [much of] life is lamentable. Our life is inherently short, but we cling to it as though it is everlasting. Thus, we continue to have insatiable greed for everything in the world. Seeking fame, profit, status and so on replicates our ignorance and delusion. People may have been family or loved ones in a past life, but have become enemies in this life. [Examples] of this are found in Buddhist sutras. The Buddha continually spoke of causes and conditions and used analogies for the sole purpose of helping us understand that this life is not the only life we have lived. Since the distant past, countless kalpas ago, we have lived many past lives.

The Buddha often spoke of how He Himself had spent a long time transmigrating in the Six Realms. However, in every realm, He had the chance to form aspirations. We can recall a story about Him in the hell realm. He had seen someone suffer unbearable torture there. There was a burning red cart. It was completely made of iron and it was on fire. A person was forced to pull and push it. This was unbearable suffering. So, the Buddha was willing to stand up before the ghost king in charge and tell him, “I will take his place pulling the cart.” The ghost king said, “Your own karma is already so severe. How could you possibly take on another person’s suffering?”

He said, “I cannot bear to see this old man [pulling] the red hot iron cart. His body has completely rotted away, and yet he has to continue pulling it. I cannot bear to see this. I am willing to push and pull in his place.” The ghost king thought, “He can’t even take care of himself. How can he possibly do this?” In a rage, the ghost king killed him with one blow. In fact, this sutra passage is about the Buddha forming an aspiration. When the ghost king struck him down, he was able to transcend hell.

He had also descended into the animal realm. The Deer King Sutra and Elephant King Sutra both describe the past lives of the Buddha. So, we all live and transmigrate in the Six Realms, following the good and bad karma we have created. We take our good and bad karma to every realm, but if we give rise to a thought of goodness in any of those realms, if a good thought arises, we can more quickly exhaust our bad karma.

The Buddha, in the Agama sutras, said to His disciples, “When you engage in spiritual practice, you must seize the moment. You must constantly contemplate impermanence. Life is eternal, but our bodies are impermanent. Life is what endlessly transmigrates in the Six Realms. We are unable to control where we go because we do not understand the principles. So, now that we understand the principles, we should understand how long life lasts. When we are alive, we can hear the Dharma. Therefore, we must always be mindful. For countless kalpas in the past, over an incomprehensible amount of time, we have repeatedly come to this world. You could have been born in any place. You could have died in any place.”

Indeed, no matter where, east, west, north or south, any country or any place could have been where we were born and could have been where we died. This indicates how long our life stretches on. We endlessly transmigrate upon this earth, and we endlessly transmigrate in the Six Realms. So, we must quickly put our hearts into realizing the truths of life. If we can understand the principles, then we will not be at a complete loss about [where we are going].

Our root of faith must be deep and long. If our root of faith is not deep, it will be hard for our spiritual aspirations to be firm. If our spiritual aspirations are not firm, we will be unable to understand any Dharma, and if we do not understand the Dharma, this will obstruct our practices to enlightenment. The Buddha constantly admonished us that in this world, as soon as we become deluded, as soon as we give rise to an ignorant thought, even if it is only a single desire, our ignorance will multiply endlessly and cover our way out of this burning house as well as the door of wisdom in our minds. In this way, it will be hard to exit one door and go into the other. This is due to obstacles. Therefore, we must promptly seize the moment to “comprehend the great path” and form the supreme aspiration. Only then can we understand all Dharma and comprehend our past lifetimes and our future direction. If we do not understand the past, we will be unable to understand our direction in the future.

So, in a previous passage, the Buddha said, “I must tell them of these fearful matters.” In the past, He taught with various methods, yet people still did not thoroughly understand. Now things were becoming urgent, so He began to explain to them about this fearsome situation.

“I must tell them of these fearful matters. This house is already in flames, and this is the time for them to quickly leave so they will not be burned in the fire.”

As I have been saying recently, the four elements have become out of balance and manmade calamities are occurring endlessly. All this is happening in the Three Realms. Amidst the Five Turbidities, [disasters] seem to arise unceasingly, causing everyone to be surrounded by danger and many kinds of traps. This is the time for everyone to heighten their vigilance. The Buddha wanted them to “quickly leave” because this house was burning. Then those in the Three Realms “will not be burned in the fire.” They had to quickly get themselves out, otherwise they would be burned.

The following passage states,

“Having thought in this way, [the elder] told his sons, ‘All of you must come out quickly!'”

Everyone must make haste to get out. They cannot remain in this danger any longer. Though this kind father had a sense of urgency in his voice, “Quickly get out! There is a fire inside!” though the elder repeatedly warned them of these fearful matters, they still remained unmoving. After having these thoughts, the elder said to his children, “All of you must come out quickly!”

“Although the father, in his compassion, used kind words to persuade them, his sons happily indulged in their playing and refused to believe him. They were not alarmed nor afraid and had no intention of leaving.”

In this section, the children were very naughty. They did not hear their father’s concern. He was very worried and called to them with deep sincerity, but the children still did not promptly leave. Once again he had to think; he had to contemplate again. If he could not convince them to come out this way, what could he do? He had to think of another method,

and so, “having thought in this way,” he spoke to his children again.

Having thought in this way, he told his sons: This means the elder is compassionate, so he explained that cyclic existence is a fearful matter. Therefore, they must quickly seek to escape the burning house of the Three Realms.

“The elder is compassionate.” This elder, this kind father, had great compassion. He said that cyclic existence is a fearful matter. He gave many teachings about how fearsome cyclic existence is.

Every place is a place where we have been born and where we have died. Everyone has, at one time, been our mother and our father; everyone has, at one time, been our brother and our sister. Every person has harmed and killed us, and we have also killed and injured them. We have shown each other kindness and resentment, love, hate, passion and animosity. All of this has occurred between all of us, as if we are actors on the stage. This cycle of love and hate, passion and animosity entangles us endlessly. Back and forth, lifetime after lifetime, we play these roles. Right now, we are so close to each other, but in the next act, you and I may harm each other, giving rise to hate.

In this way, over the course of many lives, our feelings for one another constantly change. As our cyclic existence stretches on, we show kindness and animosity to each other. Moreover, it is only a short time before we transmigrate again in the Six Realms; this is terrifying. In this world, is there anything that lasts forever? Absolutely nothing. So, the elder used various methods to “tell them of these fearful matters.” With various methods, he urged them to quickly get out. He used various methods to coax them out, teaching by analogy.

“All of you must come out quickly!” Although the father, in his compassion, used kind words to persuade them: This refers to wondrous, provisional teachings and to the Great Vehicle. However, ignorant sentient beings did not know to be alarmed and afraid, so he had to teach with parables.

This refers to the mindset the Buddha had when He first attained enlightenment. Once He realized that the awakened state was like this, He wanted for everyone to attain Buddhahood and hoped that everyone could become awakened. However, sentient beings are too stubborn. If their capabilities were so limited, how could they possibly accept the Great Dharma? He had no choice but to use provisional teachings. He established all kinds of skillful means to teach according to their capabilities. Though these were skillful and provisional means, they also contained the True Dharma of the Great Vehicle.

The truth of the Great Vehicle is that everyone can attain Buddhahood, that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. He pointed us directly to our minds so that we could see our true nature. But we have many afflictions, and we are stubborn. We are obstinate and afflicted, so we cannot immediately accept the teachings. So, there was no way this could happen; there was nothing He could do.

I once heard about an entrepreneur who ran a large business, one that is internationally ranked, but behind it all was a big pile of debt. He owed money all over the world and not in the hundreds of millions; he had billions in debt. He was already in so much debt; how could he repay it? However, he did not think of this at all. He felt that he would just continue to expand because his desire was without bounds. Actually, even if he became the top businessman in the world, in the end, doesn’t it come to nothing? So, he does not understand the principles of suffering, emptiness, impermanence and no-self. He does not know enough yet to be afraid. He feels no alarm and no fear. The flames are practically on top of him, but he does not realize it yet.

So, the Buddha used analogies to help everyone understand the principles and cultivate [ultimate] “permanence, joy, self, purity.” However, ordinary people think that “permanence” means that they can possess all of the fame, profit and status in the world. They believe these are permanent. We spiritual practitioners know that there is indeed something that is permanent and everlasting. Life is everlasting; after we leave this body, we will be reborn. This pure, permanent and everlasting life is our wisdom-life. Wisdom-life is pure and undefiled. It is our Buddha-nature. Buddha-nature is everlasting. Lifetime after lifetime, we bring this permanent, intrinsic nature with us.

In every person, there is this True Suchness; this principle is pure and everlasting. It is the “permanence, joy, self and purity” of spiritual practitioners. This is a clear and tranquil state. But unenlightened beings have gotten these qualities backwards, “clinging to the impermanent as permanent.” Ordinary people have this kind of view, so they create much karma.

When the Buddha made analogies, could sentient beings actually understand them? All of us have formed an initial aspiration. The Buddha also started with an initial aspiration. “If we sustain our initial aspiration we will surely attain Buddhahood,” because we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. It is just that it is covered by ignorance, which fills our minds with afflictions. Since we have formed an aspiration, we must try to eliminate our afflictions. In our spiritual practice, we must “retain all teachings” and uphold all good deeds. We must practice good deeds, lifetime after lifetime. Even in the Six Realms, we must have this resolve. Life after life, we must resolve to attain Buddhahood, to transcend the Three Realms and escape our afflictions. Only by doing this can we escape the Three Realms. So, sentient beings must quickly attain Bodhi. We must seize the moment [to walk] this Bodhi-path to enlightenment. We must earnestly accept the Dharma of this path.

The Buddha could enable sentient beings to readily attain Bodhi. This is why the elder told his sons, “All of you must come out quickly!” The following text immediately explains what it means for them to come out quickly.

For this reason, [the elder] “told his sons, ‘All of you must come out quickly!'” He wanted for them all to come out quickly. That is what this passage says.

We must hold fast to our initial aspiration, like the story we just told. Even though the Buddha was in hell and suffering, when He saw another suffer, He still said, “I will take his place.” This thought was one of great kindness. Such is the Buddha-mind, the nature of True Suchness. “Retain all teachings and uphold all good deeds.” This is the only way we can reach the Bodhi-path to enlightenment. This is the only way we can escape this place where the fire is closing in around us.

In the next passage, it states, “His sons happily indulged in their playing and refused to believe him. They were not alarmed or afraid and had no intention of leaving.” They did not want to leave. They were attached to worldly fame, profit and status. Their suffering was truly unbearable. The Buddha could not do much about it, so He “thought further about how to reveal the door of the causal practice of the Great Vehicle.”

He thought further about how to reveal the door of the causal practice of the Great Vehicle, but sentient beings could not give rise to faith, so they had nowhere to begin their practice.

Through the door of the Great Vehicle, we can all attain Buddhahood. We sentient beings must reflect on ourselves. Our intrinsic nature is Buddha-nature. But when the Buddha gave gradual teachings, sentient beings remained unafraid. Therefore, He pointed directly to our minds so we could see our true nature. Can sentient beings give rise to faith in time? If “sentient beings cannot give rise to faith, they have nowhere to begin their practice.” If they cannot give rise to faith, naturally, they will not practice diligently. So, we certainly need to have faith. Our faith must be deep. Only with a deep faith can we quickly begin our practice and leave the burning house of the Three Realms.

Thus, our initial aspiration is most important; after we have formed that initial aspiration, we will begin to “retain all teachings and uphold all good deeds.” If we can do this, then we can do good deeds, benefit others and create good karmic connections. This is what I have been telling everyone recently. This is the only way we can open the door that is obstructed. Only when our path is free of obstructions can we directly reach the state of the ultimate reality of all Dharma. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 549 – Saving the Children from the Burning House

---

>> “The Buddha applied compassion and wisdom for the sake of His one great cause. For suffering sentient beings, He is like a compassionate father. He sees His sons being immature and causing trouble. Only right faith can eliminate disasters.”

>> He further reflected, “This house has only one door. Moreover, it is narrow and small. My sons are young and immature and have no understanding. They are attached to the place where they play. So, they may fall and be burned in the fire.”

>> I must tell them of these fearful matters. This house is already in flames, and this is the time for them to quickly leave so they will not be burned in the fire.

>> All the sons were in the burning house. They were deluded and lingering there, not seeking to escape. The elder, that kind father, saw that in his sons’ stubbornness, they did not seek to leave. How could he possibly sit there and watch? He contemplated how he could save them.

>> The fire is arising from all four sides, so they should quickly escape. The elder, urgently aware of this, yelled at them to quickly leave so they would not be burned by the fire. But sentient beings do not hear him and are unaware of the fire, so they do not consider escaping. This was what the elder worried about.

>> The sons ran about as they played and merely looked at their father: This is an analogy for sentient beings who cling to cyclic existence and transmigration in the Three Realms. As for what the Buddha said, they are completely unaware of it.

---

“The Buddha applied compassion and wisdom for the sake of His one great cause.
For suffering sentient beings, He is like a compassionate father.
He sees His sons being immature and causing trouble.
Only right faith can eliminate disasters.”

The Buddha applied compassion and wisdom for the sake of His one great cause. Because sentient beings are suffering, the Buddha acts as their compassionate father. He is also the guiding teacher of the Three Realms. How can He enable all sentient beings of the Three Realms to understand the true principles and penetrate the Great Vehicle Dharma? He is like a kind father who hopes his children will work hard and be successful and have a clear understanding of morality. Understanding this proper behavior is most important in life.

However, sentient beings are very immature. Not only are they immature, they are like stubborn children who do not listen and are unwilling to learn. They just want to play and are very restless. They simply cannot abide by the rules. Children like this will easily cause trouble. This is what most worries parents. Therefore, we need teachers who will not give up on their students and will do everything they can to teach us. [The Buddha] is like a compassionate parent who never gives up on his children. No matter how badly children behave, their parents still love them. Thus, the Buddha had to mindfully devise teachings.

The only solution was proper belief. He inspired us to develop the proper beliefs. If we stray from these beliefs or if we are slow to accept this Dharma, if we take our time in practicing our beliefs, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will worry.

A previous sutra passage mentioned the 10, 20 or 30 sons. The ones the Buddha worried most about were the “20 or 30 sons.” The “10” had already understood and accepted the Buddha’s teachings. They formed great aspirations and made the Four Great Vows to deliver all sentient beings. They were willing to go among people, thus they cultivated the Four Infinite Minds. They willingly and happily gave everything; this is the Bodhisattva-mind. Not only were they inspired, they put the teachings into practice.

For example, in the Samyuktavadana Sutra, there is a story about this. There was once a small kingdom whose king was named Sarvada. He was benevolent, believed in the Dharma and had formed great aspirations. He regarded his people as his own children, cherishing and protecting them.

In a neighboring kingdom, there was a poor person who often fell ill. However, he could not afford a doctor. So, he traveled to this kingdom to ask King Sarvada to save him by helping him receive treatment for his illnesses. Many doctors came to see the man and prescribed medicine, but nothing was effective. Later, the king gathered all the doctors and asked, “How come you cannot cure this man’s illness?” They all said, “The medicine is hard to obtain. What kind of medicine does he need? What is the name of this medicine?” The doctors said to the king, “This medicine needs to be taken with the flesh of someone free of the Five Poisons.”

[The king asked,] “What are the Five Poisons?” [“Being free of the Five Poisons”] “means first, his mind must be free of greed. Then he is without the first poison. Second, his mind must be free of anger. Then he is without the second poison. Third, his mind must be free of ignorance. Fourth, his mind must be free of jealousy. Fifth, his mind must be free of cruelty. If there is someone who is free of all of these five poisons, we can combine his flesh with the medicine. Then we will have a way to treat him.”

The king thought about it. Being free of these five things is not easy at all. Everyone more or less feels them to some extent. Indeed, the catalyst for this medicine would be hard to obtain. He thought to himself, “In my entire life, I have believed in the Buddha-Dharma and accepted the teachings, so I have not given rise to any of these.” He continued to contemplate this. “Indeed, every day I think about how to care for and love my people. I love them like my own children. I am not greedy for anything from them. I have never lost my temper with them or gotten angry at them. My mind has always been clear so I have never acted out of ignorance. I have also never felt jealous of anyone, not to mention treat anyone cruelly. When I think about it, I am the best catalyst for this medicine.”

After thinking it over, he made an announcement to the doctors, “You see, obtaining the catalyst is very simple. Cut off some flesh from my body and use it as the catalyst. Then this person will be saved.” Hearing this, they all said, “We cannot! Your majesty, you are like a kind father to your people. You are also their guiding teacher. We have all received your teachings and are cherished by you, so we feel very blessed. How can we cause harm to your body?

The king replied, “I am only giving just a small bit of flesh, I can save a person’s life. How could I not do this? Moreover, I practice the Buddha-Dharma. I want to walk the Bodhisattva-path, and. I vowed to deliver countless sentient beings. When I see someone who is suffering, how can I not help him?” He insisted in this way. So, they cut off some of his flesh and used it as the catalyst. Indeed, after the patient took the medicine, he gradually recovered. After he had totally recovered, he repaid the king by being loyal to him and staying by his side to serve him.

This is a parable and a teaching about causes and conditions. After listening to the Dharma, the king faithfully accepted and practiced it. Walking the Bodhisattva-path requires [cultivating] the Four Infinite Minds of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, and putting them into practice.

Those whom the Buddha worried most about were the “20” and “30” sons. They symbolize the second Vehicle, Solitary Realizers, and the third Vehicle, the Hearers. If people hear the Buddha-Dharma but do not develop the heart of a Bodhisattva, they have not truly eliminated their afflictions. The Dharma of wisdom has not deeply penetrated their mind. So, going through the door of the burning house is difficult because they still have many afflictions; thus they are burned by the flames.

If we cannot exit the door of our afflictions, how can we enter the Dharma-door of wisdom? This was the previous sutra passage, “[The elder] further reflected, ‘This house has only one door Moreover, it is narrow and small.'”

He further reflected, “This house has only one door. Moreover, it is narrow and small. My sons are young and immature and have no understanding. They are attached to the place where they play. So, they may fall and be burned in the fire.”

For sentient beings who have serious afflictions, the door is small and their afflictions great. Because of all those afflictions, there is no way they can go out that door. This is because these “sons are young and immature.” So, although they hear the Dharma, they still have tremendous attachments.

In the world today, many believe in the Buddha. These people also listen to the Dharma. Although they are willing to form aspirations, they cannot let go of their attachments. There are many people like this. I often hear, “The economy has been bad, so he has been working very hard. Now, they are starting to develop a new product. It is very tough.” I would say, “That is very difficult. His company is so large. He clearly knows that the world economy is in a depression. Why does he choose to keep working and put so much stress on himself? Well,” the wife would sigh, “What can he do? What can I do?” This is how the wives of these entrepreneurs feel.

Indeed, this is what people are like. They have heard the Dharma, but they cannot control themselves. They want to come up with something more advanced than everyone else. Living this way is indeed very tiring.

The door of the burning house, for people like this, is really too small. That is because of their greed; their desires are endless. Even though they have heard the Dharma, they still cannot let go of their desires and afflictions. Immersed in the Three Realms, the desire, form and formless realms, once a desire arises in their mind, they cannot let it go; this is very painful.

So, in the previous sutra text, the Buddha said, “I must tell them of these fearful matters.”

I must tell them of these fearful matters. This house is already in flames, and this is the time for them to quickly leave so they will not be burned in the fire.

Although the Buddha used various methods, these children were so young and immature. They just kept playing in their home, not knowing they were in the fire. They thought the fire was something to play with. Therefore, the Buddha had to tell everyone, “You should be afraid; the world is suffering.” Not only is there suffering, there are many disasters. Impermanence and disasters may strike at any time. So, there are three major and three minor calamities, which continue to press in closer. This is why the Buddha began calling on us. From outside the burning house, He calls to us. “You are in danger! Come out right now! This house is already on fire. Everyone must come out.”

The following passage from the sutra states, “This is the time for them to quickly leave, so they will not be burned in the fire.” They must quickly get out of there so they will not get burned. But the children inside the burning house are deluded and linger there. They have lost their sense of reason, continuing to linger in this burning house. They crave pleasure, fame, wealth and so on, so they do not seek to escape.

All the sons were in the burning house. They were deluded and lingering there, not seeking to escape. The elder, that kind father, saw that in his sons’ stubbornness, they did not seek to leave. How could he possibly sit there and watch? He contemplated how he could save them.

Similarly, there was a house on fire in northern [Taiwan]. One man had already escaped, but thought about what he had left inside. So, he ran back in to get those things. In the end, before he even reached them, he was suffocated by the smoke. He passed out and was burned to death.

We actually see this in our modern day society. Clearly, the house is on fire. Disregarding his life, this man ran back inside. As a result, he died, the things were gone and the house burned down. People like this are everywhere nowadays. This analogy about the burning house and people remaining deluded and lost in it truly applies to many people.

The fire is arising from all four sides, so they should quickly escape. The elder, urgently aware of this, yelled at them to quickly leave so they would not be burned by the fire. But sentient beings do not hear him and are unaware of the fire, so they do not consider escaping. This was what the elder worried about.

The elder is very compassionate, the way a father feels toward his children. If the children were so foolish that they did not want to escape, their father could not sit calmly and watch. So, he kept contemplating different ways to quickly get his children out of there. Because the fire was burning on all sides, if they did not quickly run out, they would be in great danger.

The elder, “urgently aware of this, yelled at them, Hurry, get out of there now! Don’t get burned by the fire.” He continued to call out to them and remind them. But sentient beings did not hear, were unaware and unknowing. They had not yet thought about leaving quickly. They had not even considered leaving. They remained attached, lingering within the burning house.

“The sons ran about as they played.” They were running all over the place. Their father was calling to them, yelling at them. But they simply looked at him. The sons ran about as they played and merely looked at their father: This is an analogy for sentient beings who cling to cyclic existence and transmigration in the Three Realms. As for what the Buddha said, they are completely unaware of it.

As the Buddha expounded the Dharma, sentient beings listened. But all they did was listen. They saw how wonderful the Buddha-Dharma was, yet their hearts remained unmoved. They did not think about taking it in. They were like stubborn, immature children.

So, “Sentient beings cling to cyclic existence and transmigration in the Three Realms.” They are willing to remain transmigrating in the Three Realms. They are willing to be afflicted, to have greed, anger and ignorance, arrogance and doubt. They doubted the Buddha-Dharma, so they transmigrated in the Three Realms again. Clearly, they have heard the Buddha-Dharma. Yet they refuse to practice accordingly. The Buddha had spoken to them, but they had not awakened at all. This is what sentient beings are like.

This is like the world we live in, what the Buddha called the evil world of Five Turbidities. The turbidity is very severe. This is because of our views and understandings, our afflictions and the kinds of interactions we have with each other, as well as how our life is impermanent and painfully sort. But within this very short amount of time, we can create so much karma. Everything we have accumulated has contributed to forming this evil world of Five Turbidities. Even at this time, people do not try to escape, do not accept the Buddha-Dharma and do not transcend afflictions to leave this burning house. They continue to play in there without any thought of leaving. This is very worrying and very frightening. The Great Enlightened One, for the sake of deluded sentient beings, was shocked and afraid.

Think about this, shouldn’t we promptly seize the moment to accept the Dharma and practice it? By saving ourselves and saving others, we can bring peace to the world. This has to start with each one of us. We must start with ourselves. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 548 – Instilling a Sense of Urgency in Deluded Children

---

>> “The Buddha felt great compassion for those in the great house. The way that a father looks at his sons is the way He looks at His Dharma-children. A father cannot bear for his sons to remain in a burning house, but his sons are so deluded in their thinking they do not seek to escape. With a sense of great urgency, this kind father wants to save them. With provisional and wondrous Dharma, He tenderly cares for and guards His sons.”

>> He further reflected, “This house has only one door. Moreover, it is narrow and small. My sons are young and immature and have no understanding. They are attached to the place where they play. So, they may fall and be burned in the fire.”

>> “I must tell them of these fearful matters. This house is already in flames and this is the time for them to quickly leave, so they will not be burned by the fire.”

>> I must tell them of these fearful matters: “I” refers to the compassionate Buddha. For the sake of sentient beings, great compassion arose in Him. He established various kinds of teachings to explain the truth of suffering, and how the accumulation of afflictions gives rise to the fires of ignorance. He urgently informed us to be afraid and alarmed.

>> This house is already in flames: All the sons were in the burning house. They were deluded and lingering there and did not seek to escape. The elder, that kind father, saw that in his sons’ stubbornness, they did not seek to leave. How could he possibly sit there and watch? He contemplated how he could save them.

---

“The Buddha felt great compassion for those in the great house.
The way that a father looks at his sons is the way He looks at His Dharma-children.
A father cannot bear for his sons to remain in a burning house,
but his sons are so deluded in their thinking they do not seek to escape.
With a sense of great urgency, this kind father wants to save them.
With provisional and wondrous Dharma, He tenderly cares for and guards His sons.”

The Buddha feels great urgency. His compassion is like that of a father for his sons. This kind father cares deeply about His children. If there is a great house filled with children, and these children do not behave and listen to the teachings, their father will be very concerned.

The father’s compassion extends to everyone in this great house, an analogy [for the Three Realms]. It encompasses all of his sons and family members; he feels compassion for all of them. He cares for all people in all places. Everyone in this house is in his thoughts and under his protection.

His heart is like that of the Buddha. The Buddha’s heart is like that of the father. The loving way a father views his child is the way the Buddha views His disciples, those related to Him by the Dharma-essence.

The essence of the Dharma [is like bone marrow]. Consider our bone marrow donor registry. Some people have certain kinds of diseases. These diseases occur because the human body [lacks] the critical ability to produce blood cells. If we lose this ability, then we have a disease. For instance, some people get leukemia. Modern medical technology has reached the point that if we are able to find the right match, we can transplant one person’s hematopoietic stem cells into the patient. However, finding a match is not that easy. We may have to go through hundreds of thousands of people before we find a match. This match is extremely hard to find. However, even though the likelihood of finding a match is so slim, we have the technology and are dedicated to saving lives. Since we have the technology to do this, we must make use of it. Even though it takes a lot of material wealth, it gives us a chance to physically save someone’s life.

This is possible when intangible true principles can be made manifest as tangible [technology]. But to operate the conditioned phenomena of technology, we need our technical skills, wisdom and scientific knowledge. By manifesting these in a tangible way, we can employ many factors to safeguard people’s lives. Therefore, we have established. Buddhist Tzu Chi Stem Cells Center.

We also need many people to persuade donors. Once a patient’s match is found in the registry, we need to find this person. Is this person still healthy? Is this person still living at the address on record? Some people joined the registry10 to 20 years ago, so they may have moved abroad or somewhere else in this country. We may have to work hard to find the person. Is this person still willing? Will this person donate? If this person is willing to donate, how does the family feel? The answer may be no. Then what should we do? We must put our hearts into persuading them. When the family members are at peace with it, and the donor is willing to donate, then we can promptly help them to accomplish this virtuous deed. This is how a bone marrow transplant happens.

See, for all kinds of tangible phenomena to be able to converge and take shape, they must arise from what is intangible, the unconditioned Dharma. The principles of matter and of life and so on have always existed in this world. These principles are not visible but they have always existed. The Buddha’s wisdom [can be seen from] how in ancient times, people did not have the technical skills and instruments we have now, yet the Buddha, in His wisdom, had already said, “Head, eyes, marrow and brain were all given to others.” This is the compassion of the Buddha.

The Buddha greatly values the lives of all sentient beings in the world. He has the wisdom to thoroughly understand the composition of life. So, “The Buddha felt great compassion for those in the great house.” This means that the Buddha, as the Great Enlightened One of the Universe, has a great ocean of enlightened compassion. There is nothing He does not know, no principle He does not understand. Therefore, over 2000 years ago, He already knew about these subtle and intricate workings of the body. He had already stated these principles. Now, over 2000 years later, from these principles, many have been able to investigate the biological principles of what the body needs in order to function and the ways of treating different illnesses. Currently, in the registry there are many people of different ethnicities. Whether their skin color is black, white, red or yellow, regardless of what ethnic group they belong to, through this bone marrow registry we can find information on their hematopoietic stem cells. Then we are able to assess if they are a match that can save a life.

As long as we have the will, we can definitely find a way to save someone. This is like a compassionate father. [All his children] are in the same household, a large and prosperous household. This prosperous household is referring to the perfect teachings of the Dharma. The spiritual home of His mind is replete with wisdom and compassion. When this father of great wisdom sees his children sick with illness, he cannot bear it. Some children have an illness of the mind. Some children have an illness of the body. Illnesses of the body can be treated with a bone marrow transplant or can be treated with medicine. But what about illnesses of the mind?

Due to illnesses of the mind, there are some people in society who do not follow principles, do not respect family relationships or lack the moral values of being a good person. Therefore, they commit wrongdoings. This is due to their minds. Some clearly know they are violating the law but still commit the offences on purpose. Some stubbornly cling to their perspectives, their thinking and their religious views, which constantly causes problems. They may hold improper thoughts and views, or follow improper teachings and so on. These are all attachments. Some people choose not to believe in the karmic law of cause and effect. They refuse to believe it. In this way, they have become derailed from their path in the human realm. There are many kinds of derailed mindsets. Sometimes it is due to ignorance. Sometimes it is intentional. Sometimes it is a bias toward improper teachings. Going astray is like playing with fire. They already know it is against the law and will damage their morals and ethics. However, they still commit the offenses. This is something the Buddha could not control.

The Buddha comes to the world for one great cause. He only has one goal, like a kind father in a family who only hopes his children will listen to him and follow an ethical and moral path. Sadly, these children just do whatever they want. “A father cannot bear for his sons to remain in a burning house, but his sons are so deluded in their thinking they do not seek to escape.” Once we know something is wrong, we must immediately leave the situation. Once we know this place is dangerous, we must quickly relocate to a safe place. Unfortunately, people are unwilling to learn, or they learn the Dharma but do not accept and practice the teachings. Thus, they are still sentient beings with deluded thinking. Therefore, “With a sense of great urgency, this kind father wants to save them.” The Buddha could not bear to give up on them. He is just like a kind father who, no matter how terrible the children are, is still unwilling to abandon them. So, He had to quickly think of ways to help them. If this Dharma has no effect on us, He will try other ways to transform us. This is the Buddha’s heart, a heart of great compassion. “With provisional and wondrous Dharma, He tenderly cares for and guards His sons.” How does should the Dharma be taught in order for us to accept it? It is important to find the [right] methods.

So, the Buddha had to work very hard. He has already left the burning house of the Three Realms and was able to realize the true principles of all things in the universe. But He still had to exercise His ocean of enlightened compassion to come and save sentient beings. Unfortunately, most sentient beings are unwilling to learn. Even people who wish to learn and practice the Buddha-Dharma, those who listen to teachings, still cling to their delusions and do not awaken. Therefore, the Buddha shared. His wisdom in this world to teach everyone how to transcend this foolishness and enter the door of wisdom.

The previous sutra passage states,

“[The elder] further reflected.” The fire had arisen on all four sides, but some children were still playing games inside. They did not yet realize the fire would burn them. They still did not understand or recognize this, so they could not realize it. This shows how very immature they are. “My sons are young and immature and have no understanding.” They do not yet understand. Therefore, “They are attached to the place where they play.” They still linger in this environment. Clearly, the flames are coming closer, yet they do not realize that life is painfully short and impermanent. In such a short life, we need to seek infinite wisdom. How much time do we really have to find peace in our minds? How do we eliminate our afflictions? We must avoid bringing afflictions into our minds and should not linger on attachment to self. If we linger here, we may degenerate and even be burned in the fire.

He further reflected, “This house has only one door. Moreover, it is narrow and small. My sons are young and immature and have no understanding. They are attached to the place where they play. So, they may fall and be burned in the fire.”

This sutra passage is used to earnestly remind us sentient beings that there is no peace in the Three Realms, just like a burning house. We must quickly transcend the Three Realms. The sound [of the flames] is growing closer. We cannot linger any longer. Since we have the opportunity to encounter the Buddha-Dharma, every day after listening we must reflect on ourselves to see if we still have these afflictions in our minds. If we do, we must promptly change our ways. Everything in this world is impermanent. On the Bodhisattva-path, we must promptly accept the Buddha’s teachings and put them into practice. We must quickly eliminate our habitual tendencies.

The Buddha said, “I must tell them of these fearful matters.” The teachings the Buddha normally gave were such that people could not accept them right away, so they saw “what is impermanent as permanent.” They assume they will be just as healthy tomorrow. In this way, they “cling to impermanence as permanence.” The Buddha had to quickly tell everybody, “Beware of impermanence! It is about to strike. The evil world of Five Turbidities is already in front of us.” Our afflictions and ignorance cause an imbalance in the four elements, so the three major and three minor calamities are continuing to converge; natural and manmade disasters are already closing around us.

So, the Buddha said, “I must tell them of these fearful matters. I must explain to them that this is alarming and frightful.” This world is impermanent. This world is filled with so much suffering. This world experiences so many disasters. All these disasters are like flames which have surrounded us. We need to quickly escape through this door. To shed the burden of our afflictions, we must quickly purify our minds. We must escape the door of turbidities and open up the door of wisdom. By quickly accepting the Buddha-Dharma, we are opening the door of wisdom.

The following sutra passage states,

“I must tell them of these fearful matters. This house is already in flames and this is the time for them to quickly leave, so they will not be burned by the fire.”

This signifies the Buddha’s compassion, how He could not bear for us to suffer.

Obviously, the world is full of dangers, yet these people do not know they need to awaken. The Buddha could not bear this, so He felt great compassion for them. With great compassion for sentient beings, “He established various kinds of teachings.” That is why He gave so many teachings and painstakingly taught with various expressions and analogies. He taught us in these ways, but we cling to our delusions and do not awaken. We are still attached to our afflictions.

The Buddha constantly counseled us with suffering, the truth of suffering, the true principles of suffering. We should understand the truth of suffering, that it is caused by the accumulation of various afflictions, which give rise to the fire of ignorance. These accumulated afflictions have caused the fire of ignorance to arise. Now, this fire has already reached a critical state. The Buddha told everyone that this situation was urgent, and they would do well to be afraid.

I must tell them of these fearful matters: “I” refers to the compassionate Buddha. For the sake of sentient beings, great compassion arose in Him. He established various kinds of teachings to explain the truth of suffering, and how the accumulation of afflictions gives rise to the fires of ignorance. He urgently informed us to be afraid and alarmed.

While I talk about this, I truly start to feel a sense of urgency too. What can I do? Everyone’s mind and habitual tendencies [vary]. What method can I use to help everybody accept the Dharma, correct their habitual tendencies and work in concert with love and harmony? People must eliminate their habitual tendencies and afflictions in order to develop their wisdom. We organize with the precepts and manage with love. The precepts are for self-discipline; not for telling other people what to do. We need to love and care for others, not to try to manage them. If we can understand and practice this, we have self-respect. People with self-respect are the ones who can truly love others. People who love others are the ones who truly love themselves. As spiritual practitioners, we must practice self-respect. We cannot allow our hearts and minds to be covered by ignorance and afflictions. If we do not love ourselves, we will not be able to truly love others and will give rise to many afflictions. Then we will feel as if we are in a burning house.

“This house is already in flames. All the sons are in the burning house.” Inside the burning house, the sons are still deluded and lingering there. They do not want to leave. So, “The elder, that kind father, saw that in his sons’ stubbornness,” they were very unyielding and foolish and “did not seek to leave.” How could he sit there peacefully? He had to quickly find ways to [save them]. So, “He contemplated how he could save them.”

This house is already in flames: All the sons were in the burning house. They were deluded and lingering there and did not seek to escape. The elder, that kind father, saw that in his sons’ stubbornness, they did not seek to leave. How could he possibly sit there and watch? He contemplated how he could save them.

This is why the Buddha “further reflected.” He had always intended to expound the Dharma by gently and softly telling them, “Life is impermanent, so practice earnestly,” but some still clung to their delusions and did not awaken. Therefore, the Buddha had to use this approach, telling everyone that three calamities have arisen in the evil world of Five Turbidities. The three major and three minor calamities have become obvious in the world. In this realm of physical existence, we can clearly see them. Are we really still willing to linger here?

Earth-shattering disasters have taken place. A world-changing awakening should have occurred. We must mindfully seize our opportunities. At this time we can listen to the Dharma and have space to engage in self-reflection. So, I hope everyone will always be mindful.

Episode 547 – The Great Vehicle Leads to Liberation

---

>> “Contemplate the body as impure, not a source of joy. Our sensations and thoughts are painful and impermanent. If we cling to our sense of self, we will linger and degenerate. We must reflect on the Dharma with right thinking.”

>> “Sariputra, the elder had these thoughts, ‘My body and arms are strong I can wrap them in a sack or place them on a table and carry them out of the house.'”

>> “[The elder] further reflected, ‘This house has only one door Moreover, it is narrow and small My sons are young and immature and have no understanding They are attached to the place where they play So, they may fall and be burned in the fire.'”

>> The elder observed that the house was engulfed in a raging fire and only had one door. This is an analogy for the Great Vehicle. “Narrow and small” means that if the Great Vehicle teachings are taught to the Two Vehicle practitioners, they cannot walk through that door. Because the door of the Great Vehicle is not something they can walk through, it instead is called narrow and small.

>> They may fall and be burned in the fire: This describes how newly-inspired sentient beings greedily cling to desires and pleasures, so they are entangled by afflictions and cannot ever escape.

>> They did not know which was the fire and which was the house, or where the danger was. This is an analogy for how sentient beings do not understand that the Five Desires are the sources of suffering. They do not understand what their pure mind is and how they have covered over and obscured their intrinsic minds.

>> The Five Desires exacerbate the pain, like pressing fire against scabies. The Five Desires are of no benefit, like a dog trying to bite a flame. The Five Desires cause conflict, like vultures fighting over rotten flesh. The Five Desires burn people, like a torch held in to a headwind.

---

“Contemplate the body as impure, not a source of joy.
Our sensations and thoughts are painful and impermanent.
If we cling to our sense of self, we will linger and degenerate.
We must reflect on the Dharma with right thinking.”

In our daily living, we must make an effort to observe ourselves. Every day, in our daily living, is our body pure, or is it impure? Within our physical body, is there anything worth cherishing and treasuring? If any part of our body is wounded and not taken care of properly, the wound may fester and give off a stench. When someone dies, if the body is not properly taken care of, within a day, it will also begin to smell. The body is so unclean; what joy can we find in it?

Everyone is always fighting. Isn’t it for the sake of this physical body that we fight over things and try to take them? If we did not have this body, what would there be to fight about? With all things in the world, [we feel,]. “I crave it. I need it. I want it and so on.” With this body comes a sense of self and cravings, which lead us to do many things.

All this comes from having a body. So, will this body lead us to create disasters? If we think that it is permanent and will last forever, that once we are born into this world, we will have a long time to live, then we will create much karma. Thus, we must rein in our mind to focus on our body. We must contemplate and earnestly observe our body in our daily living, in our every action and so on. What happens to our body when we fall ill? What does our body look like after we die? If we think about the body in this way, there is nothing lovable about it whatsoever.

However, if we shift our mindset and look at things from another perspective, we will be grateful that we have this body. Even though this body is impure, it is our vessel for spiritual practice. We can utilize this body to earnestly engage in spiritual practice, to diligently advance and seek the Dharma. If we can take the Dharma to heart, then we can go among people to do good deeds, benefit others, form good karmic connections and walk the Bodhisattva-path. We can do this because we have this body. So, we must make an effort to cherish it and take very good care of it, so that it can be a vessel for spiritual practice every day. It is a vessel for the path, which means that as we seek the Dharma, so many teachings can be attained through diligently practicing with our bodies, thus nourishing our wisdom-life. This is why we must be grateful for our body.

How do we make use of this body [to realize] genuine permanence, genuine purity and the genuine greater self? That is the way that true spiritual practitioners use it as a physical vessel for spiritual cultivation. If we can do so, we can realize “permanence, joy, self and purity.”

Ordinary people, when it comes to “permanence, joy, self and purity,” have an inverted view of them. Conditioned phenomena, which is referring to things in a state of “existence,” are what ordinary people cling to. Today, this plant looks green and lush. These fresh flowers look so beautiful. These are tangible things. They are impermanent, but we cling to them as if they are permanent. The body is also something tangible. It is impermanent, but we cling to it as if it is permanent. Everything in this world that our eyes can see is considered by us to be “permanent.” We “cling to the impermanent as permanent” and we “cling to the not-joyful as joyful.”

Every day, our body is clearly impure. Yet every day, everything that we do is mixed-up and backwards, creating the causes and effects of suffering. These things are not joyful, but we treat them as joyful. In interpersonal conflicts, we create a cycle of animosity and resentment. Obviously this brings suffering, but we cling to it as something joyful. Regarding “permanence, joy, self and purity,” as I said a few days ago, we must not be attached. All of these attachments start from our having this body. The body is so unclean and creates so much karma. Lifetime after lifetime we create karma.

But if we look at things from another perspective, the true principles are permanent. A tranquil and clear state is joyful. Nirvana is a state of tranquility and clarity. This state of Nirvana is also called the “land of calm illumination.” This is a very bright, peaceful and pure state. It is everlasting. Principles are also everlasting. You cannot see everlasting true principles. We have been saying recently that true principles are permanent and bring a state of joy, because nothing is obstructing us and nothing is tempting us. True principles are intangible and formless, but they give us a course for living our lives. If we apply them to provide guidance in our lives, then we can realize the “greater self” a “self” that pervades the universe. We often speak of having “a heart that encompasses the universe and embraces the boundless worlds within it.”

Shouldn’t we care about all things in this world? In conclusion, when we talk about the “self,” we are referring to our body. If, for the sake of “my body,” I create a lot of karma, that is the wrong thing to do. So, we must learn to be like the Buddha in using our bodies to practice being accommodating with everything and using our bodies to help other people. We are grateful that our body allows us to walk the Bodhisattva-path and develop our wisdom-life. In this way, our body will truly be valuable and precious.

The teaching, “Contemplate the body as impure” contains many principles that we must earnestly think about. Otherwise, if as ordinary people we only use our body to experience daily physical sensations, our minds will suffer greatly. This feeling of suffering is also due to impermanence.

I already told you something very clearly. “Do you understand? Yes, I understand.” Soon after, your answer changes to, “I did not understand; I thought it was this way.” It is really not an easy matter for people to understand each other. This is why things often do not go our way. So, “Our sensations and thoughts are painful.” This is [due to] impermanence.

“If we cling to our sense of self, we will linger and degenerate.” If we all cling to our sense of self, we will be attached to our bodies, and seek enjoyment for their sakes. Fame, wealth and so on are all for the sake of the “self.” This “self” will truly degenerate. If we do not realize that there is no joy and no permanence and simply remain attached, everything we do will lead us to degenerate in the future.

So, we must really be mindful and. “We must reflect on the Dharma with right thinking.” We must use a very pure mind to earnestly contemplate the Buddha’s teachings. If we can accept the Buddha’s teachings, eliminate all afflictions and make great vows to go among the people, then in this way, we can leave the burning house and enter the Dharma-door. This is how we can become liberated.

So, in the previous sutra passage, the Buddha said to Sariputra,

“Sariputra, the elder had these thoughts, ‘My body and arms are strong I can wrap them in a sack or place them on a table and carry them out of the house.'”

We must be mindful. Some people can accept [the Dharma] and have already escaped the burning house. Some people have not entered the Dharma-door. Then there are others who have not even escaped the burning house, so how can they enter the Dharma-door? So, what is to be done? The Buddha applied His wisdom to devise teachings that would help everyone enter this door. “My body and arms are strong. I can wrap them in a sack or place them on a table and carry them out of the house.” He had to use various skillful means to tempt the children to come out.

The next sutra passage states,

“[The elder] further reflected, ‘This house has only one door Moreover, it is narrow and small My sons are young and immature and have no understanding They are attached to the place where they play So, they may fall and be burned in the fire.'”

This sutra passage describes how the elder then had other thoughts. The Buddha applied wisdom to save [beings] before, teaching with various methods and analogies. Although these methods and analogies, these teachings, were being heard, there was “only one door.” Then the door is described by, “Moreover, it is narrow and small.”

Think about it; this great house was surrounded by fire on all four sides. The fire burning the house was blazing fiercely. To save the children, to save the people inside, there was only one door. This is an analogy for “the door to the Great Vehicle.” This house has “only one door,” the door to the Great Vehicle.

This door is also small and narrow. In this case, “small and narrow” is an analogy for the Great Vehicle Dharma. Now, the Great Vehicle Dharma was being taught for the Two Vehicle practitioners.

The elder observed that the house was engulfed in a raging fire and only had one door. This is an analogy for the Great Vehicle. “Narrow and small” means that if the Great Vehicle teachings are taught to the Two Vehicle practitioners, they cannot walk through that door. Because the door of the Great Vehicle is not something they can walk through, it instead is called narrow and small.

The Two Vehicle practitioners are. Solitary Realizers and Hearers. Solitary Realizers only seek to awaken themselves. They cannot walk the Bodhisattva-path. The door to the Great Vehicle “is not something they can walk through,” so, “it instead is called narrow and small.” Because they only seek to awaken themselves, their capabilities do not resonate with [this path]. Thus, they have not accepted the Great Vehicle. The Two Vehicle practitioners believe that they are already pure. They have this kind of arrogance. “I’m already pure. I’m already liberated. I don’t want to go back into the world.” This door of the One Vehicle Dharma is too narrow and small for them.

Why is this Great Vehicle Dharma narrow and small to them? Because they still have a sense of “self. I’m pure. I’m liberated.” They believe they are better than everyone else, and no teaching surpasses what they know. Two Vehicle practitioners feel that to walk the Bodhisattva-path, they must go among people, evils and turbidities. The turbidity of sentient beings is very severe, and these practitioners do not want to be defiled. So, this door seems very small door to them. “It is not something they can walk through.” They are unwilling to enter this door. So, this Dharma-door is hard to enter.

Although they have left the burning house, they do not want to enter this Dharma-door. So, they are still not safe. The next passage states, “My sons are young and immature and have no understanding. They are attached to the place where they play. So, they may fall and be burned in the fire.”

“They may fall and be burned in the fire” is an analogy for people who are newly inspired. They have just begun to listen to the Dharma or have begun to accept it after hearing it. However, their spiritual aspirations are not firm.

They may fall and be burned in the fire: This describes how newly-inspired sentient beings greedily cling to desires and pleasures, so they are entangled by afflictions and cannot ever escape.

When we hear the Dharma, there must be love in our hearts; we must give rise to compassion. Moreover, we must respect living beings. Sadly, ordinary people cling to their desires. They are attached to their desires and pleasures, their momentary cravings, their desire for taste.

Take the pigs raised in pigpens in particular, they roll around in manure. The things that cows, dogs and other animals eat are still inside their bodies. That is their way of living. After killing them, we swallow them. Is this food pure? Before we ate them, they were living in polluted environment. Then we swallowed them into our stomachs. When we swallow them, our own bodies also become very impure. So, there is no joy in this. But, in a state of confusion, people “greedily cling to desires and pleasures, so they are entangled by afflictions and cannot ever escape.” This is just like those who “may fall and be burned in the fire.”

If we are like them, even though we listen to the Dharma, we cannot accept it. We still have greed and attachments. “They did not know which was the fire and which was the house.” The burning house was already on fire, but they still could not tell the difference.

They did not know which was the fire and which was the house, or where the danger was. This is an analogy for how sentient beings do not understand that the Five Desires are the sources of suffering. They do not understand what their pure mind is and how they have covered over and obscured their intrinsic minds.

[They did not understand] “where the danger was.” Why are we in this state? We could have been very joyful. We could have accepted the Buddha-Dharma and have been in a truly tranquil, clear and safe state. Why did we lose this state? Because we did not know that this state existed.

So, this is an analogy for how sentient beings do not know that the Five Desires lead to suffering. Sentient beings do not understand that the Five Desires are the sources of suffering. “They did not understand what their pure mind is.” They also did not know what it was that covered their [pure] intrinsic minds. We do not know any of these answers.

Only by learning the Dharma, the Buddha’s teachings, can we understand the Five Desires. They are like a piece of black cloth that is always covering us. So, all we see are our desires. We do not know that beyond our desires, there is a pure state of mind. This pure mind has actually been covered by the Five Desires.

So, the Five Desires keep adding to our thoughts of desire. Thus, the Five Desires are “like pressing fire against scabies. The Five Desires are of no benefit, like a dog trying to bite a flame.”

The Five Desires exacerbate the pain, like pressing fire against scabies. The Five Desires are of no benefit, like a dog trying to bite a flame. The Five Desires cause conflict, like vultures fighting over rotten flesh. The Five Desires burn people, like a torch held in to a headwind.

We are already suffering from our ignorance, just like having a skin condition which itches and produces boils. Not knowing what to do, we burn it with fire, which aggravates our suffering. The Five Desires are indeed not beneficial. We are like a dog who sees the fire and tries to bite it. Biting the fire, the dog does not let go. He just keeps running around. This is a metaphor.

“The Five Desires cause conflict.” People compete with each other, like vultures that see rotten flesh. A whole flock of vultures fight over that piece of meat with no success. They just peck each other back and forth. Humans are like this too. Because of their desires, they fight openly and plot secretly, causing unbearable suffering.

The Five Desires can burn people, “like a torch held in to a headwind.” When the wind is blowing towards us, if we raise a torch and walk towards it, the flames will end up burning us. That is what the Five Desires do.

The Buddha used wisdom to teach the Dharma. People with great capabilities can accept it and transcend this suffering. They can enter the Dharma-door and widely transform sentient beings. After understanding the Dharma, some people do not open their minds to take in the Dharma. Some people listen to the Dharma, but cannot put it into practice. They continue to pursue the Five Desires however it pleases them.

“I listen, but I eat and do as I wish. I’m a reverent Buddhist disciple, but I still do these things and continue to live this way.” People like this are in a state of confusion. If we are like them, though we hear the Buddha-Dharma, we still do not understand and are still immersed in the Five Desires. Then we will certainly fall and be burned by the fire of afflictions.

In summary, humans are deluded and lack wisdom. Indeed, many things are hard to explain; the only way is for us to mindfully realize them.