Episode 37 – Do Not Allow Ignorance to Cause Leaks
>> Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha dwelt on Vulture Peak, near the City of the House of Kings, together with the assembly of great bhiksus, 12,000 in all. All were Arhats. They had eliminated all Leaks and had no further afflictions. Having attained benefits for themselves, they had severed all bonds of existence; their minds had attained a state of freedom.
>> Ignorant people create karma, open the door to all Leaks and fall into cyclic existence. They forget the Dharma-body, lose wisdom-life and lose great treasures, This harms and disturbs practitioners. This is all caused by ignorance leaking through. These afflictions manifest and cause the mind to drift without end.
We learn the Buddha’s teachings to attain Buddhahood. In this process of attaining Buddhahood, people must transform their ordinary thoughts to draw closer to the Buddha’s state. So, the Buddha-mind is filled with great compassion; the Buddha-mind is pure, like a clear mirror. Everyone, do our hearts feel great compassion at all times, see all sentient beings as our own children and everyone in the world as our family? Do we have that sense of love and care?
Do we often wipe clean the mirror of our minds? Do we have any subtle, dust-like afflictions that have yet to be cleared away? We must constantly clean the mirror of our minds as we learn the Buddha’s teachings. Intrinsically, we have a mirror in our minds, but small particles of dust have been continuously covering it, layer after layer. This has caused the mirror of our minds to become cloudy. Spiritual practice is [how we] clean this mirror and return to our intrinsic nature, which is equal to the Buddha’s.
In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha opened and revealed [this path] for us to realize and enter so we could let go of the skillful means of. Small Vehicle teachings and turn our minds to the Great Vehicle’s true path. This is why He began to teach the Lotus Sutra.
Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha dwelt on Vulture Peak, near the City of the House of Kings, together with the assembly of great bhiksus, 12,000 in all. All were Arhats. They had eliminated all Leaks and had no further afflictions. Having attained benefits for themselves, they had severed all bonds of existence; their minds had attained a state of freedom.
In the Lotus Sutra, it begins with a description of the number of people who came to hear the Sutra. So, it starts with “Thus have I heard” and continues on to describe those who came, an assembly of 12,000 great bhiksus who all gathered at that place. Every one of them was an Arhat who had eliminated all Leaks and had no further afflictions. These people had firmly resolved to engage in spiritual practice. They listened to the Buddha expound the Dharma, and every word entered their hearts. Not only did the Dharma enter their hearts, they practiced it and put it to use in their lives. Therefore, they had eliminated all Leaks, and they had no further afflictions. Because they had no afflictions, they dedicated themselves single-mindedly.
Indeed, afflictions are most bothersome. Worldly matters are fundamentally very simple. Humans are originally pure in heart. But once we [develop] afflictions, the world becomes complicated. Once this happens, pain and suffering begin to occur in the minds of individuals, then spread to families. The discord in families then spreads to other people and society as a whole. When people’s minds are unsettled and impure, they create man-made disasters. People may have interpersonal conflicts and disputes. Perhaps the desires in each person’s mind, the greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, start to swell and stir in this world. Thus, afflictions become thousand-foot high waves creating layers upon layers of disasters.
Of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, the word “ignorance” is in the middle. Ignorance also means “without clarity.” Ignorance is not clearly understanding principles. To be ignorant is to be totally hazy and confused. So, ignorance causes the mind to be totally confused, so we cannot discern matters or principles, nor understand them. Then naturally we are misled by the many things in this world and become hazy and confused. This begins with desire. Greed is extreme and insatiable.
There is a common saying, “When you obtain one [thing] you still [complain] about the other nine” you do not yet have.” That kind of pursuit is nonstop, starting small and growing increasingly bigger. This greed is exhausting and causes unspeakable suffering in our daily living. Even worse, we may lose what we have gained. Afflictions arise from this sense of gain and loss. What comes after losing? Anger. If we do not obtain what we seek, we get angry. If we obtain something and then lose it, we will also get angry. Greed and anger both arise from ignorance.
Therefore, “those who are ignorant create karma and open the doors to all Leaks.” When an ignorant thought arises, those who are foolish and ignorant start creating karma. The door to our minds then starts to open slowly. This “open” is not the same as the one in “open, reveal, realize and enter.” This means that the door to the treasures stored [within our] minds is opened.
We ordinary people each have what are called the Eight Consciousnesses. The first six are the eye-, ear-, nose-, tongue-, body- and mind-consciousness. These are the first six consciousnesses. The mind, the mind-consciousness, follows the first five [and can be] confused by what the eyes see, afflicted by what the ears hear, etc. This all begins with the mind-consciousness. This consciousness is only fleeting, however. It is followed by one that is more poisonous, which is the seventh consciousness. After the mind finishes perceiving and discerning our present conditions, the seventh consciousness begins to endlessly scheme and plan. “How do I get what I want? What tricks should I use? What methods should I adopt?” The seventh consciousness is the initiator.
The Six Consciousnesses face outward and give rise to fleeting thoughts. Without the seventh consciousness’ contriving, our thoughts would actually pass through quickly, without necessarily creating much karma. But since the Six Consciousnesses are open, the seventh consciousness cannot help itself and starts planning. The source of this karma is the combining of the seventh consciousness with the sixth and the prior Five Consciousnesses. [This] creates a great deal of karma.
Once there is a lot negative karma, it turns into seeds, which we call “causes.” We create causes, which are seeds, and these seeds are then stored. Where are they stored? In the eighth consciousness. All the seeds of karma are stored in the eighth consciousness. This is all negative karma. The first seven keep creating them and the eighth consciousness stores them. So, negative causes are stored there.
What if they are good, positive causes? These are rare. With them we can meet wise people and can listen to the Buddha’s teachings. We hear with our ears and see with our eyes; the Dharma comes through the Six Roots, the same way [as negative karma]. But the seventh consciousness is very stubborn. In the past, it was planning things that are not good. It was only concerned with how to get things and how not to lose things. This originates from negative thoughts. Because we could not guard the door to the Six Roots, after the Dharma enters, doubts and suspicions arise. Isn’t that the case? When we see something we are interested in, and we do not fight for it or seize it, we may lose it. We do not believe in [the notion of] “not taking ill-gotten gains.” If that is not [our principle], we will constantly think only about our interests.
After hearing the Buddha’s teachings, we know that we should give [others] this Dharma. If the Dharma does indeed enter our minds, then naturally the seventh consciousness will plan ways to help transform other people’s minds. This is gives us the good intention to influence others people’s minds. We then give tangible material goods to others or intangible Dharma. If we only focus on our own interests, we only use these methods to transform our own ignorance. If our understanding of Dharma is insufficient, that means our faith is insufficient. If our faith is lacking, that means we have doubts. The existence of doubts arises from ignorance, from just one ignorant thought.
Indeed, we were originally pure in heart. If we take in the virtuous Dharma and store it in our eighth consciousness, we can come and go freely. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? This is all a matter of our “thinking.” As I have explained before, the mind is what thinks. It takes in all the external phenomena and makes discernments. Blue, red, white or black [are all appearances]. In Chinese characters, “mind” is placed under “appearance” to construct the character for “thinking.” Our Six Consciousnesses [take in] external forms, and the seventh “thinks” [about them]. This character is made of “mind” and “field.” If we are not diligent, if we are lazy, then the field of the mind will be overgrown with weeds and become barren. Similarly, because of ignorance, we cannot properly tend to the field in our minds and many unwholesome things fall into it. In other words, even if the Buddha-Dharma enters our minds, if we do not store it in the eighth consciousness, then it [will] leak away, and
the field of our mind will not be well-cultivated. That is why I tell everyone to quietly contemplate. The mind should remain very still, so we can cultivate that field. If the state of the mind is pure, then we can cultivate its field. We are ignorant if we do not properly tend to the field of our minds. We do not accept virtuous Dharma into our hearts, [and instead,] we perform many negative deeds. We take nothing with us when we die except karma.
Everyone, this is how our karma causes Leaks. We have many Leaks, which are [our] many afflictions. The pure water leaks away and the filth gets stuck. So, “Leaks cause us to fall into cyclic existence.” Thus we transmigrate in the Six Realms. If this happens, our afflictions will be endless, and our habitual tendencies will accumulate. So, we forget; “We forget the Dharma-body [and] lose wisdom-life.”
Everyone’s Dharma-body is equal to the Buddha’s. This pure and undefiled perfect mirror has become hazy, so wisdom-life cannot function. We have forgotten that our intrinsic nature is the same as the Buddha’s, so our wisdom-life cannot function properly. So, “we forget the Dharma-body, lose wisdom-life, lose great treasures.” This also “harms and disturbs practitioners.” It is as if our treasure has been stolen by a thief of our own making, and thus, we “lose [our] great treasures.” [These] real treasures, which are in our minds, are completely gone. This “harms and disturbs practitioners.” Since we want to engage in spiritual practice, it is with these ignorant thoughts that we harm ourselves. This is all the doing of our own minds. When we want to practice, no one else is hindering us; we are hindering ourselves. We “harm and disturb” [ourselves] as we reap [what we have sown].
“With each passing day, we draw closer to death.” We need to diligently cultivate our minds because all afflictions and delusions originate from one ignorant thought. “This is caused when ignorance leaks through and these afflictions manifest.” Every day our afflictions keep manifesting. We need to truly learn the Dharma. As I often tell all of you, the Buddha-Dharma must enter our minds. If it has entered our minds, then we must have Dharma in our actions. However, we do not. [Our] afflictions always manifest in our daily living and
“cause the mind to drift without end.” [Thus], our minds cannot settle down, so they continue to drift away. If our minds are like stones, water will not be absorbed and will leak away altogether. This is really quite a pity. This is what “Leaks” are. Leaks are the same as delusions. Delusions are ignorant thoughts. Therefore, ignorance is like a leak. Take a leak in a house for example. If a house is damaged, if the inside the house is not well-maintained, then the damage will allow water to leak in. Imagine, wouldn’t things inside become dampened, soiled, and rotten? These are all called afflictions.
Arhats have eliminated all Leaks and have no further afflictions. Arhats no longer have afflictions because “both causes and effects are eliminated.” They are very clear about causes and effects. Without creating any causes, naturally there will not be any effects. Therefore, we need to be very mindful. Not clinging to negative causes and conditions [means] negative effects will not manifest. So, we need to take good care of our minds at every moment.
Ignorant people create karma, open the door to all Leaks and fall into cyclic existence. They forget the Dharma-body, lose wisdom-life and lose great treasures, This harms and disturbs practitioners. This is all caused by ignorance leaking through. These afflictions manifest and cause the mind to drift without end.
All afflictions arise from our minds. When the appearances of external conditions converge with our minds, our thoughts often stir. So, we should let the Dharma penetrate our minds and cultivate [the field of our minds] diligently. Let us plant the seeds of our Jing Si [Dharma-lineage] and cultivate them in our own minds. So, we must always be mindful.