Episode 188 – Extinguish the Three Fires of the Mind
>> “Our intrinsic nature is perfect and virtuous, pure and flawless. Principles of the one reality [help us] transcend unreal and false appearances and [realize] the equality of our intrinsic nature, which has not been altered.”
>> “At that time, the Buddha arose serenely from Samadhi and told Sariputra, ‘the wisdom of all the Buddhas is extremely profound and unlimited.'”
>> Which is also called Right Concentration. It is also used to “adjust, straighten and quiet.”
>> This is adjusting, straightening and quieting; we adjust our mind so it is not irritable, straighten our distortions and quiet our distractions.
>> Control delusional thoughts and thinking, concentrate the mind to contemplate and focus the mind in one place. This is called Samadhi.
>> So, “a benevolent heart abides in one place, unwavering.” This is called Samadhi,
“Our intrinsic nature is perfect and virtuous,
pure and flawless.
Principles of the one reality [help us]
transcend unreal and false appearances and
[realize] the equality of our intrinsic nature,
which has not been altered.”
“Our intrinsic nature is perfect.” We must realize that all things in the world, as long as they are living, have the same nature. All sentient beings intrinsically have a perfect intrinsic nature. In its natural state, it is pure and without Leaks. No matter what kind of living being it is, intrinsically it has that nature.
These principles of one reality are the truths that the Buddha is about to reveal to us. This helps all of us understand that everything is encompassed within the principles of one reality. But we sentient beings are often attached to the illusory and false things in the world. The Buddha taught “true principles of one reality” to help us transcend illusory and unreal appearances, to help us realize “the equality of our intrinsic nature, which has not been altered.”
For example, take this story from the sutras, about a village that was very peaceful and quiet. One day, the village was holding a celebration, so all the villagers gathered in one place. They drank and celebrated. They became drunk and had almost eaten their fill. Suddenly, they turned around and saw that, in the distance, the forest was on fire. The fire seemed to be advancing toward them. They became very afraid, because the fire had cut off the road, blocking their only escape route.
Among them was a man who was not yet drunk. He said, “Yes, the fire is advancing and has cut off our escape route. But Sakyamuni Buddha should be nearby, so we should calm down and call out His name.”
At this time, it seemed they heard a gentle voice in the distance, like an infusion of fresh air. The voice was clear, and they all heard it. It said to them, “You must understand that the fire you see in front of you is not the only fire there is. There are three kinds of true fire. First, the fire of greed. Second, the fire of anger. Third, the fire of ignorance. When the three fires converge, it is truly frightening. Now, you must calm down, and I will cleanse and nourish your minds with wisdom will cleanse and nourish your minds with wisdom in the hopes of extinguishing the three fires.”
As the Buddha was saying this, His form appeared in front of them. As they saw Him and listened to His Dharma, they were unaware that the fire in the forest had gradually subsided.
Even the bhiksus who came with the Buddha were amazed when they saw this. So, the bhiksus asked the Buddha, “What are the causes and conditions of this group of people for them to be so blessed that You happened to be nearby and could save them?” The Buddha sat down and told them this story. In the distant past, countless kalpas ago,
there was also a forest, suffering a drought. A strong foehn wind was blowing and the trees were so dry that when the winds blew, a fire started. Once a fire was ignited, the animals in the forest had no way out. They were surrounded by fire, how could they escape?
There was a bird called Happy-Head. He could not bear to see this. “I have wings, so when there is a fire, I can fly away from the forest. But some animals don’t have wings. If the fire is not extinguished, many lives will be lost.” A compassionate thought arose in his mind, so the bird spread his wings and flew between the mountain and the sea. He saturated his wings with sea water and flew back to douse the flames with the drops of water carried on his wings. He flew back and forth thousands of times.
When a heavenly being saw this, he said, “Happy-Head, your body is so small. Do you really think you can put out a fire with the water on your wings?” But the bird answered, “Even though I’m small, the power of my vows is broader and greater than the forest fire. Even if I can’t put out the fire in this lifetime, I vow to continue in my next life until the fire is extinguished.”
The bird’s sincerity and compassion touched the heavenly being, so he sent down a heavy rain to extinguish this forest fire.
The Buddha stopped here, smiled and said to the bhiksus, “Fellow bhiksus, did you know that little bird, Happy-Head, was I in a past life? Countless kalpas ago, I was practicing the Bodhisattva-path. Even as a bird, I made these vows. Now, as for this group of people here, they were the animals that. I saved back then. Lifetime after lifetime, they made vows to practice and uphold precepts. These causes and conditions have brought them to this world in human form for many lifetimes. Even though they are in the human realm and are fulfilling their responsibilities in the world, they still have habitual tendencies. This time, I told them about the three kinds of fire in their minds. I hope to use this wisdom to extinguish the fire of ignorance in their minds.” So, these were their karmic conditions.
This is the Buddha’s wisdom. Sentient beings are always confused by illusory and false appearances.
Though they are in this world, they are still attached to their illusions. When a Buddha’s conditions for transforming [others] in a lifetime is about to end, He always teaches principles of one reality. This is solely because He wants sentient beings to transcend illusory and false appearances. So, we must put our hearts into comprehending the Buddha’s teachings.
At the end of the Introductory Chapter, Manjusri Bodhisattva reminded everyone, “If you have any questions in your minds, I am telling you that the Buddha is about to give you an explanation.” After he said this, the Buddha gradually emerged from Samadhi.
“At that time, the Buddha arose serenely from Samadhi and told Sariputra, ‘the wisdom of all the Buddhas is extremely profound and unlimited.'”
At the start of the Chapter on Skillful Means, the Buddha was about to resolve the questions in everyone’s minds. Therefore, they were ready to focus and listen attentively. “At that time” refers to the moment. Sakyamuni Buddha gradually emerged from Samadhi. “[He] arose serenely from Samadhi.” He did not stand up. He continued sitting there, but. He opened His eyes and looked compassionately at everyone. “[Now that I have emerged from] Samadhi, are you united in your desire to seek the Dharma?” He looked very serene.
“Arose” signified a beginning. He looked at Sariputra and said, “Sariputra, the wisdom of all Buddhas is extremely profound and limitless.” We must make an effort to understand His intent. After the Buddha looked at all these people, why did He finally fix His gaze on Sariputra and say to him, “the wisdom of all Buddhas is extremely profound and limitless”?
Indeed, “the Buddha first entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings.” When He taught the Lotus Sutra, He first expounded the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. Then He entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings, radiated light and manifested auspicious signs. This light could reach infinite worlds. This is the Samadhi the Buddha entered,
Which is also called Right Concentration. It is also used to “adjust, straighten and quiet.”
Our minds need to be adjusted to be as straight as the Bodhi-path. You must remember that in the past I said that the Bodhi-path is the path to awakening. The path to awakening is very straight. So, we say it adjusts, straightens and quiets.
What are we adjusting? Our irritability. In our minds, there is a fire of anger. The short story I told just now mentioned, there is the fire of greed. Anger is like a fire of irritability. And there is the fire of ignorance and delusion. As sentient beings, our afflictions come from our irritability.
Spiritual practice can adjust our minds, so we can eliminate our irritability and straighten our distorted thinking. Indeed, when we see illusory and false appearances in this world, we have delusional thinking, perceiving and recalling because we live in this world. The Sutra of Infinite Meanings says we all live in a state of “delusional thinking, perceiving and recalling.” This is why no principles can penetrate our minds or straighten out our distorted thinking. We pursue external, delusive phenomena because
our thinking is not straightforward; it is distorted. When we do not have Right Faith, our thoughts deviate and we have delusional and evil beliefs. One stray thought takes us 1000 steps off course. Therefore, we must really adjust our minds and straighten out our thinking. “A straightforward mind is a spiritual training ground” and will not distort the True Dharma. Therefore, Samadhi will lead us on the straight path to the Dharma without veering [off-course].
Therefore, we must steady our minds and prevent them from scattering. This is adjusting, straightening and quieting;
This is adjusting, straightening and quieting; we adjust our mind so it is not irritable, straighten our distortions and quiet our distractions.
This is adjusting, straightening and quieting. This is the Samadhi the Buddha entered.
Control delusional thoughts and thinking, concentrate the mind to contemplate and focus the mind in one place. This is called Samadhi.
Adjust, straighten and quiet. It can control our delusional thinking. In our daily living, we must constantly listen, contemplate and practice. We must really consider whether the teachings we are listening to now have entered our hearts. We must focus our thoughts and focus them in one place. We must always take good care of our hearts and mind our actions. We must harmonize our hearts and actions.
So, “a benevolent heart abides in one place, unwavering.” This is called Samadhi,
a state of concentration. The mind must always be benevolent; we must nurture it so it abides in one place. This means we must not allow our benevolence to waver.
I hope that as Buddhist practitioners, we truly eliminate “delusional thinking, perceiving and recalling.” We cannot be tempted by external phenomena or let the three fires in our minds converge. Therefore, we must always be mindful.