Episode 298 – Life Is Short; Engage in Spiritual Practice Now
When I hear the sound of the rain outside, I think about how vital the wind is to the world, because it circulates the air. Rain is also vital because the world needs to be nourished by water. It needs wind, rain and the sun. The land supports all living things. If seeds fall to the earth and there is moisture in the soil, warmth from sunlight and a circulation of fresh air, these seeds will germinate. All things, from the seeds of small grasses to those of great trees, [grow because] of the union of the four elements. The seeds are the causes; the four elements are the conditions. When they converge, all things will grow smoothly.
Let us look at this world. The landscape is so beautiful; there is a strong sense of vitality. Thus, our world is a pure land. However, no matter which pure land we are in, as long as we are in this world, we inevitably go through birth, aging, illness and death. This is a law of nature. No matter where we live, we age as each year passes. This happens in all the different worlds. Where are those other worlds? There are worlds in the heaven realm. In these worlds, the sense of time is different, and the lifespan varies. Time flows differently in each world.
The world we are most familiar with is the Four Heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings. Its annual cycle is very different from that of the human realm. One day in the Four Heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings is 50 years in our world. In the Buddhist sutras, the Buddha often talks about heavenly beings [like those in] Trayastrimsa Heaven. One day there is 100 years here. Their lifespan [averages] 1000 years. In the Four Heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings, one day there is 50 years here. These are all natural processes. Natural processes, on Earth or on other worlds, always abide by certain laws.
Heavenly beings, even if they live to 1000, will still one day reach the end of their lives. So when heavenly beings die, they will still fall back into the human realm. Will they definitely fall to the human realm? Or will it be one of the other five realms? Once they deplete their blessings, they must fall.
Isn’t there a story about this in the sutras? There was a heavenly being who suddenly manifested the Five Forms of Decay. Heavenly beings look very magnificent and radiant. Their clothing is very stunning and their faces seem to glow. Even their crowns, the accessories on their heads, their clothing, limbs, facial expression, physical appearance and so on are very beautiful. But then the Five Forms of Decay manifest. Suddenly, the flowers in their hair wilt. The crown they wear loses its luster. Their clothes also became unkempt. Their physical appearances and well-being completely change. They begin to decay, similar to the way humans do.
In this world, we can see photos from when we were 20 and from when we were 30 years old. When we look at photos from our 20s, we look young and beautiful or very handsome. When we look at photos from our 30s, we look the same, just more mature and confident. When we look at photos from our 50s, we look different. Somehow we gained weight, are a little fatter. Our bodies changed, so we do not look as slim in our clothes. When we look at photos from our 70s, compared to now that we are in our 80s, we are the same person, but over this whole process our physical appearance has changed. At the end of our lives, the Five Forms of Decay manifest.
When you are older, you will understand. Your sight becomes blurrier; your hearing becomes worse; your steps are less smooth and so on. This is how we manifest the Five Forms of Decay. The same happens to heavenly beings. Suddenly their physical appearance is sloppy. When they look at their bodies, they also feel dissatisfied. Heavenly beings manifest the Five Forms of Decay, even if they live to be 1000. Even though their lifespan is so long, they are still subject [to the law of nature], and their lives will end one day.
So, when a certain heavenly being manifested the Five Forms of Decay, he knew his time of enjoying heavenly blessings was about to end. He became very frightened; what could he do? A thought struck him and he came to see the Buddha. He begged the Buddha to save him; couldn’t the Buddha add to his blessings so he could remain in heaven? The Buddha smiled and told him, “You are a heavenly being now because you created a lot of blessed karma in your past life. Because you accumulated those blessings, you have enjoyed a long life and good fortune. So, you rose above the human realm to be born in heaven.” The heavenly being then asked Him,
“Venerable Buddha! Once my life in heaven ends, where will I go? Will I come to the human realm?” The Buddha said, “Not necessarily. That depends on the causes and conditions you created. Is your karma to be born human stronger? Or is your karma to be born in the animal, hungry ghost or hell realm stronger? That depends on the severity of your karma when you are reborn. You will led by whichever karma is stronger. You may not necessarily be born human.”
When he heard this, he was very frightened. “If I am born human again, I can create more blessings. But if I fall into the Three Evil Realms, how will I have the chance to create blessings?” So the Buddha said, “Right now, you must form aspirations and vows.” Right then, the heavenly being made a vow. In front of the Buddha, he said, “Since my life in heaven will end, if I can come back to the human realm, I will cultivate a path that transcends birth and death and eliminates samsara. I take refuge with the Buddha and the Three Treasures. If I am born in the human realm, I will become a monastic, engage in spiritual practice and help all sentient beings. I don’t want to be born in heaven again. Once I deplete my heavenly blessings, I do not know where I will go.”
So, the Buddha began to wish him well and accepted him [as a disciple]. At this moment, the heavenly being quickly prostrated. He gave obeisance and paid his respects. Suddenly, he felt his soul leave his body. He seemed to then be in a horse stable. A mare was giving birth to a foal. The foal was stuck in her womb and could not get out. The mare was in great pain and began to wildly run about. The owner of the horse was firing pottery. As he was about to put pots into the kiln, suddenly, this mare that could not give birth and was in great pain wildly ran about and knocked over the trays of pottery. The pots that were about to go into the kiln were now completely shattered.
Her owner, the pottery master, had spent so much effort sculpting these things. Suddenly, they were knocked over by the mare and completely shattered. He was so angry that he picked up a thick and heavy stick and beat the mare from her head to her stomach. The mare struggled in great pain and finally gave birth to the foal, but both the mare and the foal died.
This period of struggle happened suddenly as the heavenly being stood in front of the Buddha. When he prostrated, His consciousness went through this process of being born. He was in the stable. He saw the mare struggling and being beaten with a big stick by her owner. The mare died, and the foal died at the moment of his birth. Then, this being became conscious again; he looked up and saw the Buddha. The Buddha kindly looked at him and asked, “How are you doing?” He told the Buddha that, for an instant, he seemed to have gone to this other world.
The Buddha said, “Congratulations. Once you depleted your heavenly blessings, you were supposed to go to the animal realm, to the womb of this mare. You were going to become a horse and live a life of torment. But because you had the will to form great aspirations and vows to transcend the Three Realms by becoming a monastic, engaging in spiritual practice and delivering and helping all sentient beings, you were freed from spending a lifetime as a horse. In this lifetime, you must take good care of your spiritual aspiration. Remember, when you come to this world again, you must engage in spiritual cultivation for the sake of all sentient beings.” The heavenly being was grateful. As a disciple of the Three Treasures, he faithfully accepted and practiced the teachings.
This is a story about how in the heavens, even though the course of a heavenly year and the length of a heavenly lifespan is very long, it will still end when his heavenly blessings are depleted. He was going to fall into the mare’s womb [and become a horse].
This also shows us how short our lives are. One day in Trayastrimsa Heaven is 100 years in our world. Based on our current lifespan, most of us will die before one day in heaven is over. In this world, some of us are in our 20s, 30s, 40s, 50, 60, 70s and even 80s and 90s. That is not even one day in Trayastrimsa Heaven. Yet we have already lived for so many years. Thus a human lifespan, compared to a heavenly lifespan, is incredibly short.
On top of that, our lives are impermanent. This kind of impermanence really troubles us. In this universe, especially on this land, in this Saha World, on Earth, we see the imbalance of the four elements. This worries us greatly. And now we hear the sound of rainfall. So, we must always be mindful and vigilant.
Our lives, our lifespan, is so short. The atmosphere of the world and the karma of sentient beings are interrelated. Therefore, this world is a good place for spiritual practice. Only the pressure from tremendous suffering and [disasters] can make us vigilant. So, when we see suffering, we must recognize our blessings. We must take advantage of our time as humans to quickly form aspirations and vows.
When the heavenly beings’ life was about to end, he took refuge in the Three Treasures and vowed to, lifetime after lifetime, engage in spiritual practice and willingly help all sentient beings. As for us, right now there is so much suffering in this world and many examples of impermanence. How can we not seize the day? Even a heavenly being with a long lifespan is seizing the opportunity to practice, so shouldn’t we short-lived humans do the same? A blessed being is doing this, so shouldn’t we humans? The Buddha came to this world to tell us about the truth of suffering and of how it comes from accumulated karma. So, we must know that for the source of suffering to cease, we must practice the path to cessation. Therefore, we must always be mindful.