Episode 310 – The Influence of Purity and Turbidity
>> “Over kalpas, over very long periods of time, all things and people in the world undergo infinitesimal changes of good and evil. Purity and turbidity influence each other and cause each other to grow or diminish.”
>> The smallest unit of time is one of the 60 ksanas within a thought. The largest unit is a kalpa.
>> The world of physical objects refers to a world that goes through formation, existence, decay and disappearance to create the multitude of objects it holds.
>> Thus, “days, months, age are known as time. The formation, existence, decay and disappearance [cycle] is known as a kalpa”
>> It is said: Seasons and years are called small kalpas. If wars, floods, fires, famines, cataclysms and epidemics are happening more often over time, then it is the turbidity of kalpa. Today in this defiled land, we are experiencing a decreasing kalpa. Living in the evil world of Five Turbidities, the afflictions of sentient beings multiply, and the turbidity of view flourishes.
“Over kalpas, over very long periods of time,
all things and people in the world
undergo infinitesimal changes of good and evil.
Purity and turbidity influence each other
and cause each other to grow or diminish.”
This is telling everyone that time goes on and on; in comparison, human life is so short. Just how long is time? It is endless. It has no beginning, but has flowed up to this present moment. From this moment, it will likewise continue to flow endlessly into the future.
So, a kalpa is a very long period of time. Our lifetime is just one section of it. And in this very short amount of time, we have already created so much good and bad karma.
So, “all things and people in the world” [include] heaven, earth and people. Everything beneath the sky and above the land is considered “the world.” All things and people between heaven and earth have good and evil in them and undergo infinitesimal changes of good and evil. Good and evil are not everlasting. Time passes without our awareness, and in addition to that, all things in the world constantly go through changes. Between heaven and earth, there is nothing that is ever still, [All things] “undergo infinitesimal changes of good and evil.”
When we come to this world, among the people and matters we encounter, we must know there will be many wonderful things. We will also encounter people we must take precautions against. When they are around us, we cannot talk about certain things. We take precautions against them, and conversely, people take precautions against us. Why do people take precautions against us? Because we have formed bad affinities with them. Perhaps we have bad habitual tendencies, which make people take precautions against us.
This is like wearing a facemask when we have a cold to take precautions against infecting others. This shows our care and respect. Since we care for ourselves when we are sick, we should care for ourselves by quickly eliminating habitual tendencies. Instead of others guarding themselves against us, let us take precautions so others will not develop unfavorable views and misunderstandings of us.
So, in all things in the world, there is good and evil. Only we know what is in our minds. Once we realize that someone is taking precautions against us, we can ask ourselves, “Why are they taking precautions against me?” We must reflect on why someone would do that. If we have this mindset, even if there is evil in us we can change our ways. So, we can choose to be either good or evil.
Take plants for example. Plants can produce phytoncides, anti-microbial compounds that are good for us. There are also plants that we must not touch; if we do, they will “bite” us. In primeval forests, there are two kinds of [dangerous] trees, one is called “biting cat,” and one is called “biting dog.” Why is there a tree called “biting cat”? Touching it will cause an allergic reaction all over the body. See, aside from take precautions against others or causing others to take precautions against us, we need to know if we will cause an “allergic reaction” in others when we are near them.
This is something plants can do, not to mention humans. All things in this world go through cycles of good and evil, through infinitesimal changes. From this we can extrapolate that, between heaven and earth, there is good and evil in all people and things. There is nothing that is fixed, nothing that always has the same appearance, nothing that always has the same nature. All things have distinct natures and appearances; there is good and evil in every kind of thing. Doesn’t this apply to all people and things?
Whether good or evil, whatever appearance something takes, it is constantly undergoing infinitesimal changes. Nothing can escape this; this applies to all things in the world. We may not see this in a short period of time, but it will become apparent over time.
For example, humans are born as infants. Then infants start to undergo infinitesimal changes. Today, they look like infants; the next day they still look like infants, and the day after they still look like infants. Even to the infants’ parents, those closest to them, they look the same every day. But after four months, suddenly the parents will feel that, without their awareness, the infants look completely different compared to when they were born. This is an example of continuous infinitesimal changes.
Consider the ten fingers on our hands. After we trim our nails, when do they grow? After we cut our hair, when does it grow? These are all infinitesimal changes.
Infinitesimal changes are so subtle that we are unaware of them. But things are constantly changing. The same principles underlie all things in the world. They constantly undergo cycles of changes, which is the natural course of the world. While we are in the midst of this constant cycle, we are unaware of it.
Consider the cycle of day and night. Do day and night actually exist? In the universe, there is no day and night. The relative position of Earth and Sun gives us day and night. Therefore, in their natural state, all things are non-arising and non-ceasing; they will always be this way. But, in this world between heaven and earth, nothing can avoid the endless flow of time and space.
We human beings merely exist on a planet that is as insignificant as a speck of dust in this boundless universe. In the world, among such a massive population, we are an insignificant individual. Yet, we insignificant humans create karma that greatly affects this world. So, the Buddha said, “The amount of karma created by sentient beings is like Mt. Sumeru.”
Imagine how strong our karma is. It so strong and sizable that it affects everything in the world, so “purity and turbidity influence each other and cause each other to grow or diminish.” They grow and diminish in relation to each other. At times, goodness thrives, and the world is more harmonious. Aside from these harmonious worlds, worlds of great turbidity and evil also constantly arise.
This morning, I was reading a news article. Recently, ever since last year, the world has not had a single day of peace. It all started when one college student [in Syria] lost his job and had a run-in with a police officer. Such a simple matter became an international incident, causing a wave of refugees that is now spreading across ten countries. And still, the refugees are fleeing.
See, even citizens of the same nation, all of the same ethnicity, can, because of one small incident, enter a state of unrest. This has led to constant upheaval. Thus, this era is “the turbidity of kalpa.”
Iraq is going through the same thing. There are suicide bombers there, as well. Look around the world. In these countries that are so poor, there are still constant manmade disasters. In Afghanistan, people have recently discovered that it is very rich in deposits of oil, gold, silver, copper and tin. Experts and scholars valued these deposits at over a trillion (NTD). They are so valuable. So, desire for them is stirring in many major countries.
Isn’t this because of people’s greed? The world is filled with places that contain valuable things, and people’s greed leads them to continuously fight over and destroy these places. This becomes the source of disasters. Thus, during the turbidity of kalpa, things are very unsafe for people.
The Five Turbidities are present in this time, so this is an evil world. Thus, the Buddha and all Buddhas manifest in this very evil world. Just before disasters are about to appear, the Buddha manifests in this world to teach us to take precautions and bring harmony to people’s minds. Otherwise, this turbidity would grow even greater, and things in the world would quickly go through formation, existence, decay and disappearance. Someone has to slow this down so goodness can grow in this world and evil can diminish.
The Buddha cannot bear for us to remain in and give rise to further turbidity. Turbidity is something created by humans. The Five Turbidities are the turbidity of views, turbidity of kalpa, turbidity of affliction, turbidity of sentient beings and turbidity of life.
The smallest unit of time is one of the 60 ksanas within a thought. Indeed, the span of a thought is very short. Usually, when we see a person, a thought arises. “You are so-and-so.” That short time is “the span of a thought.” When our eyes see someone, our brains process it, and then we recognize the person. There is a sequence to this. Actually, this recognition upon seeing someone happens very quickly. The span of a thought is so short, and with even more meticulous analysis, [we find] an even a shorter period of time.
The smallest unit of time is one of the 60 ksanas within a thought. The largest unit is a kalpa.
So, a very short unit of time is one of the 60 ksanas within a thought. This span is so short, yet it is still a unit of time.
A large unit of time is a “kalpa.” When we talk about seconds, minutes and hours, those are labels for units of time. Actually, time, from its smallest unit, accumulates into seconds, minutes and hours. This is known as time. Time is also divided into days. In a day there is also day and night. After days, there are months and also years. As time continuously accumulates, it becomes incalculable and is called a kalpa. [The Sanskrit word] “kalpa”
refers to a very long period of time. So, we call a very long period of time, an incalculable amount, a kalpa. This is the era of the Buddha.
This current period of time in this world is evil and turbid. This is a world of great turbidity. Everything between heaven and earth is considered the world. The world we are talking about now is on this planet, which we call “the world of physical objects.”
The world of physical objects refers to a world that goes through formation, existence, decay and disappearance to create the multitude of objects it holds.
“The world of physical objects” contains all physical objects. A pen, this pen, is called a pen; it is an object used for writing. So, it is also known as a physical object. It is in the world of physical objects. Everything our eyes can see, even a speck of dust, a blade of grass or a grain of sand, are all “physical objects.” As long as you can see it, it is a physical object. Sand can be piled into a tower, so it too has its uses. So, it is said, “sand can be piled into a tower.” Sand has its uses; it is also a physical object in the world of physical objects.
In summary, the things our eyes can see, the things we can use and so on, are all part of the world of physical objects. This world, through “formation, existence, decay and disappearance, creates the multitude of objects it holds.” [This is a cycle]. At the state of “formation,” this world was beginning to form. Gradually, countries were formed across the world. In this long river of time, slowly, the world of physical objects became more complicated. Thus, “days, months, age are known as time. The formation, existence, decay and disappearance [cycle] is known as a kalpa.”
We typically say that time passes very quickly. We have never said, “Kalpas pass very quickly.” Not at all. A “kalpa” is indeed very long. Our world is so insignificant, and our lives are painfully short. In this universe’s long river of time, we are here for just an instant. With respect to this long river, indeed, our time here is just an instant and passes very quickly.
Recently, I have been telling everyone that in the heavens of Four Heavenly Kings, our lives do not even amount to two full days. When our short lifespan is compared to long periods of time such as kalpas, do we really matter? We are merely like an instant of thought. Thus, for us, days and months are referred to as “time.” The accumulation of countless days, months and years becomes a kalpa.
It is said: Seasons and years are called small kalpas. If wars, floods, fires, famines, cataclysms and epidemics are happening more often over time, then it is the turbidity of kalpa. Today in this defiled land, we are experiencing a decreasing kalpa. Living in the evil world of Five Turbidities, the afflictions of sentient beings multiply, and the turbidity of view flourishes.
So, we now live in an era of the turbidity of kalpa. After a long period of time has passed, we now happen to be born in the turbidity of kalpa. In such a kalpa, the average human lifespan gradually decreases. This is a sign that the four elements are less and less in harmony. Our minds become more and more imbalanced. Thus various disasters will keep arising, such as armed conflicts, wars, floods, fires, famines, cataclysms and epidemics. These things happen, one after another. During the turbidity of kalpa, at this time, in this era, these incidents will occur more frequently; the time between them will become shorter. These disasters will continuously arise and accumulate over time.
When [disasters] “happen more often over time,” we are in the turbidity of kalpa. So, we currently live in such an era. How can we not think to reflect on ourselves? In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, the afflictions of sentient beings multiply. Our afflictions are constantly accumulating, causing “the turbidity of views.” Our afflictions, our views and understanding are constantly muddled and turbid.
As I just said, foreign countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are all countries that are filled with suffering. [For the people there,] days pass like years, and their lives are filled with hardships. So, we must be mindful and take advantage of times of peace and the times we encounter the Buddha-Dharma. We must seize every moment. With the Dharma, we must mindfully observe as everything we see in this world of physical objects undergoes infinitesimal changes. We must earnestly seize this opportunity. [Time] continuously and naturally passes by, as do our lives. Each day, time continues to pass, and each day, [life] grows shorter. In the cycle of seasons, time passes by quickly. This happens without our awareness. How can we be indolent and let time slip by? So, we must always be mindful.