Episode 319 – Eliminating Delusions and Crossing Samsara
>> Once awakened, we begin to practice, to cultivate Bodhi. Our spiritual practice takes place in a straightforward mind, leading to the ultimate. With faith, understanding and practice, we realize the Bodhisattva-path.
>> [They] claim to have attained Arhatship, to be dwelling in their final bodies before achieving ultimate Nirvana. They do not further resolve to seek. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. You should know that they are the ones with overbearing arrogance. Why is this so? If a bhiksu has actually attained Arhatship but does not believe in this Dharma, he has not attained that state.
>> “Unless it is after the Buddha has crossed into cessation, when there no Buddha is present. Why is this?”
>> After the Buddha crosses into cessation, there is no longer a Buddha in the world. Thus, there are no Buddhas in the world to expound the wondrous Dharma.
>> “It means Nirvana, cessation of delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusions of ignorance.”
>> Crossing into cessation [refers to] “crossing the two kinds of samsara, fragmentary and transformational.”
Once awakened, we begin to practice, to cultivate Bodhi.
Our spiritual practice takes place in a straightforward mind, leading to the ultimate.
With faith, understanding and practice, we realize the Bodhisattva-path.
I am always thinking about the Dharma and daily living, about how we can integrate the Dharma into our daily living and manifest it in our actions. This is something we. Buddhist practitioners must do. But, as we learn the Dharma and engage in spiritual practice, will we naturally integrate the teachings into our daily living? Of course, I hope everybody can do this.
Therefore, “once awakened,” we realize that life is impermanent. When we understand the truth of the Dharma and can take it to heart, we can return to our pure intrinsic nature, as long as we have faith. “Faith is the source of the Way, mother of merits.” With faith, we can begin to gradually realize that everything in life happens in a state of impermanence.
With faith and realizations, we will naturally “begin to practice.” We begin to believe the Buddha’s teachings and understand how life can change in an instant. Once we realize this, naturally we can cultivate a deep faith. As we deepen our faith, naturally we will attain deeper realizations. When we have faith and realizations, then we “begin to practice.” We move from faith to realization, from realization to practice. To put the teachings into practice, we cultivate the Bodhi.
We internally cultivate and externally practice. Our minds cannot deviate from this path. The Dharma we hear today can be integrated with our external conditions, but isn’t this impermanent? When we integrate it with external conditions, isn’t there still a lot that we do not understand? By interacting with other people, we hear them share their experiences of integrating the Dharma under various conditions.
Take our [media staff] as an example. They came back to report on how they have witnessed that each country has its unique culture and way of life. This is what the Buddha described as the variety and diversity of the world. Based on the law of karma, we are born with circumstantial retribution and direct retribution into different environments and we encounter different causes and conditions. These all vary greatly. Indeed, this is life, which is full of suffering.
We see many places filled with suffering and many suffering people. Who can extend love and care to those suffering and assist them in their recovery? This cannot be achieved by only a few people; it must be done by the majority of people.
Therefore, in our hearts, we must believe that in the world there are all kinds of conditions, not all of which we can see. But in this world, as Tzu Chi staff and volunteers can go to various locations and collect [different stories], we can clearly verify this teaching of the Buddha. So, we move from faith to realization, from realization to practice. This requires external practices and internal cultivation, and faith in the Buddha’s teachings.
With positive affinities, we gather people’s love for the suffering, so they can be saved. On the Bodhi-path, we must cultivate both blessings and wisdom. In doing good deeds, we must cultivate wisdom. As we cultivate wisdom, we must also create blessings. This is the only way to unite so many people.
How can we practice on this Bodhi-path? It should be very easy. Thus, “Our spiritual practice takes place in a straightforward mind.” We must have a “straightforward mind.” Whatever the Buddha says, whatever Dharma [He teaches,] is what we must believe and put in into practice. This is having “a straightforward mind.” We must believe that “our spiritual practice takes place in a straightforward mind.” If we have a straightforward mind, we can be single-mindedly focused on our mission to walk the great, straight Bodhi-path until we reach the ultimate state. The ultimate state is the state of Buddhahood.
Indeed, I always say the Buddha is in our minds. However, this Bodhi-path is also in our minds. If the path to enlightenment exists in our minds, then Bodhi is in us. Most importantly, we must [take good care of] every thought that arises. Whenever we give rise to the slightest thought, it should not deviate from this awakened path.
We ordinary people constantly give rise to greed, anger, ignorance and interpersonal conflict. If we can turn our minds around, we can always think of suffering sentient beings and ways we can relieve their suffering. This requires us to engage in spiritual practice. With spiritual practice comes karmic conditions,
so with “faith, understanding and practice, we realize the Bodhi-path.” If we have faith, we will truly understand that our every thought must remain on the Bodhi-path. Every step we take must be on this straight path. Only with this kind of “faith” can we walk this Bodhi-path, see the beautiful scenery around it and realize the Buddha’s teachings.
[We move through] faith, understanding, practice and realization. “Realization” means as we walk the Bodhi-path, we can really experience the state of the Dharma. The Buddha’s teachings are perfectly applicable to all people, matters and objects in the universe. When we understand how the Dharma relates to people, matters and objects, our state of mind will be peaceful and free. Thus, we will naturally, diligently and earnestly walk the Bodhisattva-path.
On the Bodhisattva-path, we not only know the suffering of the world, we also understand the workings of the law of karma. Thus we must diligently practice the Six Paramitas. If we are mindful of what we hear, we will understand the truth of suffering. Then we are [at the level of] Hearers. If we transcend the state of Hearers, we understand the law of karma and the impermanence of the world. Then we are [at the level of] Solitary Realizers. If we transcend the state of Solitary Realizers and practice the Six Paramitas, we are on the Bodhisattva-path. Immersed in the Buddha-Dharma, we must diligently walk the path without stopping. Therefore, we must always be mindful.
The previous sutra passage discusses this point. Some spiritual practitioners “claim to have attained Arhatship, to be dwelling in their final bodies before achieving ultimate Nirvana.” If we think we have attained [the ultimate,] we will not want to move forward. Earlier the sutra mentioned that we must understand that the Buddha comes to the world for one cause, to teach the Bodhisattva Way. He comes to do one thing, to teach us to be Bodhisattvas, not just to be Hearers and Solitary Realizers. Most importantly, His ultimate goal is to teach us to walk the Bodhisattva-path. However, many people stop [before this]. They feel, “This is enough. I am already dwelling in my final body.”
[They] claim to have attained Arhatship, to be dwelling in their final bodies before achieving ultimate Nirvana. They do not further resolve to seek. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. You should know that they are the ones with overbearing arrogance. Why is this so? If a bhiksu has actually attained Arhatship but does not believe in this Dharma, he has not attained that state.
We already know about the “final body.” If we believe that after this life, we will not cycle through the Six Realms again, that we have not created more affinities, and that our hearts are already pure, then we are assuming that we are in our “final body,” that we have already attained ultimate Nirvana. If so, we “do not resolve to further seek. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.” We are unwilling to walk to the highest place, to the end of the path. We are very content in this conjured city, unaware that it is illusory and that we should keep moving forward to reach the ultimate state of truth. But we have stopped. “They do not resolve to further seek. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.” We must all put our hearts into realizing this.
We must recognize “those with overbearing arrogance. Why is this so? If a bhiksu has actually attained Arhatship” but does not believe in this Dharma…. “This Dharma” is the Bodhisattva Way. If we do not faithfully accept that the Buddha comes to the world to teach us that we can all become Bodhisattvas and to teach us to walk the Bodhisattva-path to ultimately attain Buddhahood, if we do not believe this, “[we] have not attained that state.” In this way, we cannot reach that state. We will not reach the ultimate state of Buddhahood because we have stopped at a conjured city, which is not the ultimate place.
Then this sutra passage states,
“Unless it is after the Buddha has crossed into cessation, when there no Buddha is present. Why is this?”
After the Buddha crosses into cessation, there is no longer a Buddha in the world. What happens then? If the Buddha crosses into cessation; there is no Buddha in the world. Didn’t Sakyamuni Buddha also cross into cessation? Over 2000 years ago, He entered Parinirvana. However, the Dharma still remains in this world. If we truly have faith, the Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) will remain here. This depends on our faith. If we have faith in this Dharma, the Dharma continues to live. Left here by the spirit of the Buddha, the Dharma is alive.
After the Buddha crosses into cessation, there is no longer a Buddha in the world. Thus, there are no Buddhas in the world to expound the wondrous Dharma.
If people do not believe the Dharma, [we only have] words on a page, just those things described by “Such I have heard.” Thus, “such was said, such was heard.” Is just knowing what was said and heard effective?
When the Buddha was in this world, everybody listened to Him. After listening, if they did not advance further, He said, “They are not disciples of the Buddha.” Even when the Buddha taught in person, people with “overbearing arrogance” refused to believe Him and faithfully accept and practice the Dharma. So, the Buddha said those with “overbearing arrogance” were not His disciples.
Before the Buddha crossed into cessation over 2000 years ago, He said that when He leaves, “There will be no Buddhas in the world to expound the wondrous Dharma.” With this, He cautioned everyone, “If, at this moment, you do not faithfully accept and practice” and still have overbearing arrogance, once He crosses into Parinirvana, no one will come to explain this wondrous Dharma. If they did not believe in [this Dharma] now, in the future no one would be teaching it.
What does “crossing into cessation” mean? For those who hear this term every day,
“It means Nirvana, cessation of delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusions of ignorance.”
These Three Delusions are very subtle. Delusions of views refers to people’s perspectives.
Changing a person’s views and understanding is not easy. We all know the truth of this principle. Indeed, just speaking of ourselves, is it easy for other people to change our views and understanding? Changing another person’s views and understanding is even more difficult.
Therefore, [the delusion of] “view” is the turbidity of view in the Five Turbidities. This is the turbidity of view; the turbidity of afflictions is [the delusion of thinking]. The turbidity of afflictions is in our understanding and thinking. When we deviate in our perspective, our minds will rise to greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. These all come from our “views” and “thinking.”
“Dust-like” means there are countless subtle afflictions. They are truly subtle, fine and pervasive. I often hear people say, “I just cleaned this morning. I just mopped the floor and wiped the table; why do they feel dusty to the touch again? I shut the windows very tightly; how did dust get in?” Indeed, dust and sand can get into everything. We can see how subtle and fine they are. Very subtle afflictions are dust-like delusions.
These three types of delusions make our spiritual practice very difficult, and they make it hard for the Buddha to transform people in this world. Sentient beings are replete with the difficulties of delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusions of ignorance. These delusions obstruct sentient beings’ minds.
From other people’s perspective, our methods are clearly incorrect. But we stubbornly insist that everything we do is completely correct. This is self-obstruction, or delusion. Other people can see the things we do wrong, but we insist we are not wrong. Therefore, our understandings are different. “I am clearly right; how can you say I am wrong? My method is correct. How can you say I am incorrect?” Thus a conflict arises. “You say my understanding is erroneous. I say your thinking is erroneous.” In this way, we obstruct one another. We obstruct ourselves as well as others. This mutual obstruction comes from delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusions of ignorance. These are three subtle kinds of delusions. Delusions are obstructions. To cross into cessation, we must extinguish delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusions of ignorance. We must eliminate them. This is the meaning of “cessation;” our afflictions are thoroughly eliminated. Ignorance deludes sentient beings, so we must quickly eliminate it.
Crossing into cessation [refers to] “crossing the two kinds of samsara, fragmentary and transformational.”
Ordinary people go through “fragmentary samsara.” After our karmic conditions in this life end, we still have conditions that lead to future lives. Then, without any control, we will be led by the law of karmic cause and effect. Each lifetime is a fragment. If spiritual practitioners have not eliminated their afflictions, they will be led by their karmic causes and conditions. This is “fragmentary samsara.”
There is also “transformational samsara. [They] claim to have attain Arhatship, to be dwelling in their final bodies.” These people have ended their “fragmentary samsara” but they still experience “transformational samsara.” These people only care about themselves, do not want to open up their minds and do not want to thoroughly understand the principles of all things in the universe. They just close themselves off in their own bodies, saying, “I don’t want to form bad affinities.” Thus, they are unwilling to interact with people, to broaden their hearts and comprehend further worldly and world-transcending teachings.
Though they no longer experience “fragmentary samsara” and do not create negative causes and conditions, they still go through “transformational samsara,” and their viewpoint is still selfish. They still only care about themselves, without any regard for sentient beings. If this is the case, this is not the ultimate;
they have not really crossed into cessation. Attaining that state is called crossing into cessation. The crossing of the Buddha into cessation is Parinirvana. But His Parinirvana ends “transformational samsara,” so He can freely come and go. With a spacious heart, He freely comes and goes. So, He is still the founder of [Buddhism], the kind father of the Four Forms of Birth and the guiding teacher of sentient beings. He is still here because His Dharma is still in the world. As long as we all put the Dharma into practice, the Buddha’s Dharmakaya will still be here.
As for the Dharma, if we only have “such have I said, such have I heard” and after hearing it, we do not apply it, then the Dharma is not alive. If we do not have faith and if we do not truly understand the Dharma, no matter how much of it we read or chant, it will not be helpful to us at all. Therefore, when we listen to the Dharma, we must take it to heart and integrate it into our daily living. Only by doing this are we faithfully accepting the Dharma. So as we are on this Bodhi-path, we must advance diligently, and we must always be mindful.