Shurangama Mantra with Verses and Commentary
by Venerable Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua
237. TỲ XA BÀ DẠ
毗沙婆夜
VISABHAYA
Thử Chú năng miễn chư độc dược
Thảo mộc hóa học hại nhân giả
Nhất thiết sở hữu giai bình định
Ly khổ đắc lạc hựu giải thoát.
此咒能免諸毒藥
草木化學害人者
一切所有皆平定
離苦得樂又解脫
This mantra can dispel
the poison in any concoction,
In vegetation, wood, and
chemicals that harm people.
All such toxins are
completely neutralized.
We can leaving suffering,
attain bliss, and be liberated.
ŌM! TỲ XA BÀ DẠ
GIẢI TRỪ 3 ĐỘC LÀ: THAM, SÂN , SI.
The three poisons
1) LÌA LÒNG THAM DÂM, Ý DỤC
2) LÌA LÒNG GIẬN HỜN
3) LÌA LÒNG NGU-SI
Nếu có chúng sinh nào nhiều lòng dâm dục, thường cung kính niệm Quán Thế Âm Bồ Tát, liền được ly dục.
Nếu người nhiều giận hờn, thường cung kính niệm Quán Thế Âm Bồ Tát, liền được lìa lòng giận.
Nếu người nhiều ngu si, thường cung kính niệm Quán Thế Âm Bồ Tát, liền được lìa ngu si.
Sutra:
“If living beings who have much sexual desire constantly and reverently recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, they will be separated from desire.”
“If those who have much hatred constantly and reverently recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, they will be separated from hatred.”
“If those who are very stupid constantly and reverently recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, they will be separated from stupidity.”
Commentary:
If living beings who have much sexual desire. Some people study Buddhadharma on one hand, and entertain lustful desire on the other. The more they study the Dharma, the stronger their desire is. They think about sex all day long, until their desire thoughts are like flowing water. This is the worst of thoughts and the worst kind of behavior, a very bad sign. What should they do? They do not have to get nervous or worry. They should just constantly and reverently recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. It is not good enough just to recite it; you must also be reverent. You should bow more to Guanshiyin Bodhisattva.
Bowing to the Buddhas is just paying great reverence to the Buddhas. Most people do not understand what bowing to the Buddhas means. Adherents of other religions say it is just bowing to wooden idols. Blind people speak blindly. They do not have eyes, they cannot see the Buddhas' light, and so they say it is idol worship. But bowing to the Buddhas represents the reverence in our heart.
In order to respect the Triple Jewel, we must certainly bow to the Buddhas. Take care not to be arrogant and think, "I am so great. I am greater than the Buddhas. Why should I bow to them?" That is a mistake. If people always bow and recite Guanyin Bodhisattva's name, they will be separated from desire. It is gone!
You say, "But I like sexual desire. What am I going to do without it?"
If you like it, you do not have to recite Guanyin Bodhisattva's name. That's all. It is simple enough. If you do not want your sexual desire, you can get rid of it. If you want to keep it, you do not have to get rid of it. Either way, it is up to you.
If there are those who have much hatred, they should recite Guanyin Bodhisattva's name. Hatred manifests as overt angry. Anger is a kind of affliction, and affliction is just ignorance. Hatred is like fire.
It is said, "One spark of fire can burn up a forest of merit and virtue." Therefore, there is an ancient saying that,
The firewood gathered in a thousand days,
Goes up in a blaze started by a single spark.
You can gather firewood for a thousand days, a long time; but one little match can burn it all up. This describes how ordinarily we may try to do good and virtuous deeds. We may do this over a long period of time, but then we get mad and the fire of ignorance rises. All that merit and virtue is burned right off. If you have a big temper, you will produce ignorance whenever you open your mouth.
What kind of people like to get mad? Asuras! Everyone has come down a particular path. Some have come down the Buddha path. Some have come down the path of immortals. Others have come down the path of humans, asuras, animals, or ghosts.
Those who have come down the Buddha path are, for the most part, compassionate. Those who have come down the ghost path, for the most part, are cheap and lowly. They never take a loss. They are really sneaky and slimy--not reliable. Unreliable people are said to be ghostly. Those from the path of humans have affinities with everyone. Those from the animal path are insatiably greedy for everything. The more the better! Asuras like to get angry. Those from the immortals’ path like to be pure and carefree.
So now we are talking about asuras. Have you noticed how there are some people who are just miserable all the time? They are always on the verge of "blowing their tops." They are just asuras; they have asura-natures. Can they change? Yes. How? The Dharma Flower Sutra tells us in detail. All you have to do is constantly and reverently recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. This means reciting all the time, without ever stopping. Recite constantly and be reverent by going to temples and bowing to Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. But you cannot just bow today and not tomorrow, or bow in the morning and not bow at night. If you have no work to do, then spend your time bowing and reciting. Gradually, they will be separated from hatred. Your temper will vanish.
You would not know quite how it happened, but strangely enough your temper will have disappeared. It is just that mysterious. You do not know about this, but I have had personal experience and I know. I used to have a terrible temper. I used to hit and scold people. When I was very young, twelve or so, I liked to fight with others. No matter how big a person was, he had to listen to my orders or I would clobber him until he submitted. That is just an asura-nature. Later, when I studied the Buddhadharma, I realized that anger was wrong and I changed. I always recited the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. So now, sometimes even when my own disciples bully me, I still do not get angry. My disciples may get mad at me, but I practice patience and endure it. I know that eventually they will understand that they are wrong. Before, I used to get mad at people; and now, my disciples get mad at me!
"Which ones?" you ask.
"You know who you are," I say.
Before, I got mad at others; now others get mad at me. This is just retribution. I have received these bad disciples who bully their good teacher. But the good teacher does not get angry anymore. I do not know where my temper went, but I am not going to look for it. If I find it again, it will be even worse!
If those who are very stupid. We have already discussed greed and hatred. Now we will discuss stupidity. These are the three poisons. They poison our Buddha-natures and put them to sleep. Why haven't we awakened yet? Why is it that we live as if drunk and die in a dream? It is all because of the three poisons.
The primary form of greed is sexual desire. Sexual desire is extremely harmful to people's natures. But most people think it is very enjoyable and so they engage in all kinds of impure conducts. Day by day, the original Buddha-nature becomes covered with filth so that its light does not manifest. This is all because of greed for sex.
Hatred is the same way. Now we are talking about stupidity. What is that? Stupidity just means that you feel that you are not stupid. That is stupid! A person may think he is intelligent and wise, but then you ask him, "Where did you come from? Where are you going to in the future?" and he cannot answer. He does not know where he came from or where he is going and yet he says he is intelligent. He would not admit that he is stupid.
In this world, everyone is concerned about such petty affairs as fame and profit. People toil for fame and profit all day long. They hurt each other, kill each other, and cause mayhem--all just for profit. If you put all the people in the world together, how many would there be? Two. One who seeks fame, and one who seeks profit.
Fame and profit turn people entirely upside down. They do not wake up. From birth to death, they fight and struggle. Some seek to get elected to office. Others seek to get rich. Some run after the opposite sex or some other kind of happiness. But this happiness fades, and at the time of death people have no idea where they are going. And yet they still think they are incredible geniuses with great wisdom! "I am the smartest. I have the most wisdom. I was first in my class every year. I am ahead of everyone in everything!" But how is it really? As long as you have not recognized your own original face, no matter how smart you are, yours is a false intelligence. People with genuine wisdom will not think that they are wise.
Will they think they are stupid, then?" you ask.
No, they would not think they are either stupid or wise. On the outside they appear to be pretty much the same as everyone else, but their thinking and attitudes will be clear. They are clear about the fact that everything is like an illusion; like a bubble, a shadow, a dew drop, or a flash of lightning. Knowing that everything is like a dream, they will not be greedy for glory, wealth, or position. Knowing that everything is an illusion, they will not be greedy for sex, power, or profit. It is all impermanent, all of it. And so the Vajra Sutra says, "All conditioned dharmas are like a dream, a bubble, or a shadow."
What are conditioned dharmas? They are all those things with marks, all the things we perceive. All are like illusions, dreams, or bubbles. Would you say a bubble in the ocean is real? If you say it is real, it will soon pop and disappear. If you say it is false, it is still there! But although it is there, it has no real substance. A shadow is also false. It is like dew in the morning. It is there, but as soon as the sun shines on it, it is gone. And a lightning flash appears for just an instant.
If you can look upon everything as being like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, dew, or a lightning flash, then what attachments could there be? None. Without attachments, you will have genuine understanding. You will not let your thinking wander as it will to the north, east, south, or west. You will put down deluded thinking and involvement with the dust of the world. Having put it all down, you could not avoid becoming a Buddha if you tried! You would have wisdom whether you wanted it or not; you would be naturally wise.
When you do not have wisdom, you may think, "I am pretty wise." But once you have true wisdom, you will think, "Oh, originally, this was mine all the time. It did not come from the outside." At that time you would not be arrogant. You would not think, "See me? I am the smartest one around. I am the prettiest one around. I am the most talented, incredible, unusual person around." If you think like that, you are attached to appearances.
“Appearances” just mean your stinking skin-bag--the dream, illusion, bubble, shadow, dewdrop, and lightning flash. All day long you wear your nice clothes, eat your fancy food, live in your fine house, and enjoy your amusements. You do all of this for your body, but when the time comes to die, your body will pay no attention to you. It will not help you out at all.
Besides, in order to satisfy their stinking skin-bags, people are busy all day long smoking, drinking, stuffing themselves with food, and trying to fill that bottomless pit. You cannot fill a bottomless pit: it all keeps leaking right out! The more it leaks, the more you fill it; the more you fill it, the more it leaks. It certainly keeps you busy.
Why do I eat one meal a day? Because three meals a day are just too much trouble! Most people think that eating fine food is a real pleasure. I think it is a lot of trouble. If you over-eat, your stomach hurts. If you do not eat enough, your greed is not satisfied. You think, "That was good. I would like to have a little bit more!" If you do not eat such good food, you would not be so greedy; and it is a lot easier on your stomach.
It is just a lot of trouble and it all comes about because of stupidity. Being stupid, one seeks after pleasure, wealth, enjoyment, and fun with the opposite sex; it is all upside down. You can be as greedy as you want, and then what? When the time comes, you are still going to die. When the time comes to die, you will not have control over the situation at all. Isn't that stupid?
Now, being so stupid, what should we do? We should rely upon the method given in the Dharma Flower Sutra. If people constantly and reverently recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, they will be separated from stupidity. Recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva and your stupidity will disappear as your wisdom comes forth.
If you know that you are stupid, you have recognized yourself. You have to have some wisdom to be able to realize that you are stupid. People without wisdom would not have any idea that they are stupid. The farther they run, the farther off they stray. And as if being stupid was not bad enough, people insist on doubling their stupidity by thinking they are intelligent!
How do we get rid of our stupidity? We must constantly and reverently recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. This is the most wonderful and efficacious method. It is a money-back guarantee, wonderful beyond words.
Speaking of stupidity and wisdom, what is stupidity? What is wisdom? I will tell you something you will not believe. Stupidity is wisdom; wisdom is stupidity! Why do I say this?
Take a look at the Heart Sutra, "Form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; and emptiness itself is form."
True form comes from true emptiness. True emptiness comes from true form. They are two, and yet not two. If you know how to use it, it is wisdom; if you cannot use it, it is stupidity. Stupidity and wisdom are not two. It just depends on whether or not you can use it. If you can use it, stupidity turns to wisdom; if you cannot use it, wisdom turns to stupidity. They are two and yet not two. If you obtain genuine wisdom, you will know, "Oh, originally it was like this," and you will not be upside down.
Vô Tận Ý! Quán Thế Âm Bồ Tát có những sức uy thần lớn, nhiều lợi ích như thế, cho nên chúng sinh thường phải một lòng tưởng nhớ.
Sutra:
“Inexhaustible Intention, Guanshiyin Bodhisattva has great awesome spiritual powers such as these and confers great benefits. Therefore living beings should always be mindful of him.”
Commentary:
Shakyamuni Buddha calls out, “Inexhaustible Intention, Guanshiyin Bodhisattva has great awesome spiritual powers such as these. He is able to rescue us from the seven difficulties and the three poisons, and he confers great benefits.” There are many, many ways in which he benefits living beings with his spiritual powers. Therefore living beings should always be mindful of him. Living beings should always keep his name in mind. The text makes it very clear here. It is not good enough just to recite with your mouth. You must keep his name in your mind. Your mouth does not necessarily have to recite, but you must keep his name in your thoughts.
Thế nào là trợ-nhân?
A-nan, 12 loài chúng-sinh đó trong thế-giới, không thể tự-toàn, phải nương theo bốn cách ăn mà an-trụ, nghĩa là, nương theo đoạn-thực, xúc-thực, tư-thực và thức-thực; vậy nên Phật bảo tất-cả chúng-sinh, đều nương với cái ăn mà an-trụ. A-nan, tất-cả chúng-sinh, ăn thức lành thì sống, ăn thức độc thì chết; vậy, các chúng-sinh, cầu Tam-ma-đề, nên dứt-bỏ năm thứ rau-cay trong thế-gian. Năm thứ rau-cay nầy, ăn chín, thì phát lòng-dâm, ăn sống, thì thêm lòng-giận. Những người ăn rau-cay đó, trên thế-giới, dù biết giảng nói 12 bộ kinh, thiên-tiên 10 phương, hiềm vì nó hôi-nhớp, đều tránh xa cả; các loài ngạ-quỷ, vân vân... nhân trong lúc người kia ăn rau-cay, liếm môi-mép của người đó; người ấy thường ở với quỷ một chổ, phúc-đức ngày càng tiêu, hằng-lâu không được lợi-ích. Người ăn rau-cay đó, tu phép Tam-ma-đề, Bồ-tát, Thiên-tiên, Thiện-thần thập phương không đến giữ-gìn ủng-hộ; Đại-lực Ma-vương được phương-tiện đó, hiện ra thân Phật, đến thuyết-pháp cho người kia, chê-phá cấm-giới, tán-thán dâm-dục, nóng-giận, si-mê; đến khi mệnh-chung, tự mình người ấy làm quyến-thuộc của Ma-vương; khi hưởng-thụ phúc ma hết rồi, thì đọa vào ngục Vô-gián. A-nan, người tu đạo Bồ-đề, phải đoạn-hẳn năm thứ rau-cay; ấy gọi là tiệm-thứ tu-hành tăng-tiến thứ nhất.
A-nan, 12 loài chúng-sinh đó trong thế-giới, không thể tự-toàn, phải nương theo bốn cách ăn mà an-trụ, nghĩa là, nương theo đoạn-thực, xúc-thực, tư-thực và thức-thực; vậy nên Phật bảo tất-cả chúng-sinh, đều nương với cái ăn mà an-trụ.
Sutra:
What are aiding causes? Ananda, the twelve categories of living beings in this world are not complete in themselves, but depend on four kinds of eating; that is, eating by portions, eating by contact, eating by thought, and eating by consciousness. Therefore, the Buddha said that all living beings must eat to live.
Commentary:
What are aiding causes? Some causes aid in the creation of wholesome karma, and some contribute to the creation of unwholesome karma. Here, the Buddha is referring to causes which bring about bad karma.
Ananda, the twelve categories of living beings in this world, just described, are not complete in themselves, but depend on four kinds of eating. They depend on eating to survive. That is, eating by portions: bite by bite, bit by bit, the way beings in the six desire heavens, the asuras, humans, and animals take their food. Eating by contact: the ghosts and spirits eat by contact, and some beings in the heavens also eat this way.
Eating by thought: in the dhyana heavens of the form realm, beings don't have to actually ingest the food. They take the bliss of dhyana as food, they can eat by thinking.
Eating by consciousness: this includes the beings of the formless realm up through those in the Heaven of Neither Thought Nor Non-Thought. They eat by discriminations of consciousness.
Therefore, the Buddha said that all living beings must eat to live. That was at the beginning of his teaching, when the Buddha wanted to break through the doctrines of externalists. When he said to them that all living beings must eat to live, the externalists laughed at him and said, "You call that 'dharma'? Do you think we had to wait for you to tell us that? Who doesn't know that beings have to eat to live? Even children understand that."
In reply the Buddha said, "Well, tell me, then, how many kinds of eating are there?"
At that point the externalists were speechless. They couldn't come up with the answer. Then the Buddha explained the four kinds of eating.
A-nan, tất-cả chúng-sinh, ăn thức lành thì sống, ăn thức độc thì chết; vậy, các chúng-sinh, cầu Tam-ma-đề, nên dứt-bỏ năm thứ rau-cay trong thế-gian.
Sutra:
Ananda, all living beings can live if they eat what is sweet, and they will die if they take poison. Beings who seek samadhi should refrain from eating five pungent plants of this world.
This passage discusses the first gradual stage, getting rid of the aiding causes. The five pungent plants aid in the creation of unwholesome karma, and so the first step is to eliminate them from one's diet. Ananda, all living beings can live if they eat what is sweet, and they will die if they take poison. "All living beings" refers to the twelve categories. "Sweet" here really means "edible"; the food is sweet in the sense that it is not poisonous, but is nourishing and palatable.
"Poisonous" here does not necessarily mean lethal poison, but refers to such things as the five pungent plants, which in this context are considered poisonous. It refers to any food which has an unwholesome effect on beings, and contributes to an earlier death. It doesn't just mean eating something which is instantaneously fatal. Beings who seek samadhi should refrain from eating five pungent plants of this world. The first step is to get rid of contributing causes. The five pungent plants have been described already. They are onions, garlic, leeks, scallions, and shallots.
Năm thứ rau-cay nầy, ăn chín, thì phát lòng-dâm, ăn sống, thì thêm lòng-giận.
Sutra:
If these five are eaten cooked, they increase one's sexual desire; if they are eaten raw, they increase one's anger.
Commentary:
If these five are eaten cooked, they increase one's sexual desire. Meat has the same effect. That is one reason why people who cultivate the Way do not eat meat. The five pungent plants also increase desire, but not wholesome desire; rather, they are especially potent in increasing sexual desire, to the point that it is unbearable and one goes crazy with lust. If they are eaten raw, they increase one's anger. They make one more stupid.
People with wisdom do not lose their tempers. Those who do lose their tempers, for the most part are people who cannot clearly distinguish either the principles or the specifics. Something happens and they can't see beyond it. It becomes an obstruction for them, and they do not know how to resolve it except by getting angry. But losing their temper doesn't actually help the situation one bit. Meat also increases one's afflictions and the propensity to get angry. And the more of these five pungent plants one eats, the bigger one's temper grows.
Những người ăn rau-cay đó, trên thế-giới, dù biết giảng nói 12 bộ kinh, thiên-tiên 10 phương, hiềm vì nó hôi-nhớp, đều tránh xa cả; các loài ngạ-quỷ, vân vân...
Nhân trong lúc người kia ăn rau-cay, liếm môi-mép của người đó; người ấy thường ở với quỷ một chổ, phúc-đức ngày càng tiêu, hằng-lâu không được lợi-ích.
Sutra:
Therefore, even if people in this world who eat pungent plants can expound the twelve divisions of the sutra canon, the gods and immortals of the ten directions will stay far away from them because they smell so bad.
However, after they eat these things the hungry ghosts will hover around and kiss their lips. Being always in the presence of ghosts, their blessings and virtue dissolve as the days go by, and they experience no lasting benefit.
Commentary:
Therefore, even if people in this world who eat pungent plants can expound the twelve divisions of the sutra canon, the gods and immortals of the ten directions will stay far away from them because they smell so bad. This refers to people who eat the five pungent plants or drink wine or eat meat. On the other hand, the gods and immortals will protect someone who does not ingest these things.
Body odors come largely from what one eats. People who enjoy eating beef, onions, and garlic have strong body odors. Their armpits often stink so badly that they can be smelled a long way off, and no one wants to get near them.
There are a number of people who are able to expound on the canon with all its twelve divisions:
Repeating verses and predictions,
Interjections and what was spoken without request;
Past events, analogies, causes and conditions,
This life, expansions, and what never before existed;
With discussion, that is twelve all together,
As in Great Wisdom Shastra's thirty-third chapter.
Memorize the verse and you know the twelve divisions of the canon.
But if one's eating is not pure, one's sole listeners will be hungry ghosts. The gods and immortals will not listen. The hungry ghosts are creatures that don't have anything to eat. But after people who don't hold to pure eating eat these things, meaning the five pungent plants and the like, the hungry ghosts will hover around and kiss their lips. After people eat these strong-smelling foods, the odor lingers around them and attracts ghosts. The ghosts boldly go up and kiss those who partake of the five pungent plants, in an attempt to taste what they've eaten.
Ghosts eat by contact, as we have learned, so those who eat these impure things are literally in the hands of ghosts who hang around and keep touching them. You may not be one who can see them, but they are really there doing just that. Being always in the presence of ghosts, their blessings and virtue dissolve as the days go by, and they experience no lasting benefit.
Plain and simple, this passage says that people who eat the five pungent plants end up in the company of ghosts. Ghosts are their constant companions, even though the people themselves may be oblivious to the fact. Their blessings and virtue thereby decrease, and they end up with no advantages at all.
Người ăn rau-cay đó, tu phép Tam-ma-đề, Bồ-tát, Thiên-tiên, Thiện-thần thập phương không đến giữ-gìn ủng-hộ; Đại-lực Ma-vương được phương-tiện đó, hiện ra thân Phật, đến thuyết-pháp cho người kia, chê-phá cấm-giới, tán-thán dâm-dục, nóng-giận, si-mê.
Sutra:
People who eat pungent plants and also cultivate samadhi will not be protected by the Bodhisattvas, gods, immortals, or good spirits of the ten directions; therefore, the tremendously powerful demon kings, able to do as they please, will appear in the body of a Buddha and speak dharma for them, denouncing the prohibitive precepts and praising lust, rage, and delusion.
Commentary:
People who eat pungent plants and also cultivate samadhi will not be protected by the Bodhisattvas, gods, immortals, or good spirits of the ten directions. Who is referred to here? Whoever eats the five pungent plants. If you eat them, it's referring to you. If I eat them, it's referring to me. The text leaves the matter open. Why don't dharma protectors and good spirits guard such people? Because they smell too bad.
Preferring purity, the protectors avoid the stench and do not come around to guard such people. However, protectors are essential in cultivation, for where the proper resides, the deviant does not, but where the proper is lacking, the deviant will win the advantage. The "proper" refers to the Dharma protectors and good spirits who guard and aid cultivators of the Way.
But in this case, where they do not come around, the tremendously powerful demon kings, able to do as they please, will appear in the body of a Buddha and speak dharma for them. Seeing an unprotected cultivator, the powerful demonic kings come on the scene and gather him into their retinue. They will enter when they catch you off guard. How great is their power? They can turn into Buddhas!
I've advised you that if in the future you obtain the Buddha eye, you may see Buddhas come or Bodhisattvas come or gods and immortals come or spirits come. But if they are for real, they will have a light about them that is pure and cool, and when it shines on you, you will experience extreme comfort, such as you have never known. That, then, is a true Sage.
If it's a demon, it puts out heat. However, it requires a lot of wisdom to make this distinction. If you lack sufficient wisdom, you will not notice the power of his heat. Of course, the heat is not hot like a fire, but it is the case that the light of a demon carries heat, while the light of a Buddha does not.
Another way you can tell the difference between a demon appearing as a Buddha and an actual Buddha appearing is to look at the dharma they propound. Demon kings will go about denouncing the prohibitive precepts and praising lust, rage, and delusion. They will say, "Don't hold the precepts, that's a small vehicle practice. Those of the great vehicle kill, but it's not killing; steal, but it's not stealing; engage in lust, but it's not lust. So it's no problem. If you kill, you haven't broken any precept. The same goes for stealing and lust. Don't cling to such a small state. Don't hold to such fine distinctions in your conduct. Violations don't matter."
What you do before you receive the precepts does not count as a violation of them. But once you have taken a precept, for example, the precept against killing, it is then a violation of the precept if you commit the act of killing. Why? Because you clearly knew it was wrong but intentionally violated the prohibition.
If you receive the precept against stealing and you go out and steal, you have violated that precept. You may have indulged in sexual misconduct before receiving the precept against it, but that doesn't count as an offense, because it's over and done. But if you conduct yourself in this way after taking the precept, then you violate it.
Before you take the precept against lying, you are not in violation of the precept no matter what you say, but once you receive the precept you can't be irresponsible in what you say. Whatever it is, if you know, you know, and if you don't know, you don't know. You can't say you don't know when you really do; or say you know when you really don't. You can't beat around the bush when you speak. The straight mind is the Bodhimanda.
Someone may think; well, then, if I don't take them, I won't commit any violations, right? But now you know that it is better to take them, and if you don't you are missing the opportunity. If you do not receive the precepts, you will not be able to make any progress, either in your personal life or with regard to the Buddhadharma.
You certainly should continue to make progress. Since we know it is a good thing to do, we should receive the precepts and then carefully uphold them.
But the demon kings do nothing but slander and tear down the precepts and encourage you not to receive them. They praise sexual desire. "It's great," they say. "The more sexual desire you have, the loftier the level of Bodhisattvahood you will realize. Just take Ucchushma, who had to have two to three hundred women a day, but then later cultivated and became Fire-head Vajra. So what's the problem?" And so they go on.
Actually, as soon as he begins praising sexual desire, you should know immediately that he is not a genuine Buddha. As to rage, he says, "Having a temper doesn't matter. The bigger your temper, the bigger your Bodhi. After all, affliction is just Bodhi, so it follows that the more affliction you have, the more Bodhi you'll get. It doesn't matter. Lose your temper whenever you feel like it." The demon king praises rage in this way. "Delusion" just means being stupid and doing things that are upside down. We discussed it earlier:
Through a continual process of dullness and slowness, the upside-down state of stupidity occurs in this world. It unites with obstinacy to become eighty-four thousand kinds of random thoughts that are dry and attenuated.
And the beings without thought turn into earth, wood, metal, or stone. Of course, this doesn't happen to every stupid being. It does happen occasionally, however. But here the demon king praises delusion; he tells you that the stupider you are, the better it is, because if you are stupid it will be easier for him to get you to obey his instructions. You'll fall right in with him. You'll become one of the retinue of the demon kings.
Recently a book came out of India that specializes in praising the tantric practice of men and women cultivating together. This is a book written by demons. Demons praise sexual desire and do not instruct people to put a stop to it. They say that without cutting off sexual desire one can become a Buddha.
But Buddhas are pure, whereas the filthiest thing, the most turbid emotion, is sexual desire. In Chinese the word for marriage (hun) contains a character which is a combination of the word for "woman" (nu) and the word for "confusion" (hun), or "dark delusion." So the very word marriage itself says that as soon as one gets married, one loses wisdom. One's life is spent as if in perpetual night, in darkness and impurity. It is as if one were sleeping the days away, and when one is asleep, one is totally oblivious to everything. Just that is stupidity. Chinese characters often shed insight on the meanings they represent.
On the other hand, what I just said about marriage is not always the case. You have to be flexible when you view things. You can't be too rigid in your opinions. Although I said that marriage is confusion, you can try to gain understanding within that confusion. You can enter that confusion but not get muddled. Shakyamuni Buddha married, and yet he was the wisest of people.
When you just heard that people who eat the five pungent plants are kissed by ghosts, did it alarm you? If you weren't frightened, then you must see it as no problem. If it alarmed you, then stop eating the five pungent plants. If you don't eat them, the gods and immortals will protect you and the ghosts will leave you alone.
If you can marry and stay alert, stay awake, then you won't sink into that confusion. If you enter into the situation, you must not be turned by it. Don't mistake what I said as meaning that I'm opposed to anyone getting married. I'm just exploring a principle.
Đến khi mệnh-chung, tự mình người ấy làm quyến-thuộc của Ma-vương; khi hưởng-thụ phúc ma hết rồi, thì đọa vào ngục Vô-gián.
Sutra:
When their lives end, these people will join the retinue of demon kings. When they use up their blessings as demons, they will fall into the Relentless Hell.
Commentary:
When their lives end, these people will join the retinue of demon kings. This refers to people who eat the five pungent plants. Because they eat such things, the gods, immortals, Bodhisattvas, and good spirits do not protect them. Therefore, the demon kings who possess great power can have their way with them. The demon king appears as a Buddha and speaks demonic dharma to them, praising sexual desire, anger, and stupidity. Having been confused by the demons, these people lose their proper knowledge and proper views and any real wisdom. Instead, they harbor deviant knowledge and deviant views.
The demon king says sexual desire is good, and they believe it. "The Buddha told me so! He said it's no problem." That's called mistaking a thief for one's own son. One mistakes the demon king for the Buddha. Therefore, "When their lives end, these people will join the retinue of demon kings." When their worldly blessings are used up, they die and obediently go over to the retinue of the demon king. When they use up their blessings as demons, they will fall into the Relentless Hell. Demons also have their own kind of blessings.
Once there was a cultivator who recited the name of Amitabha Buddha. However, he was particularly greedy, especially for silver and gold. He did recite the Buddha's name, but that's because he had heard that the Land of Ultimate Bliss had ground made of gold, and he figured he could amass a pile of it when he got there.
Then one day he saw Amitabha Buddha come. The Buddha said to him, "Today you should be reborn in the Happy Land, and you can take your gold and silver with you." So he put his four or five hundred ounces of gold on the lotus flower that Amitabha Buddha was holding. But before he had a chance to hop on the flower himself, it disappeared, as did the Buddha holding it. "Oh," thought the man, "Amitabha Buddha likes money, too. He's run off with all my gold!"
At just about that time, in the household of the donor where he was living, a new-born donkey died. They noticed that the belly of the young donkey was hard and heavy, and when they cut it open, lo and behold, the old cultivator's gold and silver were tucked away inside! At that point the old cultivator realized how heavy his greed was, and he rejoiced that he had not gone off with "Amitabha Buddha," for had he gone, he would have become that small donkey. And he knew that the "Amitabha Buddha" who had come was not a genuine state.
Someone wonders, is there really an Amitabha Buddha? Of course there is. But because people have deviant knowledge and deviant views, there are also demons who can appear in the likeness of Amitabha Buddha. Clearly, we should aim to be straight and proper. But how do you do that? Be extremely careful not to be greedy. Anybody who has the idea he can go to the Land of Ultimate Bliss and mine for gold had better wake up fast.
Although the Pure Land may be paved with gold, you can't harbor thoughts of self-benefit and make plans to use it as you please. In cultivation, being off by just one thought can bring about demonic karma. The text says that because people who eat the pungent plants have deviant knowledge and deviant views, they first become demons themselves, and after that they fall into the hells. When will they get out? Nobody knows.
A-nan, người tu đạo Bồ-đề, phải đoạn-hẳn năm thứ rau-cay; ấy gọi là tiệm-thứ tu-hành tăng-tiến thứ nhất.
Sutra:
Ananda, those who cultivate for Bodhi should never eat the five pungent plants. This is the first of the gradual stages of cultivation.
Commentary:
Ananda, have you been listening? Those who cultivate for Bodhi, anybody on the path to Bodhi, should never eat the five pungent plants. You definitely must stop eating onions, garlic, leeks, scallions, and chives. If you eat these things, you can end up in the company of the demon kings. If you don't eat these things, you can join the Buddha's retinue. This is the first of the gradual stages of cultivation. This is the first step of progress for a cultivator of the Way.
In cultivation, one must get rid of the causes which aid in the creation of bad karma. The five pungent plants are one cause which aids the demon kings. You should not regard them as unimportant. The five pungent plants make you turbid and confused. They make you impure, and your impurity puts you together with the retinue of demon kings, for the more impure one is, the better they like it.
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