Living This Moment in Purity By Living Buddha Sheng-yen Lu This was translated from Grandmaster Lu's 145th book, 當下的清涼心. CHAPTER 07 - Between Wife and Mistress One hot afternoon, a man about fifty years of age came to me for a consultation. After commenting several times on the heat, the man asked for a glass of cold water. Unhurriedly, I went to fetch some water and brought back three glasses, two large and one small. As I placed a large glass of water in front of my guest and set the remaining two glasses on the side, the man asked, "Why have you brought these other two glasses? One glass is fine for me." I smiled and responded, "Although you think you have come alone, you have in your company an adult and a small child. Do you expect me to just offer you water while ignoring them?" A look of terror swept across his face and his complexion turned green, "Who are they?" "A mother and her daughter," I replied. "Can you get rid of them?" "I can give it a try, but I won't be able to make them go away right this instant." The man then said, "That is why I have come here today. I hope you can solve this mystery for me." This man's name is Wang Deng. He is a famous businessman whose name appears often in business magazines and whose companies are well-known, not only in Taiwan but also around the world. Wang Deng has amassed great personal wealth, fame, and business success, and he also has the enviable demeanor of a gentleman. As a result, numerous women, including his own secretary, persistently make advances toward him. Wang Deng is already married and has children. His family life is quite perfect and, although his business comes first to him, he takes good care of his family and pays great attention to his children's education. In many ways, as he himself is well aware, he has everything. This is Wang Deng's philosophy regarding extra-marital affairs: "It is heaven's mandate that a man or woman should only bed his or her married spouse. If this order is disrupted, the ties of friendship will also be affected; and from that point on, ensuing confusion and conflict will leave one not too far from the ways of the birds and the beasts. No matter how cautiously one hides affairs, there will be a day when scandals will break out. When this happens, one's reputation will be completely destroyed." Wang Deng, therefore, has always been very careful. On one occasion, however, Wang Deng had to travel quite far to attend a conference, and during this trip, a young woman had been assigned to wait upon him. As soon as he placed his eyes on this woman, he was taken aback. This woman looked exactly like his first love. Upon mentioning the resemblance to this lady, she coyly replied, "I wish I were her." Wang Deng learned from her name tag that her name was Yang Qin. During the several days of the conference, Yang Qin was very meticulous and took very good care of Wang Deng. Wang Deng could not help but feel a special fondness for her and, upon praising her excellent service one evening, Yang Qin replied, "As long as it makes you happy, I'll do anything for you." As she spoke, these words sent Wang Deng's heart and mind spinning. Yan Qin's beautiful figure, Yang Qin's smile, Yang Qin's youth, her freshness, her delicate features-none of these could be found in his wife. As humans, we are born out of sexual desires, and the habitual tendencies of lust and sexual yearnings are particularly strong in us. Wang Deng is not a wooden man. Previously, his desires had been restrained by reason and morals. Yet one night, when Yang Qin visited Wang Deng at his hotel under the pretext of delivering an urgent document to him, they overstepped these bounds. In one careless moment, Wang Deng abandoned his restraint and fell into an abyss of suffering. Unfortunately, from this one moment of happiness sprung an eternal grief. Yang Qin became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter. Attempts to contain fire with paper are futile for fire will undoubtedly break loose. Regarding Yang Qin:
As for the wife:
In this world, many wars are fought among women. There are battles fought between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, between wives and mistresses, amongst sisters-in-laws, etc.. From ancient times up to the present, numerous case histories of ferocious battles exist. Well-known battles within the royal court, such as those fought by Empress Wu Ze Tian, Empress Lu, and the Dowager Empress, have employed vicious schemes against the enemy, spreading fear to all who read about their treacherous acts. The driving force behind these battles, as is well known, was the desire "to possess" someone exclusively. Toleration for a competitor was impossible. Women are meticulous creatures and, when it comes to fighting over an object of desire, they are a notch above men. Even nuns, to my knowledge, are no exception. In order to gain favoritism from their master, several Buddhist nuns who were attendants to a contemporary eminent monk, engaged in battles amongst themselves. In the end, jealousy drove the losing party to seek ways to kill her own master! When a woman's love is transformed into hatred, a terrible power is generated from such an eruption of anger, where one seeks to destroy everything rather than allow the other party victory. Of course I cannot blame this solely on women. The fact is, Wang Deng was also wrong. Once committed, transgressions are not easily rectified or erased from memory. In this situation, Wang Deng's wife refused to tolerate her husband's "mistress." Yang Qin initially did her best to endure the situation, but when her tolerance reached its limit, she also started to take her frustrations out on Wang Deng. Both wife and mistress decided they would not accept the existence of the other. One may well imagine the ensuing pain Wang Deng had to suffer. There is a Chinese saying that "indulging in women" brings about disaster, as if the female sex is to be blamed. However, careful analysis reveals that men actually bring disasters upon themselves. All these afflictions arise out of "lust." Lust between the sexes has led to many tragic disasters, ranging from the loss of individual life to the loss of an entire country. Unfortunately, people continue engaging in such games of lust. Some are even willing to sacrifice themselves without remorse, as demonstrated by this well-known Chinese saying: "It is noble to die for a woman and become an amorous ghost." In today's world, many people heartily search for sexual outlets without regard for principles or morals. Cases of adultery, and even incest, abound. Such disturbances are not limited to relationships between men and women, of course, but include same-sex affairs. Deaths brought on by sexual indulgence are also numerous. Think of some of the cases read or heard in the news: "Adulterous wife kills husband," "Adulterous husband kills wife," "Husband kills wife's lover," "Wife's lover kills husband," "Wife kills mistress," "Mistress kills wife," etc.. According to statistics, forty percent of homicides and suicides can be attributed directly to love and sex, while another forty percent can be attributed indirectly to such crimes of passion. The rate is quite high. Over-indulgence in sex can also cause an individual to lose one's vital energies, resulting thus in premature death. Because the cause of this kind of death is not readily detectable, such deaths are usually considered "natural deaths." I have in the past written these verses:
Ordinary people may regard sexual experiences as one of life's most enjoyable activities. But, in the eyes of spiritual cultivators, such encounters are great disasters. When ordinary people indulge in sex, they invite disaster. Sages of high virtue see through the entrapment of sex and attain the greatest bliss and serenity through spiritual cultiva Consider the following:
Whatever the scenario, the affairs of sexual indulgences are associated with numerous crises and misfortunes. The extra-marital affair between Wang Deng and Yang Qin brought on struggles between the wife and mistress. At first, Wang Deng tried to take care of Yang Qin, but he was being worn out by the battles and became tired. Gradually, he began to lose his patience, though he realized it was his own transgression that had initiated this series of painful events upon his originally peaceful family. As each day passed, Yang Qin's resentment escalated. Then one day, in a moment of desperation, she jumped into a river with her toddler, committing suicide and killing her daughter as well. What a tragedy to result from such an extra-marital affair! After the suicide, Wang Deng would often wake in alarm in the middle of his sleep. During such occasions, his entire body felt cold, fearful, and he could not go back to sleep. In the dark, he seemed to see the image of Yang Qin holding his daughter's hand and gazing upon him. Then strange events started happening: Wang Deng could often feel the presence of Yang Qin around him. In the middle of the night, the floor creaked as if people were walking around. Chairs started moving. Doors closed on their own. Strange noises came from the walls. Wang Deng would occasionally hear the patter of a child's feet. However, even more frightening were the times when gas stoves would be found turned on after they had obviously been shut off. Strangest of all, however, was that Wang Deng, who could no longer sleep well and often felt soreness in all his joints, would wake up to find his entire body, including the face and neck areas, covered with bruises! It appeared as if he had been terribly beaten by someone. When Wang Deng went to a temple to seek answers from the gods, the reply he received was that he had been "beaten by a ghost." He procured talismans of the Five Heavenly Lords and pasted them on doors and windows all over his house. Yet his face remained blue and swollen. Next, he invited a psychic medium who channelled the Five Heavenly Lords over to his house to perform a ritual. The sedan representing the deities circumscribed the house once. Then, the medium brandished a shark-bone sword, cutting his own body until he bled all over, all the while drawing talismans and chanting incantations. Everything was tried to no avail. After Wang Deng recounted the above happenings to me, he unbuttoned his shirt to show me his chest and back. Indeed, there were large, discolored patches all over his skin. Some were reddish, some bluish, similar to the kinds of marks left after heated canisters are applied to the skin (a relatively popular folk therapy used by some people). It was an appalling sight. "Have you been checked by a doctor?" I asked. "Of course, but the doctors couldn't figure out what could have caused these bruises. I even went to ask the temple for help. The gods said they were ghost beatings, but the rituals they performed didn't help either. That is why I have come to see you today. I hope you can solve this mystery for me." I turned around to ask the invisible Yang Qin, "How about a reconciliation?" Yang Qin answered, "No compensation will undo the resentment and grief I harbored when I died." I tried to explain to her the futility of clinging onto hatred and the perpetuation of cycles of suffering that occur when one is unable to let go of the past. In one lifetime, one kills the other. In the next, the other kills one. When will it end then? Yang Qin then asked, "Wang Deng's wife is full of jealousy, hatred, and viciousness toward me. Why does she not suffer any retribution?" I was unable to answer her. She then said, "I feel great injustice for what has happened to me. Before my resentment can be allayed, I want to see both of them suffer their retribution." I then suggested to her, "What if I used my magical power to make you leave?" "It won't work. I have sanction from this decree," Yang Qing retorted waving a small black flag before me. The small flag actually turned out to be a decree obtained from the hells in the netherworid. No wonder even the Five Heavenly Lords were unable to resolve the situation. "What if I perform a deliverance to help you attain a rebirth?" "I don't want to leave," Yang Qin stated with curt finality. "What if I have a decree from the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?" Yang Qin replied, "How can that be possible?" "I can order the Wheel-revolving Ruler to restrain you and send you back into the six realms of transmigration. I don't want you and your daughter remaining in the human world to continue your scare tactics. You will also incur retribution by doing such things. You must realize that you have yourself to blame for not controlling your own lust and desires. You cannot merely place all the blame on Wang Deng and his wife. Think it over." I presented the decree from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. This decree is: A banner that reaches from heaven to earth, Brings great deliverance to sentient beings, Radiating five thousand brilliant colorful rays. Homage to the great protective grace of Ksitigarbha. As soon I produced this banner, a jeweled canopy with banners appeared in the sky, emanating brilliant rays of lights. Beneath this canopy, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva majestically sat upon a rainbow-colored lotus before three golden lights. Resplendent jeweled ornaments emitted lights enveloping the Bodhisattva. Ksitigarbha held a golden lotus seat in his hand as he spoke, Golden lotus seat, Full of compassion For humans in the world, Radiate light on them As the Buddha-land appears. As soon as the light from this golden lotus shone upon Yang Qin and her daughter, their karmic enmity disappeared. The light radiated upon them again, and their resentment also vanished. The heart of resolute vengeance and anger completely dissipated. At this moment, Yang Qin saw through the illusions of worldly phenomena. She no longer held attachment for the turbid conditions of samsara and, instead, engendered a transcendent, liberating heart. The two of them, mother and daughter, then leapt onto the lotus seat. Auspicious signs appeared in the sky and, in a flash, both were transported to the Buddha-land. This method of "magical transmuting to emptiness" is exactly the kind of method Maitreya Bodhisattva will use in the future when he is born into samsara. This is the Buddhadharma Maitreya will use to save all beings. This method of "mind-only magical transformation" is what Maitreya Bodhisattva will employ. As long as the light in Maitreya's heart shines upon the hearts of sentient beings, it will completely and instantaneously eradicate their karmic hindrances. Next, it will transform the hearts of the sentient beings into the heart of Maitreya This is mind-only magical transformation In this way, with the shining of the light and the resultant transformation, all sentient beings will be delivered to the Buddha-land. According to my knowledge, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas may employ different methods to aid sentient beings, yet the result is the same: The Great Sun Tathagata - Bhutatathata (the absolute or ultimate reality) Shakyamuni Tathagata - Prajna (wisdom) Nagarjuna Bodhisattva - Madhyamika (middle way) Padmasambhava - Yoga Maitreya Bodhisattva - Yogachara (mind-only) Amitabha - Pure Land My employment of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's decree was similar to Maitreya's "mind-only magical transformation." This banner from a heaven beyond heavens transports one to the lands of the Buddhas and Immortals. It is none other than a portal into transcendent rebirths. Wang Deng proceeded to ask me, "How can this mystery be solved?" Before his eyes, I had only slightly waved a banner in my hand. "It has been resolved," I replied. "What method did you use?" "Our mind is like a master artisan. It can paint every phenomenon in the world. From it the five aggregates have sprung. Nothing is not created by the mind." "What kind of method is this mind method?" he asked. "Light of mind and spirit." I explained to Wang Deng, "In the future when Maitreya Bodhisattva descends into the world, he will use this method of "mind-only magical transformation." The three realms (of Form, Desire, and Formlessness) are created by the mind. All phenomena have sprung from consciousness. Maitreya Bodhisattva only needs to use the light from the mind and spirit to shine upon all beings, and their minds will undergo transformation into the mind of Maitreya. In Maitreya's Dragon Flower Assembly, all beings will be completely delivered." When Wang Deng heard this, he said, "I also would like to learn and practice Buddhism!" "That is right. A person who studies and practices Buddhism sees through human lives that are fraught with desires and attachments. Such desires oniy give one temporary stimulation. Yet a moment of worldly pleasure is, in reality, a moment of delusion and confusion which will only lead to continual disturbances of spiritual tranquility. When the happiness is not the revitalizing, liberating kind, it is not really true happiness." "What should I do as a Buddhist?" "First you must eradicate lust, anger, and delusion." "And the benefits for doing that?" "One's heart will be filled with light." Wang Deng knelt down to take refuge in me. After returning home, all the strange happenings in his household completely disappeared. His normal pattern of sleep once again resumed, and the strange black and blue bruises vanished. The soreness in his joints also went away. He continuously cried aloud, "Living Buddha Lian-sheng is just inconceivable! Sheng-yen Lu is inconceivable!" Wang Deng's entire family took refuge to become Buddhists, and they have started doing virtuous deeds with sincere and utmost effort. |
|
