Essay Writing of Buddhas’ Practice Incorporated
(Issue 19)
The inevitable connection between the ten good deeds and spiritual achievement
Instructor：Bennie Spirit
Shi Wuguang
Author: Wang Huaigu
October 3rd, 2024
Abstract
The Ten Good Deeds serve as the bedrock of Buddhist practice, laying the essential groundwork for the attainment of Buddhahood. This paper explores the indispensable role of the Ten Good Deeds in the cultivation of various Buddhist paths, from the initial stages of practice to the ultimate goal of enlightenment. It argues that the Ten Good Deeds are the causal condition for the cultivation of all virtuous qualities and the realization of supreme enlightenment. Without engaging in these virtuous actions, spiritual progress is impossible. By examining the intrinsic connection between the Ten Good Deeds and spiritual attainment, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of this fundamental aspect of Buddhist practice.
Keywords: Ten Good Deeds, groundwork , inevitable, Spiritual cultivation
Chapter 1 Introduction
How can we achieve the Sravakayana, Pratyekabuddha, Bodhisattva, and even the supreme Buddha path? Why do so many people practice for decades or even many lifetimes without making any progress or witnessing the results? As a practitioner, what kind of basic qualifications and solid foundation should you first achieve before you can achieve subsequent spiritual achievements? Clarifying the above issues is the motivation for this article. The purpose is to thoroughly understand the Ten Good Deeds, just like the earth, which is the solid foundation and necessary condition for all spiritual achievements, to stay away from the Ten Evil Deeds, and to firmly grasp the Ten Good Deeds as the foundation for practice, practice quickly and achieve various good results.
Chapter 2 The Concept and Connotation of the Ten Good Deeds and Practical Achievements
The ten good deeds are three good deeds of the body, four good deeds of the mouth, and three good deeds of the mind. The three good deeds of the body are not to kill, steal, and engage in sexual misconduct; the four good deeds of the mouth are not to tell lies, divisive speech, bad words, and idle talk; the three good deeds of the mind are not to be greedy, not angry, and not to be ignorant. The Sutra of Ten Good Karma Sutras says: “This method is the ten good karma paths. What are ten? It means that one can be forever free from killing, stealing, evil conduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh words, idle talk, greed, anger, Wrong view. “The ten good deeds are the foundation of Buddhist precepts, the starting point of practice, and the first step before becoming a Buddha. It not only requires external behavior to be ethical, but also emphasizes inner purity and peace.
In Buddhism, spiritual achievement usually refers to a state in which one gradually purifies the mind, eliminates afflictions, and finally achieves liberation, attaining Nirvana and the supreme Buddha path through spiritual practice. Specifically, there are different paths of practice such as the Sravaka Vehicle, Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, Bodhisattva Vehicle, and the Supreme Buddha Path, each with different achievement goals.
As the The Lotus Sutra of Wonderful Dharma says: “Shariputra! If there are sentient beings who have wisdom within them, who hear and accept the Dharma from the Buddha and the World Honored One, work diligently and vigorously, and want to quickly escape from the three realms and seek Nirvana, this is the vehicle of sound-hearer, just like those sons who pray for a goat’s chariot to come out of a burning house.
If there are sentient beings who hear and accept the Dharma from the Buddha, the World-Honored One, diligently strive for natural wisdom, enjoy pure peace, and fully understand the causes and conditions of all dharmas, this is called the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, just like those sons who pray for a deer’s chariot to come out of the house of fire;
If there are sentient beings who hear and accept the Dharma from the Buddha, the World Honored One, practice diligently and strive for all wisdom, Buddha’s wisdom, natural wisdom, wisdom without teachers, the Tathagata’s knowledge, vision, power, fearlessness, single thoughts, peace and happiness for all sentient beings , benefiting gods and humans, and liberating everything, this is called the Mahayana. Therefore, the Bodhisattva who seeks this vehicle is called Mahasattva, just like the sons who came out of the burning house for the bullock cart.”
Chapter 3 The inevitable relationship between the ten good deeds and spiritual achievements
We have already discussed: The ten good deeds were formulated by the Buddha based on the law of cause and effect, which will enable practitioners to achieve all good deeds and merits and even the supreme Buddha path. Only by first completing the ten good karma paths can one practice and achieve the Shravakayana, Paccekabuddha, or Bodhisattva vehicle, or even the supreme enlightenment. On the contrary, without the ten good deeds, a practitioner will definitely fail to achieve the goal of practice, and there will be no subsequent series of practice achievements.
Greed, anger, and ignorance are the root causes of all sentient beings’ afflictions, and the ten good deeds can effectively combat these afflictions . By adhering to the Ten Good Deeds, practitioners can gradually reduce greed, anger, ignorance, and all kinds of bad karma, thereby purifying their hearts, gaining inner peace and joy, and accumulating the resources of cause and condition required for spiritual success.
The ten good deeds are the inevitable foundation and conditions for spiritual achievement. Just like building a building requires a solid foundation, spiritual achievement also requires a solid foundation of good roots, merit, and karma. The Ten Good Deeds are this solid foundation, which provides practitioners with a pure body and mind and good conditions, allowing them to better focus on the higher realms of practice in the Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha, and Bodhisattva vehicles.
Just as the Ten Good Deeds Sutra says: “You should know that these ten good deeds can even make the ten powers, fearlessness, and eighteen unique Buddha Dharma perfect. Therefore, you should study diligently, Dragon King! For example, all cities, all settlements depend on the earth to dwell; all herbs, trees, and jungles also depend on the earth to grow. The same is true for these ten virtuous paths. All people and heavens depend on it, and all the Sravakas, Paccekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas depend on it. All practices and all Buddha Dharma can be achieved by relying on this great land of the Ten Good Deeds.”
That is to say, all the practices of Sravakas, Pacceka , Bodhisattvas, and all Buddha Dharma can only be achieved by relying on this great land of the Ten Good Deeds. If there are no Ten Good Deeds , all practices are impossible to achieve.
Another example is Part 2 of the Five Vehicles Common Learning which says: “If you are separated from the ten good deeds and want to practice and achieve results, it is like building a pavilion in the sky or planting rice. In order to achieve or grow, there is no point.” From the above quotation, we can see that it can be seen from this , without the ten good deeds, it is impossible to practice and achieve fruition.
The Sutra of Mahayana Great Rally Ten Wheels of Earth Store says: “Good man! What are the ten wheels of Bodhisattva and Mahasattva? Good man! These ten wheels are not residual dharma. You should know that they are the ten paths of good deeds. If one can achieve these ten kinds of wheels, one is called the Bodhisattva Mahasattva. He can be liberated from all evils, accomplish all good deeds at will, and quickly fill the great sea of nirvana. If you can follow the ten good karma paths mentioned here and guard one of them, until the end of your life without committing any offense, you will surely get all the extraordinary results as mentioned before and after.
It can be seen from this that the ten good karma paths can make all good dharma and practice accomplished at will, and quickly fill the Great Nirvana Sea, and you will definitely get all the special rewards. .
In addition, the Sixth Patriarch once said: “Buddhism is in the world, and it is not separated from the enlightenment of the world. Looking for Bodhi after leaving the world is just like asking for a rabbit’s horn.” In today’s society, people face all kinds of temptations and pressures, and it is easy to fall into greed, anger and ignorance.
The virtues taught by the Ten Good Deeds such as non-greed, non-anger, non-delusion, non-killing, non-stealing, non-sexuality, non-liar, non-divisive speech , non-evil speech, and non-folly talk are exactly what modern people lack. By learning and practicing the Ten Good Deeds, people can at least achieve a happier and more fulfilling life, and can also achieve higher levels of spiritual achievements.
It can be said that without the ten good deeds, there would be no happiness and peaceful life for modern people, let alone the inevitable achievements in the practice of the Shravakayana, Pratyekabuddha, and Bodhisattva vehicles.
Below, the author will briefly discuss from three aspects the ten good deeds are the inevitable conditions for the achievement of spiritual practice, and the ten evil deeds that are the inevitable conditions for the failure of spiritual practice.
The ten good deeds are the feet of a practitioner, which can enable him to reach the destination of the practitioner and achieve the goal of spiritual achievement. If a practitioner has no precepts and no ten good deeds, it is equivalent to having no feet. He will not be able to complete the path of practice, and will certainly not be able to reach the destination of practice.
For example, Volume 7 of the Sutra of Mahayana Great Rally Ten Wheels of Earth Store says: “I say that in this way, if you practice the ten evil karma, you will always be happy and practice the ten evil karma, and burn out the seeds of all humans and gods. If you are still retreating from the sravaka-pacabuddha vehicle, what’s more for the Mahayana one can become a Dharma vessel…If you don’t have the hands of the faith and the feet of the precepts, you will not be able to do your job. If you want to set up a battle to defeat the afflictions, you will definitely not be able to achieve it without effort. “
2. Due to the bad karma of the divisive speech , one’s faith and practice are often destroyed and there are many obstacles. If one cannot continue to practice, he will definitely not achieve success.
The Ten Good Karma Sutra says: “If you separate the divisive speech , you will have five kinds of indestructible dharmas. What are the five? First, you will have an indestructible body, because anybody can’t harm it; second, you will have indestructible dependents, because anybody can’t destroy them; third, you will obtain incorruptible faith, because it is in accordance with the original karma; fourth, you will obtain indestructible Dharma practices, because the practice is firm; fifth, you will obtain indestructible good and wise mentors, because they do not deceive you.”
On the contrary, if you create the karma of divisive speech , you will obtain five destructible Dharmas: First, the body will be constantly damaged ; second, the family members will be destroyed; third, your confidence or faith will be damaged; fourth, objects will soon be damaged; fifth, all good deeds will frequently be destroyed.
It can be seen from this that if one has divisive speech, all good things will be ruined, and the body and mind will be ruined. Especially the two consequences of the divisive speech can ruin people’s confidence, and practice, that is, insufficient confidence and lack of practice.
To put it further, the divisive speech can cause people to lose confidence in all good things and practice, and they will not be able to do it; all unlucky things, and things that have nothing to do with practice, can be done because they have confidence. In other words, as long as a practitioner has two consequences of the evil karma of the divisive speech: his faith is destroyed and his practice is destroyed, his practice will naturally not be successful. What’s more, if one has all the negative consequences of the ten evil karma, how can his practice be successful?
If confidence is destroyed, spiritual practice will naturally fail to achieve success. Faith and precepts are the right-hand man for spiritual success. Without faith, that is, without hands, one cannot receive the spiritual resources given by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Without these spiritual resources, spiritual practice will naturally and inevitably be impossible to achieve.
In addition, “Faith is the mother of merits and virtues, and it nourishes all good roots.” Without faith, the source of spiritual practice will be exhausted, and practice will inevitably fail to achieve.
Just because of the bad karma of the divisive speech, the practice will be destroyed, the practice will not be continued, there will be many obstacles, the power will be weak, and the practice will definitely not be successful. For example, the Great Jewel Accumulated Sutra tells the stories of 500 Bodhisattvas with deep karma. It is because they have created the karma of the divisive tongue in the past. Therefore, no matter how much they want to practice, they cannot continue to practice. They often act inappropriately and forget their correct thoughts.
The Great Jewel Accumulated Sutra says: “There are again five hundred Bodhisattvas. At that time, there are many Bodhisattvas in the crowd. Their karma is deep and their roots are dark and dull. Their good dharma is few and fond of noisy environment. They talk about worldly affairs, indulge in sleep, and talk about many dramas. They are engaged in all kinds of affairs, have all kinds of attachments, do things they should not do, forget his right thoughts, practice evil wisdom, practice inferior diligence and engages in deceptive behavior.”
What is the reason for this? What karma did they create in the past? It is because they created the karma of the divisive speech in the past. They want to practice but are unable to do so. However, they are very diligent in doing useless things and doing things that are irrelevant to their spiritual practice. They are very diligent in talking nonsense and sleeping.
So, how did they create the karma of the divisive speech in the past, so that they are now so miserable that they are unable to practice?
The Great Jewel Accumulated Sutra also says: “You have committed bad karma in the past. You have used your happy heart to curse, destroy, humiliate, hinder, trouble, and harm all sentient beings. You have differentiated yourself and cannot understand the difference in karma and retribution. That is why you are now being entangled by the obstructions of the Karma, and cannot practice the good Dharma.”
Furthermore, The Great Jewel Accumulated Sutra also says: “Good man! In the past, you became a monk in the Dharma of Juru Sun Tathagata. You relied on your knowledge, learning and practice of pure precepts, and you always had a heart of arrogance and pride. You also practiced as a Dhuta and had few desires to be satisfied, so you were attached to the merits and virtues. At that time, there were two Dharma monks, many of whom had relatives and friends and were well-known , and you acted in a jealous and slanderous manner ,saying that they have committed lustful things. At that time, the Dharma master’s relatives, friends, and relatives were separated from them by you, and all of them were confused and without faith and acceptance, the sentient beings will not follow the Dharma Master and their good roots will be cut off.”
These 500 Bodhisattvas were not ordinary people in the past, but due to the afflictions of greed and jealousy, they created the evil karma of lying and the divisive speech. The purpose was to destroy the image of others and highlight their own image. As a result, they harmed themselves so miserably, and no longer had the confidence to practice, let alone the specific practice. Precisely because the bad karma of the divisive speech is so terrible, Bodhisattvas will stay away from divisive words to ensure that their practice will be successful.
Just as Volume 35 of the Avatamsaka Sutra says: “The Bodhisattvas do not create the divisive speech habitually. He has no intention of the divisive speech or harm to all sentient beings. He does not use one’s words to speak to the others to undermine each other. Therefore, if they are not broken, he will not let them be broken, and if they are broken, he will not let them grow. He does not like the divisive speech , and he does not enjoy the divisive speech, whether it is true, or it will not be true.”
In short, as long as there is only one bad karma like divisive speech, one will definitely not be able to achieve success in spiritual practice. What’s more, if one possesses ten evil karmas, how can one achieve success in spiritual practice? On the contrary, if there is no divisive speech, spiritual practice will definitely achieve success!
3. The evil karma of wrong views prevents all wisdom, natural wisdom, and unhindered wisdom of all sentient beings from appearing. “The Avatamsaka Sutra says: “The wisdom of the Tathagata is everywhere. Why? There is no sentient being who does not possess the wisdom of the Tathagata, but they confuse their attachments with delusions and fail to achieve it. If they are free from delusions, all wisdom, natural wisdom will appear.
As mentioned above, if you are loyal to and follow harmful and unhelpful delusions, wrong views, distortion and persistence, and abandon the inherent wisdom of the Tathagata, you are very stupid; if you think that you are doing well in this way, you are making more mistakes and are hopeless.
It can be seen from this that these delusions, wrong views, confusion, and persistence can prevent all wisdom, natural wisdom, and unimpeded wisdom from appearing to all sentient beings, let alone the achievement of these wisdoms, and the cultivation will definitely not be achieved. On the contrary, stay away from these delusions, wrong views, distortion and attachments, and your practice will surely achieve success.
Chapter 4 Conclusion
The relationship between the ten good deeds and spiritual achievements is inseparable. The ten good deeds are the inevitable foundation of spiritual practice and an inevitable and indispensable condition for the achievement of spiritual practice. By adhering to the ten good deeds, practitioners can gradually improve themselves, achieve the corresponding Shravakayana, Pratyekabuddha, and Bodhisattva vehicles according to their corresponding foundation and cause and condition, and finally achieve the supreme Buddha path.
In the process of exploring the topic of this article, the author has been limited by his personal wisdom and has not been able to conduct a more comprehensive, profound, broad, and nuanced exploration of the topic. The arguments for the topic are not sufficient and rich enough, and the argumentation is not close, powerful, and logical enough. logicality is not strong enough.
Through this investigation, the author hopes to further improve the above-mentioned research restrictions in the future direction of study, and to think and practice according to the law, to accept and uphold the pure and perfect Ten Good Precepts as soon as possible, and to practice to achieve all sagehood. The results are endless, benefiting oneself and others.
References
Ancient books (sorted by dynasty):
1〔Yao Qin〕 Kumarajiva’s translation: The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Dharma, Volume 9 of “Taisho Treasure”.
2 [Tang Dynasty] Translated by Shisha Nanda: The Sutra of Ten Good Deeds, Volume 15 of “Taisho Treasure”.
3 [Tang Dynasty] Translated by Shisha Nanda: Volume 35 of The Flower Adornment Sutra and Volume 10 of Taisho Treasure.
4 [Tang Dynasty] Translated by Xuanzang: Volume 8 of the Sutra of Mahayana Great Rally Ten Wheels of Earth Store ,Volume 13 of the Dasheng Treasure.
5 [Tang Dynasty] Translated by Bodhi Liuzhi: Volume 91 of Dabao Ji Sutra, Volume 33 of Taisho Treasure.
6 [Yuan Dynasty] Zongbao compiled: “The Dharma Treasure Altar Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch”, Volume 48 of Taisho Treasure.
7 [Republic of China] Shi Taixu wrote: Part 2 Common Learning of the Five Vehicles, Volume 13 of Xinxuzang.
