–Volume6(Par3)
Author: Fafu
Translator : Gemini
Hello everyone! Welcome to this episode of the podcast provided by the Buddhas’ Practice Incorporated of Australia.
Today, we will receive the Buddha’s teaching on the Four Clear and Definitive Instructions on Purity given to Ānanda and sentient beings in the Degenerate Dharma Age.
1. Awakening to the True Mind: Knowing the Way Home
After Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva selected Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva’s Ear Root Perfect Penetration, Ānanda and the great assembly achieved clarity in body and mind. They gained profound insight that both body and mind are illusory and completely awakened to the Buddha Bodhi and the Great Nirvāṇa—the Wonderful Bright True Mind. This is the core of Mahāyāna Buddhism: only by deeply recognizing the Wonderful Bright True Mind and one’s own body and mind can one generate the Bodhi Mind.
2. Ānanda’s Vow: To Deliver Sentient Beings in the Last Age
With a mind perfectly clear, Ānanda was filled with both sorrow and joy. Although he had not yet saved himself, he vowed to deliver the sentient beings of the final age. He bowed and requested the Buddha’s instruction: How can sentient beings in the Degenerate Dharma Age, far removed from the Buddha’s time and facing false teachers numerous as the sands of the Ganges, establish their bodhimaṇḍa (place of practice), gather their minds to enter Samādhi, stay far from demonic affairs, and firmly establish the non-regressing Bodhi Mind?
The Buddha praised Ānanda’s compassion for requesting the Dharma for sentient beings, benefiting those sinking in the final age. He then declared the Threefold Training—Precepts, Samādhi, and Wisdom—as the fundamental basis for practice.
3. The Four Clear and Definitive Instructions
The Buddha proclaimed Four Clear and Definitive Instructions on Purity, which fundamentally sever the sins of Lust, Killing, Stealing, and False Speech.
1. Severing Lust:
If sentient beings in the Six Realms still possess the mind of lust, they will continue in the cycle of birth and death. If one cultivates Samādhi hoping to escape the dusts of affliction, but the mind of lust is not eliminated, the dusts cannot be escaped. Even with wisdom and Samādhi, if lust is not severed, one will inevitably fall into the demonic path—the highest grade becoming Demon Kings, the middle grade becoming Demon Subjects, and the lowest grade becoming Demon Maidens, all claiming to have achieved the Unsurpassed Way. In the Degenerate Dharma Age, such demonic people flourish, widely engaging in lust and greed, misleading sentient beings to fall into the pit of love-views and lose the Bodhi path.
- Consequence: Cultivating Chan (Meditation) with the mind of lust is like steaming sand to make rice; it will never succeed even after hundreds of thousands of kalpas. Practicing with the root of lust causes rotation in the Three Evil Paths, with no time for escape.
- Clear Instruction: To realize Nirvāṇa, one must sever lust in both body and mind, without even the concept of severing remaining, then one can hope for Buddha Bodhi. This is the Tathāgata’s First Clear and Definitive Instruction. To violate this is a teaching of Māra Papiyan.
2. Severing Killing:
If one does not sever killing, one cannot escape the dusts of affliction. Even with wisdom and Samādhi, if the mind of killing is not eliminated, one will fall into the Divine Path—the highest grade becoming Powerful Ghosts, the middle grade Yaksha, and the lowest grade Rākṣasa, all claiming the Unsurpassed Way. The Buddha permits Monks to eat the Five Pure Meats, which were magically transformed and possessed no life-root. Eating the flesh of sentient beings is not a disciple of the Buddha.
- Consequence: Those who greedily eat the flesh of sentient beings, even if their practice resembles Samādhi, are all Great Rākṣasas. When their retribution ends, they sink into the ocean of the suffering of birth and death; they are not the Buddha’s disciples.
- Clear Instruction: A true practitioner does not harm plants and trees, let alone consume flesh and blood. By neither eating nor wearing animal parts, one repays past debts and does not wander the Three Realms. This is the Tathāgata’s Second Clear and Definitive Instruction. To violate this is a teaching of Māra Papiyan.
3. Severing Stealing:
If one does not sever stealing, one cannot escape the dusts of affliction. Even with wisdom and Samādhi, if the mind of stealing is not eliminated, one will fall into the Heretical Path—the highest grade becoming Nature Spirits, the middle grade Goblins and Ghouls, and the lowest grade Evil People, all claiming to have attained the Supra-Mundane Dharma. In the Degenerate Dharma Age, these evil beings hide and deceive, confusing the ignorant and draining household wealth.
- Consequence: Cultivating Chan without severing stealing is like pouring water into a leaky vessel; it will never be full.
- Clear Instruction: A Monk begging for food renounces greed, ensuring that they will pass through the Three Realms without returning. Burning lamps, burning fingers, or igniting incense before the Buddha image repays past debts instantly and forever departs from all outflows. This is the Tathāgata’s Third Clear and Definitive Instruction. To violate this is a teaching of Māra Papiyan.
4. Severing False Speech:
Even if the first three practices are perfect, Great False Speech renders Samādhi impure, leading to the demon of love-views and the extinction of the Buddha-Seed. Claiming to have attained what one has not, or claiming to have realized what one has not, seeking to surpass the World-Honored One, misleads the assembly into the Avīci Hell. This is like cutting down a Tāla tree with a knife; the roots of virtue are forever lost.
- Consequence: False speech is like carving human excrement into sandalwood; no fragrance can be sought. If the ground of practice is untrue, the result will be circuitous; the hope for Buddha Bodhi is gone.
- Clear Instruction: A true practitioner’s bodhimaṇḍa is the Straight Mind; there is no falsehood, and they never claim the Supra-Mundane Dharma. Bodhisattvas and Arhats manifest various forms, praising the Buddha Vehicle and guiding the assembly into Samādhi. They only reveal their true identity upon their final passing or as a dying instruction. This is the Tathāgata’s Fourth Clear and Definitive Instruction. To violate this is a teaching of Māra Papiyan.
5. Conclusion
The Buddha proclaimed these Four Clear and Definitive Instructions on Purity to sever lust, killing, stealing, and false speech. Failure to adhere to them will inevitably result in becoming a demon, ghost, or evil being. Thank you!
