Speaker: Bennie Spirit

Translation of Lecture Content: Chơn Ngộ (Grace Spirit)

07/09/2024

1.1 The state of sentient beings in the Saha world – weaving delusions in a dream.

“The sentient beings in the Saha World, the Five Evil Worlds

Question: When we’re lost in delusions and troubles, we know deep down that something is wrong, that the feeling is off, but we still get sucked into it.

Answer: When we sing less, we should sing more. The more we sing, the better we understand. So, what’s the key to delusions? It’s weaving. Without weaving, the delusion can’t continue; it gets stuck. We have to keep weaving, constantly adding materials—horizontal threads, vertical threads. We need materials. Whether it’s something we’ve experienced, a memory, or something we’ve seen others go through, we always need materials. Without them, the delusion can’t progress. It needs materials. Sometimes, it even includes things that shouldn’t be woven in. To keep going, it starts to add anything, including all our past experiences and current troubles—things we crave, things that excite us, and things that make us angry. Then, we start weaving, adding materials and troubles together.

Remember, when troubles arise, they can be powerful and impulsive. For example, when we’re greedy, we feel an urge, a compulsion to eat or drink. Even if we know it’s unhealthy, we still do it. That’s impulsiveness. When we’re angry, we feel the urge to yell or hit. We pull a long face, almost dragging our head along the ground. Or, when we’re proud, we might keep striving for more recognition, even when we’ve already achieved a lot. And doubt can also be impulsive. So, troubles are like a trigger for impulsiveness. But really, troubles have no power of their own. It’s our own mind that gives them power. We use our inner energy to fuel them, making them seem powerful. We don’t realize how many impulsive actions we’ve committed based on our troubles. And when that impulse hits, oh boy, it’s a rollercoaster.

Question: In those moments, we feel agitated and know the trouble is causing harm. We feel empty inside. — So, we just need to pull ourselves out.

Question: Why does it feel like we’re always caught up in troubles?

Answer: Because we’re used to it. As soon as something happens, we start creating troubles. We’re so used to it, it’s like we can’t function without them. Are you laughing? It’s as if we don’t have any greed, anger, pride, or doubt. We just mix them all together, and that’s delusion. We need to examine this daily and prevent these things from causing harm. They’re so destructive. They ruin so many good things. We create troubles, indulge in delusions, and feel so confident about it. All that confidence is just delusion-fueled impulsiveness. Because we believe in it, we think it’s who we are, so we call it confidence.

Question: When we’re thinking and weaving these delusions, we should know they’re false, right? Sometimes we know, sometimes we don’t. Even when we know, we still weave. It’s become a habit, a fun thing to do. And then we find pleasure in it. From kings and emperors to ordinary people, everyone does this.

Answer: Yes, everyone is the same.

In reality, people can’t achieve everything they imagine. For example, Murong Fu, despite his meticulous planning throughout his life, gained nothing. And it’s not just him; Xu Zhu didn’t get what he wanted either. So, humans cling to these delusions. The things you truly desire often don’t align with reality and are unattainable, yet people still believe in them. It’s strange, isn’t it? They don’t stop to think: Which of their desires has ever been fully realized? Everything that happens turns out differently from what they envisioned. Since reality is unpredictable, why do people still hold onto such delusions?

Q: If I don’t have delusions, I can’t live.

A: No, it’s not that. If you don’t have delusions about living a better life, you’ll still suffer from excessive thinking.

Q: A negative emotion has arisen. I want to fix it, but I don’t know how.

A: That’s exactly how it starts for everyone. It shows you’ve begun, congratulations! It’s the same for everyone, even for Buddhas at the beginning. They realize, “Oh, I know nothing,” because everything they thought they knew was wrong. Naturally, they haven’t practiced the right things, so how could they know? But they immediately focus on what they need to work on. So, let’s just do that.

So, you’ve started, as you said, but then you immediately revert back. How do you prevent that? It’s simple: Focus your mind on one thing at a time. For instance, if I’m practicing great compassion, I fixate on compassion. I show compassion to everyone, whether they want it or not. I won’t let go of this; I want this great compassion. That’s it. Just focus on this one point. Don’t worry about whether the outcome is right or wrong, good or bad. The initial intention is compassion, and that’s what you’re doing this for. That’s enough. When you truly cultivate compassion and fully act upon it, even if you don’t achieve your goal, you’ve already become like two mountains. So, we simply focus on cultivating that intention. Having two mountains is enough; we don’t need to be greedy, and greed won’t get us anywhere. I do this every day; I practice on whoever I encounter.

Day: 07/09/2024