All living beings are pitiful and don’t know how to extricate themselves
2024-03-19
Lecture by Venerable Master Hsuan-Hua
Human beings are all divided souls of the Buddha; the divided souls of the Buddha are not the whole of the Buddha. Either light is emitted from a certain pore of the Buddha. Either light is emitted from a certain pore of the Buddha, and countless sentient beings are transformed from the light, or light is emitted from the Buddha's breath, and countless sentient beings are transformed from the light. The light of Buddha can transform as all living beings, so it is said: "All living beings have Buddha-nature and can become Buddhas." When we become human beings, countless microbial beings can be transformed from our breath. From the breath of these living beings, other living beings can be transformed out, which is also immeasurable. However, the sentient beings transformed from the Buddha's divided souls will become Buddhas as soon as they practice cultivation; the sentient beings transformed again have already passed a stage, and it is not so easy to become Buddhas.
Animals can also produce sentient beings, because they can also breathe, and many microorganisms are hidden in the breathing air. If they meet a supporting condition, they can transform into living beings; if there is no supporting condition, they will disappear into nothing. It's like there are countless germs and worms in each of our bodies, and they are all one of the sentient beings. Among the fungi and worms, there will produce the fungi and worms. Therefore, it is said: "Life is endless, transformation is endless." To speculate carefully, big sentient beings can produce big ones, and small sentient beings can produce small ones. Each one is of its own kind and breeds there. Therefore, there are countless sentient beings in the world. The more they multiply, the more they multiply. When they multiply until the world cannot accommodate so many sentient beings, the world will be destroyed.
This world is destroyed, and another world is generated. This is all because sentient beings are confused, create karma, and receive retribution. They are confused here without wanting to understand clearly, but they still think they understand clearly. "The Doctrine of the Mean" says: "People say they are wise, but if you throw them into a trap, they won't know how to avoid it." Do you think this is wisdom or foolishness?
All living beings have to eat. It's like a whale has been trained to dance and be obedient just because it wants to eat; if there is meat to eat, it will do whatever you teach it to do. People are so dominated by wealth, sex, fame, food and sleep that they don't know how to go home and walk on a dangerous road. The further they run away from home, the further they run away. Wandering in the sea of life and death without knowing how to pull out legs, look at how pitiful this is!
All living beings are either obsessed with money or obsessed with sex. They are always spinning around in these two things and cannot escape. Or obsessed with eating, obsessed with fame, or obsessed with sleeping. This is the delusion of sentient beings, a viparyāsa (distortion) that cannot be eradicated. If everyone sees through this kind of confusion and lets go, he will be at ease.
