A Parable

Chapter 3

 

Sutra:

“‘I must tell them of this frightful matter, that the house has caught fire, and they must hurry and come out so as not to be burned.’ So thinking, he speaks to his sons, saying, ‘Come out, all of you quickly!’ Although the father, in his pity, induces them with good words, still all the sons are happily attached to their amusements and play and refuse to believe him. They are not frightened or afraid and have no intention of leaving. What is more, they do not know what is meant by fire, what is meant by house or what is meant by being lost. They merely run from east to west in play, staring at their father.”

Outline:

N2. Method of admonishment not suitable.

Commentary:

I must tell them of this frightful matter. I should tell the people of the Three Vehicles and those in the five paths of rebirth, that the house has caught fire. It is a terrifying situation. And they must hurry and come out so as not to be burned. If they do not leave, they will be burnt by the fire.

So thinking, he speaks to his sons, saying, ‘Come out, all of you, quickly!’ Hurry up and get out. If you do not come out right away, you will be burned by the Five Skandhas and the Five Turbidities. You do not want to be burned to death, do you? Hurry and escape so that you may leave suffering and attain bliss.

Although the father, in his pity, induces them with good words, still all the sons are happily attached to their amusements and play and refuse to believe him. They do not believe what the Elder says, and so they are not frightened or afraid of losing their lives. And have no intention of leaving. The children have no thought whatever to leave the burning house.

What is more, because they are so young, they do not know what is meant by fire; this represents the living beings in the five paths who do not know that the Eight Sufferings and the Five Skandhas can burn our Dharma-bodies and burn off our good roots. They do not know what is meant by house; that the Five Skandhas and the Six Sense Organs, the Twelve Places and the Eighteen Realms are the apparatus which creates sufferings; they are the origin of suffering.

Or what is meant by being lost. “Lost” means to turn your back on the light and go towards the darkness, to travel back and forth between birth and death and further rebirth. They do not know the cause of the injury to their Dharma-bodies.

They merely run from east to west in play, staring at their father. They run to the east for a while, and then they run to the west. They have no sense of direction, no principle, and no idea of where they are going. They are just running around confusedly. This running is just turning one’s back on the light and going towards the darkness. By running headlong into the darkness, they are born and die, over and over again. Suddenly, they are in the heavens; suddenly, they are in the hells. There is nothing fixed about it. No one is in control. They just run to the east and west.

“Staring at their father” means that, even though their father warns them, since they do not know what a fire is, what a house is, or what it means to be hurt, they just go right on revolving in birth and death and are not the slightest bit afraid. They just stare at their father, playfully as if nothing were happening. This represents their not venerating the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma and not listening to the Great Vehicle teaching. So it says, “they just stare at their father” and laugh, because they do not cultivate according to the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma.

This passage is the Admonishment Door, a warning to the children, but they do not listen. The Buddha considers quitting teaching and transforming living beings. Although it occurs to him to stop teaching, he is very compassionate and he cannot bear to forsake living beings and so he decides to think up some other method.

Sutra:

“Then, the Elder has this thought, ‘The house is already ablaze with a great fire. If my sons and I do not get out in time, we certainly shall be burned. I shall now devise an expedient device so that my sons can avoid this disaster.’”

Outline:

M2. Parable of using the carts
N1. Suitability of the three carts.

Commentary:

Having decided not to use the table, the Elder now decides to use carts to entice the children to leave the burning house.

“Then, when the Elder told the children to leave the burning house, they were so engrossed in their play that they did not realize the danger they were in. Seeing that they just ignored him, the Elder has this thought, ‘The house is already ablaze with a great fire. It is ablaze with the fire of the Eight Sufferings and the Five Skandhas. If my sons and I do not get out in time, we certainly shall be burned.’ The Buddha and the disciples of the Three Vehicles and the beings on the five paths will be burned in the fire.

Previously, the Elder said, “Although I have been able to escape safely through this burning doorway...” and now he says that he, too, is about to be burned. Isn’t this a contradiction?

Previously, he was speaking about his Dharma-body, saying it could escape safely. Here, in referring to being burned with the children in the fire, he is talking about his Response-body. So, in reading Sutras, you have to be able to tell what is going on.

I shall now devise an expedient device so that my sons can avoid this disaster. The Buddha thought, “I should set up some clever expedient method to lead living beings to escape being burned in the fire of the skandhas, sufferings, places, and realms. They will then be able to escape disaster, this harm, and not get burned in the fire.

Sutra:

“The father, knowing both the predispositions of his sons and the preferences each has for various precious toys and unusual playthings to which they happily responded…”

Outline:

N2. Knowing the children’s former delights.

Commentary:

The father, the Buddha, knowing both the predispositions of his sons and the preferences each has. It is said, “No one knows a child as well as his father.” A father will surely know how his children are predisposed, that is, he will know what they like. It is also said, “No one knows living beings as well as the Buddha.” The Buddha knows all the desires of living beings. He know what they like and what their dispositions are. The Buddha knows the natures and preferences of all living beings.

“Predispositions” refers to the Small Vehicle Buddhadharma which they cultivated in the past. Everyone has his own preference. Some people cultivate giving, some cultivate the Four Truths, others cultivate the Twelve Conditioned Causes. The Dharmas each person cultivates are the preferences they have. So, the Buddha knows living beings’ hearts, what they prefer. What do they prefer?

Various precious toys and unusual playthings: This represents the Four Truths, the Twelve Conditioned Causes and so forth. All beings have their preferences when it comes to the Dharma-doors of the Three Vehicles. To which they happily responded: I will take a guess according to the situation, and figure out what dharmas they like.

Sutra:

“…speaks to them, saying, ‘The things you will love to play with are rare and hard to get. If you do not take them, you will certainly regret it later. Things such as these: a variety of sheep carts, deer carts, and ox carts, are now outside the door for you to play with. All of you should quickly come out of this burning house and I shall give you whatever you want.’”

Outline:

N3. Praising the three carts as rare.

Commentary:

Speaks to them, saying, “The things you will love to play with are rare and hard to get. The toys you have now are not that fine. You should not be attached to them. In the burning house, there is nothing to be fond of; it is, in fact, very dangerous. All of you should not play with those toys, because I have some other fine things. I have some really super toys. You have never seen toys as much fun as these. They are brand new. See? They are very rare. They are imported!

If you do not take them, you will certainly regret it later. You will be sorry. Now, come right out and I will give them to you. Things such as these: a variety of sheep carts, deer carts, especially beautiful. You have never seen anything like them. So pretty! If you want a sheep cart, I will give you a sheep cart. If you want a deer cart, I will give you a deer cart. Ox carts are even less of a problem. Just hurry and get out. They are now outside the door for you to play with. I have put them right here, outside the door. So come on out! The sheep cart represents the Hearer Vehicle. The deer cart represents the Conditioned Enlightened Vehicle. The ox cart represents the Bodhisattva Vehicle. The three carts are the Three Vehicles.

A sheep drawn cart can only pull small things, and so it represents the Small Vehicle. The deer has more strength than the sheep and can pull more things. An ox cart is more powerful than a deer drawn cart. It can pull people and things--a lot of them. So the carts represent the Small, Middle, and Great Vehicles. They are all right outside the door, and they are lots of fun to play with. You can get in them and go wherever you want.

All of you should quickly come out of this burning house. Come on, you kids, hurry and get out. Quick! And I shall give you whatever you want. Do not hang around in the burning house. Hurry right out!

Sutra:

“Then the children, hearing their father speak of these precious playthings which suited their wishes exactly, eagerly push and shove one another aside in a mad scramble, all fighting to get out of the burning house.”

Outline:

N4. Granting the childrens’ wishes.

Commentary:

Then the children, those of the Three Vehicles, hearing their father speak of these precious playthings, the Dharma-door of the Three Vehicles, which suited their wishes. They were so new and wonderful they aroused the children’s curiosity. They are exactly what they wanted, what they had hoped for. They had hoped for the Dharma of the Three Vehicles and so the Buddha spoke it to them. This was his clever expedient to rescue living beings in the Five Paths. He could not speak about the One Buddha Vehicle, because they were so busy playing that they had forgotten everything. They had forgotten all their Dharmas and were caught up in the Three Realms.

It was not until the very end that the Buddha spoke of the One Buddha Vehicle, the real, genuine Dharma. The Dharma Flower Sutra sets forth this real wonderful Dharma. There is nothing in it which is provisional. So the Great Master Zhi Zhe spoke of this Sutra as purely perfect and solitarily wonderful. It is the Dharma-door of the Perfect Teaching.

In studying the Sutras, we must certainly be respectful. We cannot call the Patriarchs by their names. For example, the Sixth Patriarch cannot be called “Hui Neng.” He should be called the Great Master the Sixth Patriarch. For a common person to call out a Great Master’s name is a most disrespectful thing. The First Patriarch Bodhidharma, for example must be called by his title with the addition of the pharse “Great Master.” The Great Master Zhi Zhe cannot just be called “Zhi Zhe.”

If students of the Buddhadharma do not pay proper respect to the ancients and the patriarchs, they will be unable to understand the Buddhadharma. You must be very respectful and add the term “Great Master” or “Venerable” to their names. You cannot just call out “Hui Neng” to show that you are higher than he is!

You can call children by their names, but not your elders. This is something that students of the Dharma must take note of. Do not study the Buddhadharma on one hand and create offenses on the other. In studying the Dharma, you should eradicate offense karma. If you study it on one hand and fail to respect it, you will only increase your offense karma. It will increase to the point that people who were clear-headed will become confused and not follow the rules.

To speak of this passage in terms of the Three Kinds of Wisdom, the phrase “which suited their wishes exactly” refers to the Wisdom of Hearing. It shows that “the potential beings and the teaching are well-suited to one another.” Each of the children had a favorite toy. This represents the Buddha setting up clever expedient Dharma-doors in which all beings take delight. Since this passage indicates the Wisdom of Hearing, it points to the cultivation of the Four Applications of Mindfulness.

The word “eagerly” here means that their hearts became very bold. It represents the Wisdom of Thought. This kind of thought is done by means of Contemplative Prajna. It is not the false thought of ordinary people. This kind of thought comes from the investigation of Dhyana. If you are eager, vigorous, and go forward in your cultivation, you must have the sword of wisdom. This sword of wisdom can distinguish right from wrong and prevent one from taking the wrong path.

What is the wrong path? It means to know clearly that something is wrong, but deliberately do it. One may know that something is wrong, but insist on doing it anyway. This is because one lacks the wisdom sword and is stupid. Not only is such a person stupid, he is the stupidest of people.

Before we have understood the Buddhadharma, if we take the wrong road, it is because we do not understand true principle. Have entered the door of the Dharma, and even taken refuge with the Triple Jewel, one must offer up one’s conduct in accord with the teaching. If one does not, in the future, one is sure to fall into the hells. There is not the slightest doubt about it. Why? Because one clearly knew that it was wrong and did it anyway. If one has genuine wisdom, one would not do wrong things. “Push and shove” means that when the children, those of the Seven Expedients, heard there were new toys, they looked into the Four Holy Truths and having done so they were able to subdue and sever view delusion.

One another aside: This refers to their contemplation of the Four Holy Truths: suffering, origination, extinction, and the Way. In so doing, they are able to sever the view delusions. Thus, the phrase “push and shove one another aside” refers to their investigation of the Four Truths which leads to the subjugation of view delusion.

This passage also refers to the Four Additional Practices: “One another aside” refers to the first two, heat and summit. “In a mad scramble” refers to the third, patience. “All” refers to the fourth, highest mundane Dharma. These Four Additional Practices were discussed in the Shurangama Sutra.

A mad scramble refers to the Position of Seeing the Way, that is, the First Fruit of Arhatship. At this position view delusions have been severed. View delusion is defined as giving rise to greed and love when facing an external state. Now these delusions have been severed and one “sees as if not seeing,” “loves and yet does not love.” There is no view delusion. However, having reached first stage Arhatship one has only ended share section birth and death. One has not ended change birth and death. One has not yet reached the place where the “two deaths eternally cease.”

What is share section birth and death? It refers to each person having his own share and his own section. Your share refers to your body, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. Your section refers to your alloted lifespan from your day of birth until death which are controlled by your karma. Sages of the first fruit have ended this share section birth and death.

Fighting to get out: This refers to the Way of thought, that is, cutting off the last of the thought delusions in order to certify to the stage beyond study, fourth stage Arhatship. When one has certified to the fourth stage of Arhatship, one can escape the Three Realms. If one has not certified to the fourth stage of Arhatship, one cannot escape the Three Realms. At fourth stage Arhatship, view delusions and thought delusions have both been cut off. At that time:

One passes beyond the Three Realms,
Is not within the Five Elements.
One is not confined by one’s temper or
Pressured by desire for things.

“Temper” refers to our nasty dispositions inherited from our parents. We may try to get free of our bad tempers, but it is not easy. We are tied up by our dispositions and cannot get free of them.

You may think, “I am very free. I just do what I please.” It is just your “doing as you please” that makes you unfree! You are being controlled by your disposition. You like the movies, and so all day long you watch movies. Ultimately, what use is it?

“Well, it is fun.” When the fun is over, then what? What benefit is it?

“Well, at least I am happy for a short time.”

So you are happy for a short time, but who knows how much time you will spend suffering? At the very least, after a movie your eyes are tired and you lack energy. That is an obvious form of suffering. Or perhaps you enjoy various forms of pleasure thinking they are blissful when actually they are the roots of suffering. You take suffering as bliss, and you have been tied up by your habits. You would like to transcend the Three Realms, but you cannot get out. You want to study the Buddhadharma? Your temperament grabs you and prevents you from doing so. “Studying the Buddhadharma is of no great use. It would be better take a nap or have something to eat. At least that will help out the body.”

Not pressured by desire for things.” You are not pushed or covered over with desire for material things. What gets covered over? Your wisdom.

“No” you say, “I feel like I get smarter and smarter every day.”

If you like to smoke, drink, or take drugs, these are all desires for material things which cover over you self-nature’s bright light and Prajna wisdom so that you do things that are upside-down, things involved with deviant knowledge and views. Because we are confined by our tempers and pressured by a desire for things, we are caught in the Three Realms and never make it out. Would you like to get out? Then, use your Prajna wisdom sword to cut off all your temper and lust for things, and then you can certainly transcend the Three Realms.

Like the children, we should fight to get out of the burning house. Do not dally thinking it is fun. It may be “fun,” but it is also the most dangerous place you could possibly be. Students of the Buddhadharma must grab hold of proper knowledge and views in order to get out of the Three Realms.

A few days ago, I heard one of my disciples gossip. He said he knew that before he was climbing on conditions to get people to make offerings and now he knows that this is wrong. This proves that he has not wasted his time in cultivation. He has obtained a bit of the benefits of Dhyana Samadhi, and he should take care to guard his state and not relax. His state is the same as the First Dhyana, but he must continue to work hard. There are very few Westerners who cultivate the Way. People who are confused about the Way are many. Before you left home, you were also confused. Now everyday you meditate and work hard and investigate the Buddhadharma; this means that you have made progress.

After this, you should address left-home people as “Dharma Master.” You cannot just call out their names. A few days ago, I told you that you cannot casually call out the name of the past patriarchs. You also should not call out the names of the present patriarchs. You now are future American patriarchs. All you need to do is do a good job. In the future when you become enlightened and have a bit of spiritual powers you will have success. So now, all my disciples must call each of the left-home people by the title “Dharma Master.” We shall set up rules now so that it will become a custom in the future. The Dharma-name is basically a name that only one’s Master or other high monks can use. Ordinary people do not call people by their Dharma-names. They may use their other names. Lay people should not look at the faults of those who have left home. If they have faults, they will gradually improve and you should not blame them for them.

Today we received notice of the upcoming precept-transmission in Taiwan. This time, the transmission will be very good, because they will provide the three robes and the bowl and sitting cloths as gifts to create affinities. In the past, on the mainland, they do not always do this. They sent a lot of forms, but we do not know how many people will be going to take the precepts. If you would like to go, you should apply early.

I am very happy that some of my disciples are going to leave home. I am so happy in fact that I cannot even sleep at night! I just think, “Oh, they really work hard.” But though the left-home people work hard and eat one meal a day, you lay people should work hard, too. You should work even harder than the left-home people and not just go to sleep all day, fail to listen to the lectures, and when the time comes, refuse to recite the Sutras. If you act like that, in the future you will become a snake. If as a lay person in the temple you do not recite Sutras or cultivate the Dharma it is very, very dangerous. You should not think you can get off so cheaply. If things get dangerous, I will be even more on edge and lose more sleep at night. When I am too happy, I cannot sleep. When I am worried, I cannot sleep, either. If my lay disciples do not cultivate and turn into snakes, I will lose sleep over it. So everyone of you should work hard. Do not wait until someone is watching over you to start working. You should be diligent.

Lay people should be addressed as “Layman so and so...” If you call them by that title, they will think, “I ought to do a good job.” When you say “Dharma Master” they think, “He is calling me Dharma Master.” Then, even if they wanted to relax a little, they would not. “I am a Dharma Master and I should study a little more Buddhadharma,” or “I am a lay person and I ought to support the Buddhadharma.” So everyone will live up to their names and walk down the road to Buddhahood. “Oh ho! So that is what becoming a Buddha is all about!” You will think when you get there. So from today on, the lay people must respect one another and be compassionate towards all. The best thing would be to look at other’s strong points and ignore their weaknesses. Those with strong points should be encouraged to make them even stronger. Those with weaknesses should gradualy turn them into strong points. This is my hope for each of you. I have the same equal compassionate regard for all of you and certainly am not closer to any one of you than to any other. Whoever cultivates, and genuinely works and practices the Buddhadharma is my real “jewel” of a disciple. If you do not work hard, then I can only sigh, “This person...I have no way to save him,” and I would not be able to sleep. That is the way it is.

Sutra:

“At that time, the Elder, seeing that all his sons had gotten out safely and were seated on the ground at the crossroads, is without further obstruction; his mind is at peace and he is filled with joy.”

Outline:

L3. Parable of giving all a great cart.
M1. The father rejoices on seeing the children escape the danger.

Commentary:

At that time, the Elder, the Buddha, seeing that all his sons have gotten out safely and are seated on the ground at the crossroads. The Buddha saw that the living beings had gotten out of the burning house and were sitting on the ground at the crossroads. The crossroads represents the method of contemplation of the Four Truths: The method of contemplation of suffering, the method of contemplation of origination, the method of contemplation of extinction, and the method of contemplation of the Way. This contemplation leads to the wisdom of suffering, the wisdom of origination, the wisdom of extinction, and the wisdom of the Way. “On the ground” means that, in cultivating the Four Truths to certify to the fruit, one severs entirely the delusions of views and thought in the three realms. “Seated” means they have certified to the fruit and do not seek further progress. Certifying to the first fruit, one does not seek the second; certifying to the second fruit, one does not seek the third and so on. One just sits there and stops.

People in the three realms are as if tied up by the revolving wheel of the six paths. Now, seated at the crossroads they have transcended the revolving wheel. What is meant by his mind is at peace? The Buddha’s heart was at peace, because he had seen all living beings safely get out of the burning house and certify to the fruit of Arhatship. He is filled with joy, because the disciples had avoided the disaster. What disaster? That of being burned by the eight sufferings, five skandhas, six senses, twelve places, and the eighteen realms--the various kinds of sufferings, and so the Buddha was filled with joy.

A father may have sons or daughters who have to undergo danger or trouble. When he hears that his sons and daughters have escaped the danger, he is very happy. This is like now, everyone here is very vigorous in studying the Buddhadharma and comes to listen to the Dharma. During the day they work and it is very tiring. When time comes for the Sutra lecture, no matter how far away they are, they come to listen. This causes your teacher’s heart to be very happy. He thinks, “These students of the Dharma are so sincere.” If none of you came to hear the Buddhadharma as I was lecturing here, it would like when Dharma Master Yin Guang lectured in Nanjing--only one person was in the audience, night after night. Finally, he spoke with him and said, “So you find my Sutra lectures interesting, do you?”

The man replied, “I do not have any idea what you are talking about. I do not understand any of it.”

“Then what are you doing here?” said Master Yin Guang. “I am waiting for you to finish so I can put the chairs away,” he said.

Master Yin Guang’s heart was pained. “I thought I had a real friend here when all the time there was not a single person!” Master Yin Guang had a lot of Way virtue. He went into seclusion on Mount Putuo for eighteen years and saw no guest in all that time. What was he doing those eighteen years? Reading the Tripitaka. Later, he wrote many articles. They are extremely good, because he developed his wisdom by reading the Tripitaka. He was the thirteenth Patriarch of the Pure Land School. He had a lot of virtuous practice, yet no one listened to him lecture on the Sutras. Why not? Because he did not do a lot of advertising or pressure people into coming. He never put ads in the paper.

Now, when I am lecturing in Chinese and so many Westerners come to listen, my lectures are translated into English. Whose merit is this? The translator’s. If no one translated, no one would know what I was saying. So I am very happy.

A Story: Do not Let Your House Burn Down!

Speaking of children fighting to get out of the burning house, that reminds me of a story. There was once an old married couple who cultivated the Pure Land Dharma-door. They recited “Namo Amitabha Buddha” everyday. Someone told them, “When you recite, you should get the Buddha-recitation Samadhi. After you obtain that samadhi, when the wind blows it would not blow on you, and the rain would not fall on you. At that time, you will certainly gain great advantage.”

One day, the old couple’s daughter-in-law had to go to work. She could not find a baby-sitter for her three and four year old children, so she gave them to the old couple to look after. The children were very mischievious and started playing with matches, lighting little fires. The old man told the old lady, “Go tell the kids not to light fires. They could burn the house down!”

The woman said, “You just keep minding trivial matters. How can you expect to attain the Buddha-recitation Samadhi that way? The Buddha-recitation Samadhi means you cannot pay attention to any external matters at all. What are you doing watching over the kids?”

The old man thought, “All right. I will just forget it,” and continued his recitation. If I keep reciting the Buddha’s name, it will generate enough merit to keep the house from catching on fire.”

So the two of them kept reciting until, finally, the house did catch on fire! The old couple did not even know, because they were not paying attention. When a neighbor came over to put out the fire, he saw the house was half-burned already and the other half was going fast, but the old couple was just sitting there reciting the Buddha’s name. “How can you ignore the children, let the house burn down, and not even get out yourselves?” he cried.

The old man glanced at his wife and said, “See? I told you the kids were playing with fire, and you said not to pay any attention to it but to concentrate on getting the Buddha-recitation Samadhi. The house has burned down; have you got the Samadhi?”

The old woman said, “Well, why wasn’t the recitation effective? We recited and the house burned down anyway. Probably there is nothing efficacious about recitation at all.”

Actually, she was just superstitious. Kids do not know what is going on. They have to be watched over. You cannot just let them play with fire. Thus, a perfectly good home turned into the a burning house. Although they did not get out themselves, luckily a good knowing advisor was able to rescue them at the last minute.

Now, we are talking about getting out of the burning house; we should not act as stupidly and superstitiously as that old couple. Do not think that just because you recite the Buddha’s name there will be no fire. Recitation brings its own merit and virtue, but if you do not watch over the children, the danger of fire is till ever-present.

Someone asks, “The Sutra says that if one who recites the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva happens to enter into a great fire, the fire will not burn them. Why, when they were reciting Amitabha Buddha did the house catch on fire?”

The Sutra is referring to one who accidentally “happens” to enter a great fire. If someone is standing there while the house accidently catches fire, that situation differs from the former. The first is a fire which could not be prevented. The latter is one which the old man already knew about, but ignored. They knew the kids might start a fire, but paid them no mind. Thus, the house caught fire.

Students of the Buddhadharma should not be like that muddled old couple. Do not think that you can rely on reciting the Buddha’s name and nothing will happen. That is just being stupid. Reciting the Buddha’s name is reciting the Buddha’s name, but if something happens, you have to be prepared. It is said, “If you are prepared, there are no emergencies.

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