Meditate on Karma

"Also, in addition, oh good man! Having meditated thus thoroughly on desire, the wise person then meditates on Karma. Why? A wise person thinks: ‘Feeling, image, touch and desire are defilements. Defilements really bring forth the living karma, but not the harvesting karma. This defilement goes along with karma and is composed of two kinds: 1) living karma and 2) harvesting karma. Hence, the wise person must meditate well on karma. This karma is of three kinds: body, mouth, and mind’. Oh good man! The pair, body and mouth, are called karma, and also karmic result (harvesting karma). The mind is merely called 'karma' (living karma), not 'result' (harvesting karma). As it is the cause of karma, we say 'karma'. Oh good man! We call the karmas of body and mouth the external karma (harvesting), and the mental karma the internal (living). These three karmas go together with defilements. So we have two karmas, namely: 1) living karma and 2) feeling karma.

Oh good man! 'Direct Karma' is mental karma. We say ‘temporal karma’. This refers to the karmas of body and mind. Since it appears first, we say 'mental karma’. What arise from the mental (karma) are the bodily and oral karmas. So, what is mental is called 'direct'. Having meditated on karma, a wise man must meditate on the cause of karma."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 44 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 5.

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Meditate on Desire

"Also, in addition, oh good man! Someone who is wise meditates on desire. Desire is color, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Oh good man! Thus the Tathagata speaks of the result (effect) in the stage of cause. From these five things, the desire rises to the head. And (these things) are not desire, (are its cause).

Oh good man! A person who is ignorant greedily seeks to partake of these. In these material forms, the person acquires an inverted image. And this acquisition of an inverted image extends down to 'touch'. And from the causal relation of inversion, there arises feeling. That's why I say that from this inverted image the world gains the ten images.

From the causal relation of desire, one harvests evil karmic consequences in the world. The evil is directed to parents, Shramanas, and Brahmins. One does what ought not to do, and does so deliberately, from head to foot. Thus, a person who is wise realizes the fact that this causal relation of evil evokes an covetous mind. Having thus realized the cause of evil, first the wise person meditates on the cause of covetousness, and then thinks about the karmic results. When there is much desire, there will arise many evil results, such as [the realms of] hell, hungry ghosts, animals, human and heavenly. This is what we call realizing evil results.

If someone is able to do away with the evil image, no mind of covetousness will arise. When there is no a covetous mind, does not arise any evil feeling. Without evil feeling, there can be no any evil result. That's why I first do away with the evil image. Once done away with the image of evil, things as such naturally die away. Therefore, the wise person practices the Noble Eightfold Path, in order to do away with the evil image. This is what we call 'pure action'. This is why we say that in the poisonous body of being, there is an all-wonderful medicine, as in the case of the Himalayas, where although there are poisonous grasses, there is an all-wonderful medicine, too."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 44 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 5.

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Pearls of the Universe - Volume 10

"It's hard to be born as human. This can be compared to the blooming of the Udumbara flower. But now, I have reached it [i.e., the state of a human being]. It is hard to meet the Tathagata, but now I have met him. It is hard to see and hear the pristine treasure of the Dharma, but now I heard it. This is like happen to a blind tortoise find a hole in a piece of floating wood. Life is much more brief and fleeting than the running water from a mountain stream. One lives today, but one cannot be sure of tomorrow. How can anyone abandon their thoughts to what is wrong? The pinnacle of life slips away as swiftly as a galloping horse. How can anyone depend on [what is transitory] and be arrogant? It's like the situation where a devil sits waiting by the performing of wrong actions by a human. It's the same with the devils of the four great elements. They always come and look for any fault of someone. How can anyone give occasion to evil senses?"

Read more at Pearls of the Universe - Volume 10.

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Meditate on the Cause of the Image

"How do all the innumerable images come about? One comes to known that they come about from contact. And this contact is of two kinds, namely: 1) contact by defilement, and 2) contact by Emancipation. If the image comes from ignorance, we call this ‘contact by defilement'. What comes about from ‘brightness’ is called ‘contact from Emancipation'. The contact from ignorance calls forth an inverted image, and that from Emancipation calls forth a non-inverted image. When one has meditated on the cause of the image, then meditates on the karmic result."

Bodhisattva Kasyapa said to the Buddha: "The inverted image comes about from the image of defilement. All the holy persons, truth to tell, possess inverted images and, however, do not possess defilement. How do I to understand this?"

The Buddha said: "Oh good man! In what way does a holy person possess an inverted image?"

Bodhisattva Kasyapa said: "Oh World Honored One! All the holy ones, on seeing a cow, gain the image of a cow and say this is a cow. Seeing a horse, they gain the image of a horse and say this is a horse. The same applies to man, woman, big and small, house, vehicle, come and go. This is an inversion."

"Oh good man! All beings possess two kinds of images, namely: 1) the current image (conceptual) in the world, and 2) the image from clinging. All holy people have only the image current in the world, but not any image from clinging. All beings gain the image of clinging because of the meditation by evil sensing. All holy persons do not gain the image of clinging because of [their] awakening to good. Hence, all common mortals are classified as of the inverted (image), while the holy people are not so classified, although they may know.

Having meditated on the cause of the image, a person who is wise, then meditates on the karmic results. One suffers such karmic results of evil images in the realms of hell, hungry ghosts, animals, and of humans and heavenly. As I have done away with the image of the evil awakening, I have cut off ignorance and contact. So, the image is gone. When one ends with the image, the person also removes the karmic consequences. To cut off the cause of the image, the wise person practices the Noble Eightfold Path. Oh good man! Anyone who meditates thus is called the one who practices pure deeds.

Oh good man! So I say: 'In the poisonous body of the being there is an all-wonderful medicine. Though in the Himalayas there is a [type of] poisonous grass, there is [also] an all-wonderful medicine '."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 44 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 5.

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Shared in facebook by Rossella Pan.

Meditate on Image

"Also, next, Oh good man! A wise person meditates and reflects on why the pair, feeling and touch come about, and sees that they come about through image. How? Beings see materials forms and do not acquire desire. And also, at the time of feeling, no desire arises. If someone acquires an inverted image regarding material form and says that the material form is the Eternal, Bliss, Self, and Pure, and that there can be no change; that someone, through this inversion, will acquire greed, ill-will and ignorance. Thus the wise must meditate on image.

How does one meditate on image? One should think that all beings have not yet reached the Right Way, and that they all have inverted images. What is an inverted image? Being in what is not Eternal (the fleshly body), a person has an image of [i.e. sees it as] Eternal; being in non-Bliss, a person has an image of Bliss; being in what is not Pure, it has an image of what is Pure; being in what is empty, it has an image of the Self; being in what is not male or female, big or small, day or night, month or year, clothes, home, or bedding, it has images from a man and woman down to bedding."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 44 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 5.

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The All-Wonderful Medicine of the Himalayas

Bodhisattva Kasyapa said to the Buddha: "All beings reap the karmic fruit of defilement. Defilement is evil. The defilement that arises from evil defilement is [also] evil. If so, there are two kinds. One is the 'cause' and the other the "result". As the cause is evil, the result is evil. As the fruition is evil, the seed is evil. This is as with the 'nimba' fruit. As the seed is bitter, the flower, fruit, stem, and leaves are all bitter. This is as with the seed of a poisonous tree, where as the seed is poisonous, the fruit is also poisonous. The cause is the being and the result is the being. The cause is impure, and the result is also impure. The cause and the result of defilements are beings, and beings are the cause and result of defilements. If this is indeed the inference, why the Tathagata employs the parable of the grass in the Himalayas which is poisonous, but [also] an all-wonderful medicine? If we say that defilement is the being and the being defilement, how can we say that there is a wonderful medicine in the body of a being?”

The Buddha said: "Well spoken, well spoken, Oh good man! Innumerable beings have the same doubt. You now do well to ask for an answer. I will make this point clear as well. Listen well, listen up! Think well about this. I will establish clearly now and explain this to you.

Oh good man! I speak of the Himalayas in my parable, alluding to beings therein. The poisonous grass refers to defilements, and the all-wonderful medicine refers to pure deeds. Oh good man! When beings practice these pure deeds, we say that they possess an all-wonderful medicine within them."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 44 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 5.

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Response to William Garcia

William wrote: "I received some time ago the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Dharma, and I took much time to deliver to Firmina because did not want make it in circumstances where I was.

Due the resumption of forces that propelled me in the challenge of continuous karmic transformation, I stepped into the dark and dismal environment of a police station, and handed the precious gem."

The Buddha said:

“Good men,
After my extinction,
Who can receive and uphold,
Read, and recite this Sutra,
Now, in the presence of the Buddhas should make a vow.

This Sutra is hard to uphold,
If one upholds it for but an instant,
I will rejoice,
And so will all the Buddhas.

One such as this
Shall be praised by all the Buddhas:
‘This is courage!
This is vigor,
This is called morality
And the practice of the Dhutas’."

From original: The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra
(Translated by The Buddhist Text Translation Society in USA)

Dear William,
the efforts to fulfill the vows that we made in the past will never be in vain. I congratulate you for the feat.

Marcos Ubirajara.
On May 19, 2011.

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The Defilements of Ignorance

"Defilements (of ignorance) are all those mental evil sensations in the worlds of form and formlessness, and the causal relations that operate from outside, except for all the causal relations that operate from outside and the mental sensations of the world of desire (as described above - all three are the worlds of form, formlessness, and desire). We call these defilements. Let's talk about the defilements of illusion. When someone does not know himself and what belongs to him, and when it fails to see the difference between things inside and out, we say that there are the defilements of ignorance.

Oh good man! Ignorance is the root of all defilements. Why? All beings, due to the causal relations of ignorance, call forth all imaginings and forms in the field of the five skandhas, the 12 spheres, and the 18 realms [of senses]. These are inverted notions as regards image, mind, and world-view. From these, all the defilements arise. Therefore, I state in the 12 types of sutras: 'Ignorance is the cause of greed, the cause of ill-will (laziness), and the cause of (own) ignorance'."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 43 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 4.

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The Defilement of Desire - the Prejudice

The Buddha said: "Oh good man! We speak about the defilement of desire, which is due to evil’s internal sensation that rises to the head, caused by external causal relations. That is why, in times past, at Rajagriha, I said to Ananda: ‘Accept now the gatha [verse] which the woman speaks. This gatha is what the Buddhas of the past have spoken'. For this reason, I say that the evil’s internal sensation and the causal relations that operate from outside are desire. This is the defilement of desire."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 43 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 4.

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The defilement which arises from external causal relations - Photo by Marcos Ubirajara.

Abstract of Nirvana Sutra Chapter 39

"The sixth person aspires to cross the great river of birth and death. Devoid of accumulated good, it sinks amid the waters. Coming close to a Good Teacher of the Way, it gains faith. Acquire faith is getting out. Due to faith, it upholds, recites, copies and speaks extensively about [Dharma] for the sake of beings. He takes pleasure in giving and practices Wisdom. Born sharp-minded, he is firmly grounded in faith and Wisdom, and his mind does not retrogress. Not retrogressing, it proceeds on and finally reaches shallow waters. Arriving at the shallow waters, it remains there and does not move. We say that it remains. This means that the Bodhisattva, in order to save all beings, abides there and meditates on defilement. He is like the sixth person on the banks of the river Ganges."

Read more on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 39, on Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 7.

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Response to Gislene Macedo

Gislene wrote:

"In the post - The Void as 'Not-Is' - Element – there is this part that worries me: "Oh good man! I never quarrel with the world. Why not? If the worldly knowledge says 'is', I say 'is'; if the worldly knowledge says 'not-is', I also say 'not-is'." It is there that twine myself because, how so this acceptance?"

The Sutra says the following:

Bodhisattva Kasyapa said to the Buddha: "Oh World Honored One! You, the Buddha, say that one says 'is' if the worldly knowledge says 'is', and if the worldly knowledge says 'not-is', one says 'not-is'. But what comes to be 'is' and 'not-is' of worldly knowledge?"

The Buddha said: "Oh good man! This is like when the world says: 'The matter is non-eternal, suffering, void, and non-Self', and things go thus down to consciousness. Oh good man! This is what the worldly knowledge says it's an 'is', and I, also, say it's an 'is'. Oh good man! The worldly knowledge says that matter has nothing of the Eternal, Bliss, the Self and the Pure. So it is said about feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. Oh good man! This is where the worldly knowledge says 'not-is'. I, also, say 'not-is'."

Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 42 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 3.

The Buddha says: "It's like when ...", indicating that this is an example. So, I think that these words of the Buddha, above, refer to the aspect of ‘Zeal for the Wonderful Dharma’. There are other 9 (nine) selected issues regarding to ‘Do not Quarrel with the World’, and these are in the post: "Like the Utpala - The Blue Lotus”.

In the post "The Quality of Those Who Asks" one reads: "Also, there are two further types of people. One asks about what is difficult; and the other answers well. You're the kind of person who asks well about what is difficult; the Tathagata is one who answers well. Oh, good man! Through these questions well placed, there can be the turning of the Wheel of Dharma, the killing of the great tree of the 12 links of causation, the passage of people across the vast ocean of birth and death, the good fight against the King Marapapiyas, and the overthrow of victorious banner of Papiyas."

So Gislene, thanks for asking.

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The Skandhas of the Wise

"Oh good man! When a sick person knows that his illness is mild and can be easily healed, it will not feel unhappy when a bitter medicine is prescribed to him, and will take it. It is the same case with the wise person, too. It makes effort, practices the Holy Way, is happy, does not cease (efforts) and does not feels regret.

Oh good man! If a person comes to know the defilements, the cause of defilements, the result of defilements, the lightness and heaviness of defilements, it will make efforts, eliminate defilements and practice the Way. With such a person, 'matter' [physical form] does not come about, nor provokes feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. If a person does not see defilements, the cause of defilement, the result of defilement, the lightness and heaviness of defilements, and does not undertake efforts in the practice of the Way, for such a person matter, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness will come about.

Oh good man! 'He' who sees the defilements, the cause of defilements, the result of defilements, the lightness and heaviness of defilements, and who practices the Way is the Tathagata. For this reason, the body ['rupa'] of the Tathagata is Eternal. So it is with ['his'] feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, all of which are Eternal."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 42 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 3.

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Meditate on Defilements

“Oh good man! Someone who has Wisdom thinks: 'I must get away from these defilements and I should not do such evil and low-grade things. Why not? Because [otherwise] I cannot get rid of the karmic retributions of hell, hungry ghosts, animals, human and heavenly. By practicing the Way, through this power, I shall end up with all these sufferings’. So thinking, what the person commits is mild as regard the greed, ill-will and ignorance. Being light the greed, ill-will and ignorance, the person is happy. It still thinks: 'Now, through the power of the practice of the Way, I get away from the evil things and can now draw near of Wonderful Dharma. So I conquer the Right Way. Now I will make efforts and grow up’. Now, this person makes away with all the innumerable evil defilements, and is free of retributions of hell, hungry ghosts, animals, and those of humans and heavenly. Hence, I say in my Sutras: 'One should meditate on all the defilements and on the causes of the defilements’. Why? Should any wise person meditate on the defilements, but not on the causes of defilements, it will not be able to wipe out the defilements. Why? Because any wise person can see what will arise from the cause of the defilements. I am now severed of the cause, and the defilements do not arise.

Oh good man! This is like in the case of a doctor. Once he removes the cause, the illness will not raise its head any more. It's the same with the wise person who extirpates the cause of the defilements. Someone who is wise should first meditate on the cause and, later, on the result. It sees that good results come from a good cause, and the evil (results come) from what is evil. By meditating on the result which comes about, he does away with the cause. Having meditated on the result that will arise, it must further meditate on the lightness and the heaviness of the defilements. Having meditated on lightness and heaviness, it first does away with what is heavy. When it ended with what is heavy, what is light will go away by itself.

Oh good man! If the wise person realizes the defilements, the cause of the defilements, the result of the defilements, and the lightness and the heaviness of the defilements, that person will undertake efforts on the Way, will not cease, and not feel remorse. Such a person will associate with a Good Friend and give ear to Dharma with the sincerest mind. This is all to do away with the defilements.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 42 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 3.

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Like the Utpala – The Blue Lotus

Bodhisattva Kasyapa said: "Oh World Honored One! How many things are required of a Bodhisattva-Mahasattva to be perfect, such that he does not quarrel with the world, and does not get impregnated and defiled by what one obtains in the world?"

The Buddha said: "The Bodhisattva-Mahasattva is perfect in ten things, does not quarrel with the world and does not get impregnated and defiled by what one obtains in the world. What are the ten? They are: 1) faith, 2) upholding of the precepts, 3) befriending a good friend, 4) reflects (meditates) well within one's own self, 5) efforts, 6) right remembrance, 7) Wisdom, 8 ) right words, 9) zeal for the Wonderful Dharma, and 10) compassion for all beings. Oh good man! As the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva is perfect in these ten things, he does not quarrel with the world and does not get impregnated and defiled by what one obtains in the world, as in the case of the Utpala."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 42 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 3.

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The Void as ‘Not-Is’ – Element

"Oh good man! The earth stands on the water. As water is non-eternal, the earth, too, is non-eternal. The water hovers on the wind, and as the wind is non-eternal, the water, too, is non-eternal. The wind rests on the space, and as the space is non-eternal, the wind, too, is not-eternal. If it is non-eternal, how can we say: ‘The Void is eternal and fills the space’? As the Void is empty, it has no past, present or future. As the horns of a hare are not a thing, they have no past, present or future. The things are thus. Therefore, I say: 'As the Buddha-Nature is eternal, it does not fall within the category of the Three Times. As the Void is Void, it does not fall within the category of the Three Times'.

Oh good man! I never quarrel with the world. Why not? If the worldly knowledge says 'is', I say 'is'; if the worldly knowledge says 'not-is', I also say 'not-is'."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 42 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 3.

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The Void as ‘Not-Is’ – Direction

"Oh good man! If a person says: ‘The place which one can point out is Void', know that the Void is something non-eternal. Why? We have four directions to point out. If there are the four quadrants, know that the Void, too, must possess the four directions. All that is eternal has no direction to point to. To have directions means that the Void, therefore, is non-eternal. If non-eternal, is not away from the five skandhas. If someone were to say that certainly there is separation of the five skandhas, there would be no place to (it) exist. Oh good man! If anything exists by causal relations, we can know that such a thing is non-eternal. Oh good man! For example, all beings and trees stand on the ground. As the ground is non-eternal, what stands on the ground is, therefore, non-eternal."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 42 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 3.

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The Void as ‘Not-Is’ – Dual

"A person may say: 'The Void is, also, both the eternal and the non-eternal'. This is at odds with reason. A person may say that things with common parts join up. The case is not so. Why not? The Void is all-pervading. If it joins up with what is created, what is created should also become all-pervading. If it pervades, everything must be pervading. If everything is all-pervading, everything can be joined into one. We cannot say that can exist both joining and non-joining. A person may say: ‘That which has once joined, joins up again, as in the case of two fingers which meet'. But this is not so. Why not? The joining cannot precede. The joining comes about later. If what did not exist before comes about, this is nothing more than the non-eternal. Therefore, we cannot say: 'The Void is what already was joined and [now] joins’. What one obtains in the world is what which did not exist before, but comes about later. This is as with a thing that has no eternity. If the Void stands in a thing like the fruit in a vessel, if so, it must also be non-eternal. A person may say that if the Void stands in a thing, it is like the fruit in a vessel. But this is not so. Why not? Where the Void in question could exist, not having the vessel at hands? If there is any place [for it] to exist, the Void would have to be many. If many, how could we say eternal, one, and all-pervading? If the Void exists in places outside of the Void, then a thing could well subsist without the Void. So, know that there can be no such thing (dual) as (being) the Void."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 42 - On Bodhisattva Kasyapa 3.

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