Issue 307

Eternally Dwelling of the Ten Directions is a place where any Sangha member from the Ten Directions may dwell.

Current Eternally Dwelling refers to the people who are currently living here.

Current Eternally Dwelling of the Ten Directions. People coming from the Ten Directions all have a share here. This denotes the presence of possessions left by deceased Sangha members. These possessions could be little things, valuable items or precious treasures. It is not definitive since there is nothing definitive in the sangha. The things left behind by deceased sangha members will be divided among the Current Eternally Dwelling of the Ten Directions. Current Eternally Dwelling are those currently living there temporarily; those who come afterwards do not have a share. In contrast, those of Current Eternally Dwelling of the Ten Directions are available for all to share, regardless of who come earlier or later.

Who defile Bhikshus or Bhikshunis… Bhikshus are male monastics (monks); bhikshunis are female monastics (nuns). Since the nuns have left the household life, some brutes bully, harass and rape them. Such people commit offenses.

Who commit sexual acts within the Sangharama…The Sangharama is a place of serene stillness; in other words, a bodhimandala or temple. No one should be indulgent or unruly by engaging in sexual activity at any Sangharama, or any place where there is a Buddha image. There was a man who suffered from genital ulcer. He asked Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana the reason for his disease and was told, “In your past life, you wantonly engaged in sexual activity in the Sangharama. Having committed this offense, your male genital often festers with sores.” Although he was speaking to a man, this principle also applies to women. Anyone who violates this rule and regulation will, in the future, descend to the hells. After they leave the realm of hells, they will be reborn with genitals that often grow ulcers and are incurable. You should believe in the causality of these causes and conditions. Otherwise, you will undergo retributions in the future.

Or who kill or harm beings there…those who murder or hurt the victim of an unsuccessful rape attempt, such people will fall into the Relentless Hell where for thousands of billions of eons they will seek escape in vain. ‘Such people’ refers to those who usurp or harm the property of the Eternally Dwelling, who defile Bhikshus or Bhikshunis, who commit sexual acts within the Sangharama, or who kill or harm beings there.

Some people feel that the more they study Buddhism, the more inconvenient things become; the more they practice, the less freedom they enjoy. By not studying and practicing Buddhadharma, your loss of freedom comes later, whereas, practicing Buddhadharma now constrains you in the present. By studying Buddhadharma now, you increase your good roots. By not practicing Buddhadharma now, you increase your karmic obstructions. With increased karmic obstructions, you lose your freedom forever. When you practice Buddhadharma, the constraints you feel are temporary and short-term. If you prefer to forever lose your freedom, you do not need to study Buddhism. If you want to be free in the future, then a little less freedom in the meantime is acceptable. The loss of freedom from studying Buddhadharma is short-term; in comparison, the loss of freedom from not studying Buddhadharma is eternal. You do the math. Weigh the odds for yourself.

Beings who seem to be Shramanas but in their minds are not Shramanas, who destroy the things of the Eternally Dwelling, who deceive lay people, who go against the precepts, and who commit many other evil deeds, will fall into the Relentless Hell where for thousands of billions of eons they will seek escape in vain.

There are four kinds of Shramana:

The Shramana of the Way of Sages
The Shramana who speaks of the Way
The Shramana who lives the Way
The Shramana who defiles the Way

Shramana of the Way of Sages refers to the Buddhas and great Bodhisattvas.

Shramana who speaks of the Way refers to those who spend their lives explaining sutras and expounding dharmas, particularly greatly virtuous monks and Arhats who have certified to fruition.

Shramana who lives the Way takes cultivation of the Way as his very life.

Shramana who defiles the Way refers to those discussed in the sutra passage cited here, those who defile the Way.

The word Shramana has three meanings, which are not three but two, and these two meanings are just one. Buddhadharma is simply wonderful. What is the one meaning of Shramana? It means “diligence” and “rest”. Diligence means not lazy; rest means relaxation, non-diligence and laziness. So, Shramana has two sides; one points to laziness, the other to diligence. The lazy side says to the diligent side, “Don’t bother working, relax and take it easy.” The diligent side replies, “Oh! Don’t be lazy; follow me and cultivate the Way.” There’s a tug of war between the two sides. The side with greater strength will pull the other over. If the power of diligence is greater, the lazy side loses; if the power of laziness is greater, the diligent side loses. So, these are the two meanings of the word Shramana – diligence and rest.

But I also said that this word has three meanings. How? There are three aspects to both “diligence” and “rest”. The threefold aspect of diligence refers to diligently cultivating morality (precepts), samadhi, and wisdom. The threefold aspect of rest is putting to rest greed, hatred, and delusion.

What is meant by “precepts”? It means refraining from all evil deeds and carrying out all good deeds.  In other words, it  means to stop what is evil and  guard against mistakes. So, how many different types of precepts are there? There are the Five Precepts: abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and intoxicants. We also have the Eight Precepts, the Ten Precepts of Shramaneras, the Two Hundred and Fifty Precepts of Bhikshus, the Three Hundred and Forty-Eight Precepts of Bhikshunis, the Bodhisattva Precepts which consist of ten major and forty-eight minor ones. Some people say that Bhikshunis have five hundred precepts. Let’s not bother with that. Nowadays, most receive the three hundred and forty-eight precepts.

Samadhi (concentration) is developed by meditation. It must be cultivated; without cultivation, samadhi cannot be developed. Why do people need to meditate often? Frequent practice of meditation develops samadhi bit by bit. When you first begin to meditate, you have no samadhi, and your mind runs off in all directions. In one moment, your mind runs to the heavens and to the hells; in the next, to the Buddhas and to the Bodhisattvas. Or your mind wanders off to the realm of horses, cows, sheep, chickens, dogs and pigs. Look! Your mind does not need to buy a ticket. It can readily roam the heavens, the hells and anywhere it fancies. Why does your mind wander off? Because it has no samadhi. By practicing meditation, you are telling your mind to not wander off, to stop running off to the east and west, up and down. Someone is thinking, “Why bother developing concentration? I feel great without it. Look here! In dancing, you are never still. You prance and leap about. It’s much more interesting than sitting still like a piece of wood. What are the benefits of samadhi? I think this is too old school.”