(Continued from issue #291)
Instructional talk given by Venerable Master Hua
(8) The Dharma Realm of Animals
Animals feed on greed,
Never satiated no matter
how much they got.
Taking what’s black as white,
They don’t distinguish wrong from right.
The seven Dharma Realms discussed above are relatively good ones. You can try them out, go there and take part like a play. But you shouldn’t try out the three Dharma Realms which will be discussed now. If you try them out, you might not be able to leave. It is said, “Once you lose your human form, you may not regain it for ten thousand eons,” so this is very dangerous.
The realm of animals does not merely consist of only one kind of animal. There are billions of different species of animals. Flying animals alone have hundreds of thousands of myriads of species. There are a numerous amount of animals that walk and crawl. They may be as small as a mice, or as large as an elephant. Deers, bears, horses, and cows are also large animals. There are hundreds of thousands of myriads of species of land animals. Likewise, there are an infinite variety of aquatic creatures, such as seals, water buffaloes, and sea horses. Even physicists, chemists, biologists, zoologists, or other specialists or individuals who have Ph.D.s cannot entirely figure out all the different species of animals.
Where do animals come from? They come from greed. Animals feed on greed. No matter what it is, they want lots and lots of it, the more the better; a little won’t do. Because they are never satiated no matter how much they get. They can’t tell black from white. Taking what’s black as white, they take what is not good to be good. This shows that they have no rationality. So, they’re greedy for everything. They’re even greedy for something as filthy as dog excrement. The more they eat it, the more they find it fragrant and savory. They don’t distinguish wrong from right. They don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong. Being irrational, they can’t distinguish between right and wrong. Because of greed, they become confused. They are covered by ignorance and don’t know anything at all.
Hence, people who are greedy are in danger of turning into animals. Let me tell you, if left-home people fail to cultivate according to the precepts established by the Buddha, they will descend even quicker. The ancients had a saying, “Many of those standing at the gates of the hells are Buddhist monks and Taoist priests.” They are all waiting at the gates of the hells. Those greedy Taoist cultivators and those greedy monks thought that the hells were fun, but after they get there, they find out that it’s not fun at all.
(To be continued …)