Chapter 31: To silence in heart removes the desire.

(Chapter 31) A Brief Talk about The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha 

Co-translators in the time of Eastern Han Dynasty, China(A.D. 25 - 200) : 

Kasyapa Matanga and Zhu Falan (Who translated the said Scripture from Sanskrit into Chinese. )

Translator in modern time (A.D.2018: Tao Qing Hsu (Who translated the said Scripture from Chinese into English.)

Teacher and writer for explaining the said Scripture: Tao Qing Hsu

Chapter 31: To silence in heart removes the desire.       

The Buddha said,” There is someone who is suffering from fornications and can't stop, and wants to cut off his penis by himself.” The Buddha told him, “If you cut off your penis, it would be better to cut off your heart. The heart is like Gong Cao. If Gong Cao stops, the followers will halt. If the evil heart could not stop, what are the benefits to cut off the penis?” The Buddha said the verse to him:” The desire is happened from your consciousness. Your consciousness is occurred from your thought. If the two hearts are silent separately, there is no the erotic nor the action.” The Buddha said,” This verse is spoken by the Buddha Kasyapa.”        

 

”There is someone who is suffering from fornications and can't stop, and wants to cut off his penis by himself.”

 

There is someone who is suffering from the strong desire of and behavior of sex and cann’t stop it. I use the character “fornications” to include the meaning of promiscuousness, licentiousness and lewdness. In a word, there is a person who is male and has the strong impulse of sex and thus pushes him to do a lot of things about sex. However, it has brought a lot of troubles to him. So he wants to use the method to cut off his penis by himself so as to stop his fornications and its troubles.

 

The Buddha told him, “If you cut off your penis, it would be better to cut off your heart.

 

Here, the heart means the mind or thought. “Cut off” also means “stop, abandon, or eliminate.”

 

The meaning is: if you want to cut off your penis with knife, it would be better to stop, abandon, or eliminate any of your thoughts about sex.

 

The heart is like Gong Cao. If Gong Cao stops, the followers will halt.

 

Gong Cao is transliterated from Chinese characters, which means an ancient official position. Here, it means the major command. Gong Cao is also like the boss who can command the subordinate to do anything. The heart is like Gong Cao, which also means that the heart is the initially cause. ”If Gong Cao stops”, it means any thought doesn’t be occurred any more. That is, to stop any initially cause, to abandon the major command. “The followers will halt”, here the followers means our consciousness which is eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. Such six subjects have their functions of distinguishing and feeling, which are the consciousness. When the Gong Cao stops, the followers halt. That is, when any thought for sex is not occurred, the said six subjects will rest.

 

If the evil heart could not stop, what are the benefits to cut off the penis?

 

Here, the evil heart means the thoughts of the erotic, the fornication and the promiscuousness, licentiousness and lewdness. To cut off the penis could not cease the unsteady heart. If the evil heart could not be ceased, the six consciousness are still vigorous by following the outside erotic subjects and events, and thus keep turned to appear the behavior of sex. We thus know, to cut off the penis could not resolve the problems brought by the erotic desire and behavior.

 

Even today, there is a lot of crime and murder caused by the impulse of sex, which is still happened in each country. Any law and positive propaganda for stopping the harm caused by the impulse of sex couldn't make the good effect in the poor country.  In these countries, the male couldn't have the good chance to have the good education, not to mention that they could have the chance to accept the teaching of Buddha and to read this article. In the circumstances, even to cut off the penis, it is still impossible to stop the inner erotic desire, the behavior of sex and thereafter the commit crime.  

 

In some religion or in some countries, it asks the people to be cautious for their inner erotic desire. However, they are not to demand themselves to do so, but to demand females. Males force girls to cut off their clitoris so as to avoid them to be promiscuous, licentious and lewd. And males force girls and women not to expose their face and body so as to avoid to attract males and to cause their sex impulse. Such thoughts and behavior, which is unfair events for females and shocks me, is reported and criticized in Taiwan’s media.

 

The desire is happened from your consciousness. Your consciousness is occurred from your thought. If the two hearts are silent separately, there is no the erotic nor the action.

 

When we profoundly understand any teaching of Buddha, we will find that all the teaching of Buddha is self-demanding, self-introspection and self-enlightenment. This is a fairly civilized and progressive education.

 

The inner erotic desire is happened from our six-consciousness as mentioned above. Our six-consciousness is occurred from our thought. Here, the two hearts means the six-consciousness and the thought. If our thought and our six-consciousness are both still, any inner erotic desire and any thereafter behavior could not be happened. 

 

No matter the change of outside subject and its phenomena, it would not affect us, when our thought and six-consciousness are steady in the stillness. Even though the girl’s face is extremely gorgeous or her body is extremely hot, it could not attract those males, whose thought and six-consciousness are both silent, to do any harmful thing through the behavior of sex.

 

In a word, to be cautious for the inner erotic desire and its evil behavior is not dependent on the physiology, body, outside form, or other people’s behavior and their discipline, but on the self-stillness in the inner heart, self-mentality and self-discipline.

 

Kasyapa is Sanskrit. The Buddha Kasyapa is the teacher of, the master of Buddha Shakyamuni. This verse was taught by Buddha Kasyapa to Buddha Shakyamuni.

Chapter 30: Depart far away from the desire-fire

(Chapter 30) A Brief Talk about The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha 

Co-translators in the time of Eastern Han Dynasty, China(A.D. 25 - 200) : 

Kasyapa Matanga and Zhu Falan (Who translated the said Scripture from Sanskrit into Chinese. )

Translator in modern time (A.D.2018: Tao Qing Hsu (Who translated the said Scripture from Chinese into English.)

Teacher and writer for explaining the said Scripture: Tao Qing Hsu

Chapter 30: Depart far away from the desire-fire      

The Buddha said,” Those who act the Dao are such as putting on the dried grass, must avoid it, when the fire comes. When the Daoist people see the desire, they must depart far away from it.”

  

The desire-fire is the fire of desire, which means that the desire is like the fire (the fire of worries, the fire of greed or hatred), which could destroy anything in life and cause any damage. Mostly, the fire gives us the negative impression, because it might hurt us, including our life. In this chapter, the fire is based on the negative concept to be used as analogy. It is not only necessary for us to leave it away, but also necessary for us to "cease or extinguish the fire", which means to remove the negative mentality and emotion, such as the inside desire, greed, or hatred. It also means to remove the harm caused by the desire,  greed or hatred.  

 

Dao is Tao, which is transliterated from Chinese Character. Dao originally means path, road or way. The meaning of Dao is extended to be any system of education, including any teaching in any religion. Therefore, the meaning of Dao is very broad. In Buddhism, the Buddha also uses the original meaning of the character “Dao” as the explaining or the defining. That is when the honesty disciples want to practice the truth in life, what the principle is they can put it into the practice in real life. In a word, Dao is some truth, principle and method to enlighten self from the meditation by self and the practicing the teaching of Buddha. In other words, the truth and all the enlightenment from the self and the Buddha is also the Dao.

What is the difference between Buddhism and Daoism in Chinese?

 

To know the truth in life is not enough. As a Buddhist monk or a general person who wants to study the Buddhism, it is necessary to put the truth into practice, which is called to act the Dao. I use the word "acting-Dao”, "practicing-Dao" and “Dao-practicer”. Therefore, please do not mistakenly understand the Dao to be the Daoism. In Chinese culture, there is some kind of different between Buddhism and Daoism (Taoism). What is the difference between them? In a word, the appearance, form, method and the way of practicing the Dao is different. 

Meanwhile, what the nouns to be used to introduce and explain the gods is different. However, the goal that the truth they want to practice and to enlighten self is the same. Thus, the Buddhism and the Daoism could accept each other and there is no conflict. Furthermore, the Buddhism and Daoism could accept the other righteous religion, such as Christianity and Catholicism. Do you know why? In the emptiness in mind as if in the universe and as if in the sky and earth, there is nothing which could not be included.  

 

From the above explanation, here the Daoist people mean those people who practice the Dao in Buddhism. I call them as Dao-practicer. You could also use “Dao-practicer” instead of “Daoist people”. In this chapter, I hope that you do not mistakenly understand that the Daoist people mean those people who learn Daoism.

For the Dao-practicer, there are two kind of the desire which have to be departed from.

 

For the Dao-practicer, there are two kind of the desire which have to be departed from. One is the desire of the erotic and the other is the desire of the greed. The Buddha talked about the erotic desire and the greedy desire for many times in The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha. There are a lot of chapters to remind the honesty Buddhist monk to be cautious for the erotic desire and the greedy desire. I also explain it a lot in those chapters. The erotic desire is also one of the greedy desires, if we deeply perceive it, we can find it.

 

The Buddha said that the greedy desire is the source of suffering. For the masses, they do not have such perceiving and thus do a lot of harmful thing for the self and others. They could not understand the dangerous of the greedy desire, unless they have experienced the greedy desire in life, tasted the bitter consequence and suffered it.  Or, they have accepted the teaching of Buddha and thus have been beginning to think and perceive why the greedy desire is the source of suffering. 

 

In the world, there are a lot of harmful cases caused by the greedy desire or the erotic desire every day. In the history, there are also a lot of cases as said. Many people are followed to and turned by their own greedy desire and the erotic desire and thus to do harmful thing to others people. They might just see the self-interests or just self-enjoy the happiness in the present. However, they do not see the consequence which would harm self and others. There are many such similarly events, which we can find in the tyrannical and brutal government, or in any society, even in the environment which surrounds us. 

 

The greedy and erotic desire is the cause, which would link the many and complicated conditions coming from the outer environment. Then, such cause and conditions would let the person to do any harmful thing by violating its personal good self-nature, to harm the self and others people.

A news reminds us not only have to be cautious for our own greedy and erotic desire, but also have to be cautious for other peoples’ greedy and erotic desire, so as to avoid any troubles.  

Recently, in Taiwan, there is social news which attracts my attention. A couple married less than three months since they have known each other in the Internet. The female is 45 years old and older than the male for 7 years old. The female don’t get along well with the male’s parents. So, they move out from the male’s parents’ home. One day, the female find that the name of beneficiaries of her husband’s insurance policies is her husband’s father, she asks her husband to change the name of beneficiaries to be her name. But, the man doesn’t do that. Then, the female’s mood begins to change and she starts to deliberately cause trouble to the man. She accuses the man for doing the domestic violence to her and also threatens the man that she wants to spill gasoline on him to start a fire as fighting back.

 

In another day, this couple goes back to the male’s parents’ home. The female begins to deliberately make trouble to her mother-in-law, to threaten her with knife, to slap her face and kick her foot, and to throw foods to everywhere on the floor from the refrigerator. When polices come, she even accuses her mother-in-law to hurt her. All such badly behaviors are secretly recorded by her husband and the film is sent to the male’s best friend.

 

Finally, in the male’s parent’s home, the female indeed spill gasoline on her husband to start a fire, which cause the male severe burn and being sent to the ICU. Meanwhile, the female’s face is severe burned and ruined. What happened as mentioned above is less than one year since they married. And the man dies in the end after one month. 

 

From this case, we know that, it is not only men who would engage in domestic violence. Women would also do it. This case also lets us know that the greedy desire from others people can hurt us and our family, no matter they is male or female. In this case, we find that this man doesn’t be cautious for his erotic desire and indulge in and confused by this female. Meanwhile, He also doesn’t be cautious for the greedy desire from this female. And thus it brings the seriously trouble to him and his parents. For this woman, she doesn’t be cautious for her own greedy desire and thus she engages in the domestic violence to her family-in-law by violate her good nature, and thus ruins her happy life and her future. Therefore, we understand that we not only have to be cautious for our own greedy and erotic desire, but also have to be cautious for others peoples’ greedy and erotic desire. No matter the greedy and erotic desire is coming from self or others people, it would be possible to become the invisible fire or the real fire to burn us. Thus, we also know that the greedy and erotic desire is the cause of any violence. That is also  why we have to depart from it. 

When we depart from the cause, that is the greedy and erotic desire, any consequences would not be happened, no matter the outer conditions are.  

When the dried grass meets the fire, it would be burned. The Dao-practicer is as the dried grass, it is better for him to depart from the greedy and erotic desire, because the greedy and erotic desire is as fire which could damage self, just as if the fire burns the dried grass.

 

Even though we might not be the Dao-practicer, however, when we have seen a lot of damaged consequences as said, which would remind us to be cautious for our own greedy desire or the erotic desire. Furthermore, we also have to be cautious for the greedy and erotic desire coming from others people. We now understand that such desire is like fire. If we are wise, it is better for us to depart from it. When we depart from the cause, that is the greedy and erotic desire, any consequences would not be happened, no matter the outer conditions are.  

Supplementary note: Dao is transliterated from Chinese, meaning way and method, deeper meaning as a system of learning or religion. Dao is Tao, which is transliterated from Chinese. The original meaning of Dao is the way and path, and it is extended to be the truth of life that we can learn and practice in our lives.

Chapter 29: Right perception can resist the erotic.

(Chapter 29) A Brief Talk about The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha 

Co-translators in the time of Eastern Han Dynasty, China(A.D. 25 - 200) : 

Kasyapa Matanga and Zhu Falan (Who translated the said Scripture from Sanskrit into Chinese. )

Translator in modern time (A.D.2018: Tao Qing Hsu (Who translated the said Scripture from Chinese into English.)

Teacher and writer for explaining the said Scripture: Tao Qing Hsu

Chapter 29: Right perception can resist the erotic.     

The Buddha said,” Be cautious not look at the women nor speak with them, if speaking with them, the heart and thought should be right: I am a Sramaṇa, being in the turbid world, should be as a lotus, not contaminated by the mud. Think those elderly as mother; those older than me as elder sister; those younger than me as younger sister and those children as daughter. Have the heart for saving and liberating them, and eliminate my own vicious thought. “ 

Why the Buddhist monk has to be cautious not look at the women nor speak with them? It is one of the methods to curb the inner erotic desire.

 

As we have said before, the object for The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha is Buddhist Monk. In Buddhism, when the Buddhist monk has the certain basic practicing, he is also called the Sramana. Sramana is transliterated from Sanskrit. We have to know that the stance of this Chapter 29 is for the Buddhist Monk, who has to practice the seriously required religious discipline in daily life. The content of this Chapter 29 is one of them. Even though we are not the Buddhist monk, the content of this Chapter 29 is also worth for us to know and learn.   

 

The Buddha said,” Be cautious not look at the women nor speak with them.” This religious discipline is seriously obeyed by the practicing Buddhist Monk. No matter we are male or female, if we meet the Buddhist monk on the road and find that he doesn’t not look at us and nor speak with us, we don’t need to think that he despise us or he doesn’t respect us. We now understand that his behavior is due to his obeying the religious discipline. Today, there is also the problem of homosexuality. This point should be reminded and careful.

 

Why the Buddhist monk has to be cautious not look at the women nor speak with them? It is one of the methods to curb the inner erotic desire. If we are male, when our eyes look at the woman, her appearance, behavior and voice will stimulate our inner erotic desire and hormones. Through such cause and condition, we might take any action and lead to any effect so as to affect our life and fall into the circle of fate. For example, we might do some harmful thing to the woman and make the woman’s body and mentality seriously damaged by us. Or, we might thus have children and work hard to raise them. Or, for raising the woman and children, we might violate our good nature to harm others people. 

We might be trapped in a jail of woman, wife or family and might have no freedom in personal body and mentality.

 

In the concept of Buddhism, it means that we might be trapped in a jail of woman, wife or family and might have no freedom in personal body and mentality. Our personal body and mentality are attached and stick on the woman or family. However, some people could not bear the pressure caused by the woman, wife or family. They might thus bully others in order to achieve their greedy goal, go to the astray and commit a serious crime.

 

The erotic desire and hormones inside the male is the serious cause to result in the turbid of the world.

When we quietly perceive and observe the human nature, we could find that the erotic desire and hormones inside the male is the serious cause to result in the turbid of the world. In the history, do you have ever seen any authoritarian and cruel king or emperor is a pure single man? Even the gangster, do you have seen that he is a single man? Generally, the consequence of such man is very sad and tragic. That is because they are easily turned according to their erotic desire and controlled by their own selfish desire.

 

When any scheming man profoundly knows about this point, he will use it to control and threaten the other man so as to achieve his evil goal. All the scheming and greedy men use it to control and threaten each other. Any woman becomes the victim in such evil thing. From this point, it will extend to control and threaten the whole society and the world, just because those scheming men form a evil group and their selfish desire is grown largely. It is not only appears in the evil politic, but also in the evil religion.

 

The inner erotic desire is the basic cause of suffering to self and others. 

The Buddha has perceived that the inner erotic desire is the basic cause of suffering to self and others. The outer environment is over there. Mostly, it is hard for us to change it. However, we can change self. The Buddha thus said to the Sramana that if you have to speak with the woman, your heart and thought should be right. And you should have a right thought that is: I am a Sramaṇa, being in the turbid world, I should be as a lotus which is not contaminated by the mud.

 

So, the turbid world is like the mud. We live there. However, our heart and thought should be right and pure and not be contaminated by the turbid world, just like a lotus which is growing from the mud. The lotus is so pure and beautiful and not contaminated by the mud. It means that we should not be affected by the turbid world. Our heart and thought should be kept pure and right and not be turned by any outer condition or outer environment. 

 

Our heart and thought should be kept pure and right and not be turned by any outer condition or outer environment. 

What is the righteous heart and thought for a Sramana? Think those elderly as mother; those older than me as elder sister; those younger than me as younger sister and those children as daughter. Have the heart for saving and liberating them, and eliminate my own vicious thought.  

 

As a man, no matter we are a Sramana or not, it is good for us to have such righteous heart and thought to all women. Even the women, especially the young women, they also have the strong erotic and selfish desire. Such desire is the cause of suffering. Women are also needed to be saved and liberated from the suffering.

 

The ignorant, scheming and evil men always have the vicious thought and treat women badly.

Women need to rely on man so that they can survive in the world. Those who have more scheming, and more selfish desire, know how to use the man who have power and money, and know how to compete with the other woman so as to achieve their goal. It is especially appeared in the family that a man has many wives. No matter which kind of women in such situation, they all suffer in the family.

     

In the ancient time of India, women generally have no chance to learn any knowledge, not to mention to listen to the teaching of Buddha. Even today, the women who are well educated from school are few. In some country and religion, women are even not allowed to be educated from the school. Such poor women are controlled by the ignorant, scheming and evil men, who treat women as a tool to generate food and children, even as a tool for their playing and enjoying. Such men even think that to harm women doesn’t make any crime. Women should not live like that. So, we know that the ignorant, scheming and evil men always have the vicious thought and treat women badly.

An enlightened man should have to eliminate the vicious thought, have the righteous thought, treat women well and regard them as the member of family.

 

Therefore, an enlightened man should have to eliminate the vicious thought, have the righteous thought, treat women well and regard them as the member of family, as if they are mother, sister or daughter, encourage them to learn knowledge and go to school, and let them live independently, at the same time, save and liberate them from suffering as capable as you can.

 

Of course, an enlightened woman should also eliminate the vicious thought, regard men as the member of family, as if they are father, brother, or son, help self to learn any knowledge and go to school, and be independent in life and work, and not rely on men to survive. It is better to save and liberate self from suffering so as not to controlled and harmed by any men any more.

Supplementary note: Dao is transliterated from Chinese, meaning way and method, deeper meaning as a system of learning or religion. Dao is Tao, which is transliterated from Chinese. The original meaning of Dao is the way and path, and it is extended to be the truth of life that we can learn and practice in our lives.