(Ven. Master Hua's lecture in the evening)

Na Mwo Sa Dan Two Su Chye Dwo Ye E La He Di San Myau San Pu Two Sye (3x)

The Vajra Sutra says, "All appearances are false. If one sees all appearances as non-appearances, one sees the Thus Come One." All appearances--all things with shape and form--are conditioned dharmas which are false.

This morning I said, "All conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, like dew and like lightning. You should contemplate them thus." This is another four-line verse in Vajra Sutra which indicates that "all appearances are false." When you see an appearance and know it to be false and unreal, then you won't be so attached to it. Therefore, "If one sees all appearances as non-appearances, he sees the Thus Come One." If you can remain unattached to the appearances of conditioned dharmas, the unconditioned dharma will manifest. Living in the world, if you cannot renounce the false, you will not be able to attain what is true. If you cannot renounce death, then you cannot exhange it for life. If you don't want to die, you have to act like a living dead person! If you can see yourself as a dead person, then you really understand that "All conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles and shadows, like dew and like lightnings You should contemplate them thus."

Since we cannot see through matters, we cannot put them down. Because we cannot put them down, we mix up conditioned dharmas with unconditioned dharmas, and appearances with non-appearances, and cannot differentiate them clearly. Thus we tarry in the six paths, undergoing endless births and deaths. You are called John in this life, and Lee in next life. In this life you are human, but in the next life you may be a horse or cow. So the saying goes, "From a horse's belly you enter a donkey's womb, and make several trips to King Yama's Hall. After passing by Lord Shakra's Palace, you are back in the cauldron of the King Yama." We bob up and down in the sea of birth and death. Today we do not know what will happen tomorrow, and in this life we cannot know the events of the next life. Muddled and confused, we live out our lives. In this life, you have tasted all the sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy flavors. Ah! Constantly worried and afflicted, bickering and fighting, you stir up so much trouble in the world that you cannot attain liberation. Instead, you linger in the six paths of rebirth, spinning round and round. What are the six paths of rebirth? The Three Good Paths are: the Path of the Heavens, the Path of Humans, and the Path of Asuras. The Three Evil Paths are: the Path of the Hells, the Path of the Hungry Ghosts and the Path of the Animals. If you tell someone he will fall into the hells, he is not afraid. Only after he gets there does he know that the suffering there is limitless. He has to experience the retribution himself. If you simply tell him he won't believe it. You can tell him how wonderful and carefree it is in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, but he won't believe you either. When he gets there, he will wish he had gone there sooner! On the other hand, when he gets to the hells, he will think he arrived too soon. However, all of this happens after death. Most of us in the world mistake a thief for our own son, and consider the false to be true. If we take a thief as our own son, then the wealth and treasures in our home will be stolen by bandits. Considering the false to be true, you may take gold to be copper, and or copper to be gold. This is the greatest loss in our lives. However, we are not able to escape this loss, so we linger here, turning around and around. We who cultivate the Buddhadharma must see through and penetrate everything. As it is said, "If you can see through things and let go of them, you will attain true freedom." If you fail to see through and let go of everything, you will never be free, nor will you have true happiness. Therefore, all Buddhist disciples, be diligent! Honestly cultivate. In thought after thought, do not pass the time in vain. In thought after thought, go towards the Tao. If you can do this, then you are a real Buddhist disciple.