How Should One Cultivate Practice to Attain a Human Body and Avoid Falling into the Three Evil Destinies?

The realization of fruits through the elimination of self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi), and awakening to the true mind and seeing one's nature, can exempt one from the karma of the three evil destinies, allowing one to be in accord with humanity, to obtain a human body in future lives, and not fall into the three evil destinies. The Buddhist sūtras say that those who fully observe the five precepts can obtain a human body; if one can observe the five precepts completely without violation, and no major evil karma manifests at the time of death, one can also be assured of a human body. But what counts as properly observing the five precepts without violation? The transformation of one's mental disposition is a key factor; the elimination of karmic obstructions is a key factor; the fullness of merit is a key factor; the subduing of afflictions is a key factor; possessing the wisdom of emptiness is a key factor; having meditative concentration (samādhi) is a key factor. Precepts, concentration, and wisdom can not only subdue and eliminate afflictions, transform one's mental disposition, and remove karmic obstructions, but also increase merit. When these factors are combined, obtaining a human body can be assured.

Beyond this, if one's merit and mental disposition are in accord with humanity, even without having realized the Path, one can still obtain a human body. According to the historical records of the Chan school, in the past there were some Chan practitioners who, although they had not realized the Path, possessed meditative concentration; at the time of death, relying on the power of their concentration and the power of their merit, they could directly take rebirth in the household of a layperson, and those with great merit could even seize a womb, being born before full term. Those with even deeper concentration could relinquish their lives and depart at any time; even without having seen the Path, they could achieve direct rebirth in the human and heavenly destinies, and after seeing the Path, they could all the more take rebirth in the human and heavenly destinies, sparing themselves the suffering of the three evil destinies.

As long as one strictly observes the precepts without violation, attains preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) and first dhyāna concentration, is at the stage of investigating Chan, and has fairly good wisdom—through such cultivation of precepts, concentration, and wisdom, one will have great merit and very light karmic obstructions. Those with heavy karmic obstructions cannot cultivate to this stage, and those with little merit also cannot cultivate to this stage. In this way, one can be assured of rebirth in the human destiny and not go to the three evil destinies. What stage is this? It is the stage just before seeing the Path, equivalent to striving toward the first fruit (stream-entry), with cultivation approaching the stage of the first fruit. The condition for obtaining a human body is that one's merit matches that of humanity, that one's virtue, mental disposition, and power of wisdom (prajñā-bala) also match those of humanity, and that there is no obstruction from major karmic obstructions—the karmic seeds of major evil karma have been eliminated or can no longer manifest. Only then can one take rebirth as a human.

Whether there are people in our group who are at the stage of investigating Chan in the Great Vehicle is not known at present, but there are those who are at the stage of preparatory concentration, engaged in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) for the elimination of self-view; these people are roughly at the stage of striving toward the first fruit. This stage already guarantees rebirth as a human in future lives, continuing the cultivation of this life; the cultivation can be said to be continuous, without being interrupted by the three evil destinies.

For example, Wei Ru in our group has meditative absorption (samādhi), has the contemplation of the white bones, is endowed with precepts, concentration, and wisdom, has had major karmic obstructions eliminated so they do not manifest, has transformed her mental disposition, and has only slight innate afflictive obstructions (kleśāvaraṇa) and afflictions; in future lives she can avoid the three evil destinies and take rebirth as a human to continue cultivation. Bai Xuexiang is even more so: her meditative concentration and wisdom of the Small Vehicle's emptiness are very deep, she is endowed with precepts, concentration, and wisdom, her mental disposition is purely wholesome and does not correspond to the three evil destinies, so it is impossible for her to go to the three evil destinies to receive retribution in future lives. There is also Lan Tian in the group, whose contemplative practice of the four foundations of mindfulness is quite excellent, whose mental disposition is virtuous and wholesome, who has meditative concentration and deep wisdom, is endowed with precepts, concentration, and wisdom, has no obstruction from major karmic obstructions, has profound merit, possesses the bodhisattva lineage-nature, and whose mental disposition does not correspond to the three evil destinies; in future lives he too can be spared the suffering of the three evil destinies and continue to deeply plant wholesome roots among humans, planting the roots of virtue. This virtue is very important—it is the watershed between the three good destinies and the three evil destinies. A person without virtue cannot be a human. With these practitioners as models and examples, everyone should have confidence in their own cultivation. As long as one cultivates along the correct track, attaining striving toward the first fruit is not too difficult, and the probability of obtaining a human body in future lives is still quite high.