Craving Is the Primary Cause of Rebirth in Evil Realms

Buddhist practitioners who genuinely seek liberation should diligently examine the various sensations within their minds during daily life, scrutinizing what they crave, what matters they are attached to, and what affairs consume their thoughts and energy. Once identified, they must analyze the nature of this mentality, its significance, and its consequences. Then, they should devise methods to counteract their cravings and sensations. By doing so, spiritual practice will remove obscurations, and progress on the path will accelerate.

Our habitual tendency toward greed, accumulated over countless eons, is deeply ingrained and difficult for us to perceive because it has become customary and taken for granted. Only those who have overcome and subdued their own greed can recognize greed in themselves and others. It is like residing long in a fragrant courtyard without noticing the scent, or dwelling long by a cesspit without detecting the stench. Only those outside the fragrant courtyard can perceive its fragrance, and only those beyond the cesspit can detect its foulness.

The scope of greed is vast; any attachment within the desire realm, whatever one delights in, constitutes greed. Those masters of poetry and literature who excel in verses and songs, or painters who wield their brushes with effortless grace, almost invariably descend to the ghost realm after death, for such pursuits belong to greed—how much more so for other attachments! Romantic entanglements are particularly greedy, binding one to rebirth in the ghost realm. Those who frequently paint horses, achieving remarkable likeness, are reborn in the wombs of horses after death. Those who often write ghost stories, crafting them with uncanny vividness, are reborn as ghosts. Whatever occupies one's mind constantly, one will accompany after death. Painters who focus intensely on depicting horses align their minds with horses, leading to rebirth as horses. Writers immersed in ghost stories align their minds with ghosts, leading to rebirth as ghosts. Now, if we recite the Buddha's name, aligning our minds with the Buddha, we will be born near the Buddha. Aligning the mind with goodness leads to rebirth in wholesome realms; aligning with evil leads to rebirth in unwholesome realms.

When the karmic retribution in the ghost realm ends, if some merit remains, one is reborn in the animal realm. When the karmic retribution in the animal realm concludes, only those with residual merit return to the human realm for rebirth. Thus, the time obtained in the human realm is exceedingly brief, while the time spent in the three lower realms is immensely long. For every sentient being, suffering predominates, and joy is exceedingly rare. Therefore, we should consider future lifetimes: enjoy fewer pleasures now, reserve more merit for future lives, for only with abundant merit can one swiftly be reborn as a human.

Those with profound roots of goodness and abundant merit dwell near the Buddha, guided and refined by Him, progressing rapidly in their practice. Without the Buddha, being near Bodhisattvas who have severed afflictions or near Arhats also accelerates spiritual progress, as proximity to vermilion reddens and near ink blackens. Gross greed can still be observed with careful attention, but subtle greed is extremely abundant and almost impossible for anyone to perceive unless they have severed afflictions. How rare is the opportunity to obtain a human body! How brief is the time in the human realm! How exceedingly scarce and difficult it is to attain realization and liberation within a human life! For us who have already obtained this human body, how should we grasp this precious opportunity? Diligent cultivation and realization to attain even minimal liberation—this is a question we should ponder deeply and often.