The Difference Between Monastics and Lay Practitioners

First, let us discuss what a "home" is—what is the concept of a home? First, there must be a house for the whole family to live in together. Second, there must be family members—parents, a spouse, or children—who accompany one another and depend on each other. Third, there is a shared worldly life, such as eating and drinking, daily living, entertainment, and so on. Fourth, there is common property and material resources as the foundation of shared living, with channels of economic income. Fifth, there are common life goals and rules.

When these conditions are combined, they form a family. This applies only to the human world of the desire realm in the Sahā world, because the desires of beings in the human world are heavy and strong; they need houses to cover their sexual activities between men and women, to prevent others from peeking and being ridiculed. In the beginning of the human world in the Sahā world, it was second-dhyāna heavenly beings who descended to the earth. Because they greedily ate the "fat of the earth," their bodies became heavy and they could not fly back to their heavenly palaces, so they had to remain on earth and live there, becoming human beings. The earliest humans were second-dhyāna heavenly beings, without the marks of male and female. Later, as humans multiplied, emotions arose among them, and they became attached to and lustful for one another; thus humanity became divided into male and female forms. When these men and women engaged in sexual activities together, at first they avoided other people, and only later did they build houses, gradually forming families and having children. From this point on, families came into being, and the "home" appeared.

It can be seen that a home cannot be separated from men and women, and cannot be separated from sexual activity between them. If there were no sexual activity between men and women, people would not form families, and there would be no children. The desire-realm heavenly beings, whose lust is slight, have no families; even the humans of Uttarakuru in the north have no families. All heavenly beings of the form realm have no marks of male and female, no lust, and are all in meditative concentration (samādhi); they have even less in the way of families, nor do they need to rush about everywhere to support a household, nor need sources of income. Therefore, the home applies only to the human world of the Sahā world; the matter of leaving home (going forth) exists only in the human world of the Sahā world. Where there is no family, the question of leaving home or not does not arise; moreover, if one needs no source of income and need not rush about to support a household, then one does not count as a layperson either.

As for the Buddha-lands where Buddhas and Bodhisattvas reside, they are all celestial environments—even more sublime than celestial realms. They have no marks of male and female, no worldly life, no need to toil for a living, and no worldly occupations; everything done is for the benefit and happiness of sentient beings—all is Buddha-work. Therefore, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have no need to manifest a so-called "gone-forth" appearance like that of the human world of the Sahā world; there is no need to shave their heads and remove the "threads of affliction"—He has no afflictions—and no need to wear the gone-forth robes of the human world of the Sahā world. Their physical bodies themselves have no bondage; Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and sentient beings alike do not cling to the appearance of a physical body. Whatever appearance they manifest is a gone-forth appearance, not a lay appearance, because there are no lay affairs whatsoever.

We sentient beings of the human world of the Sahā world cannot be mentioned in the same breath as the Buddhas of the ten directions, nor with all the Bodhisattvas of equanimity and wondrous awakening (samyaksaṃbuddha-stage), nor with the Bodhisattvas of the ten bhūmis, thinking that beings in this evil world of the five turbidities need not manifest a gone-forth appearance and need not leave home, and are thus the same as those who have gone forth.

In fact, for everyone living in this world, the difference between going forth and remaining a layperson is enormous. Laypeople are all burdened by worldly life and unable to free themselves; the limitations they face on the path of cultivation are very great. Many people are distressed by the burdens of worldly life and cannot devote themselves single-mindedly to cultivation. Even if they wish to leave home, they are held back by karmic conditions and cannot do so; some have attempted to go forth several times only to be pulled back by karmic conditions. This is the true situation in the human world of the Sahā world. We cannot fail to face this reality and yet insist that being a layperson is the same as going forth, with no difference—when in fact the difference is very great. Everyone should ask themselves honestly, and should not put a tall hat on themselves by claiming they are the same as those who have gone forth.