Monastic Renunciation Is the Best Way to Isolate Worldly Dharmas

The Buddha once stated in the sutras that even if monastics spend their days idly sleeping in the mountains, it is still preferable to being entangled in worldly affairs. Why is this so? Although idle sleep itself is not cultivation, it does not involve exposure to other worldly dharmas. Gradually, the mind's attachment to worldly affairs diminishes, until eventually, thoughts of worldly matters cease. At that point, reducing sleep allows spiritual progress to accelerate rapidly.

This principle is analogous to the situation of being reborn in the Pure Land and residing within a lotus palace. Inside the lotus, isolated from the environment of worldly dharmas and devoid of opportunities for defilement, the mind's attachments gradually diminish. Evil thoughts progressively decrease, the seeds of unwholesome karma gradually wither, and the mind-ground becomes purified. Once the lotus blooms, seeing the Buddha and hearing the Dharma enables one to realize the truth.

This is the most fundamental method, yet it is still superior to the defilement of worldly dharmas.

Therefore, regardless of a person's circumstances, the Buddha accepts them into monastic life. Even if they do not diligently cultivate after ordination, it still reduces their exposure to defilement. After the Buddha attained enlightenment, he persuaded all capable members of his own clan to leave home, regardless of marital status, leaving only his father, King Śuddhodana, and one person to inherit the throne. For his cousin Ānanda, the Buddha employed extraordinary means to induce him into monastic life. Because Ānanda was deeply attached to his wife and could not be persuaded through normal means, the Buddha forcefully brought him to the monastery, forbidding him to return home, and his wife was left unaware. Ultimately, the Buddha guided him to visit celestial and infernal realms, after which Ānanda settled his mind on the path, did not return to lay life, and eventually attained the fourth fruition of Arhatship. This illustrates how crucial leaving home is, leading the Buddha to employ various methods to encourage people to renounce the world. He painstakingly established the Sangha to reside in the Saha World, guiding sentient beings with affinities to enter the Buddha's path.

During the Buddha's time, if someone wished to leave home, even if they had a spouse and children, they did not need to divorce or seek their family's consent. They simply arranged for their spouse and children to be cared for by others, ensuring their future livelihood, and then left to cultivate the path. Even if their family encountered difficulties in their new circumstances, they would not return to lay life to care for them, as their resolve for the path was exceptionally firm.

If someone wishes to leave home but cannot, there is no need to seek excuses. There are no excuses to be found; one must simply examine their own mind. The sole reason is the difficulty of relinquishing worldly attachments due to greed. There is no other cause.

One often hears complaints about how monastics fail to cultivate properly or act contrary to the Dharma. If those who are truly diligent in practice do not wish to leave home, and those who are already contrary to the Dharma also do not leave home, wouldn't the Sangha be left without members? Where do monastics come from? They come from the realm of worldly dharmas. If those who are truly virtuous were not attached to the world and all renounced to become monastics, then all monastics would be diligent practitioners, and the Buddhist cause would flourish. Nowadays, many people cling to worldly life as long as they can manage it, grasping whatever they can within it. Only those who can grasp no more resort to leaving home. How then can monasteries and the Sangha possibly thrive under such circumstances?