Only with purity of mind can we let go and only then can we attain genuine and permanent happiness. If we cannot do this, then we are truly lost for our vows; our beliefs are not sincere enough. No matter how much we practice, we will be unable to be free, serene and at peace. For we are still clinging to one of the five desires of wealth, lust, fame, food or drink, and sleep. Still discriminating between what we perceive as right or wrong. Greed for these will lead us into the downward spiral of the three bad realms.
And although, with enough good karma, we can go to the highest heavenly realm of Neither Thought nor Non-thought, where the beings have a life span of eighty thousand eons; with enough bad karma we go to the hell realms, where the beings have a life span of infinite eons. When compared to eighty thousand eons, the time spent in the hell realms is unbelievably long. When we consider the time spent in this world compared to the other realms, our time here is a flash of lightning, a drop of dew, a fleeting cloud; it is inconsequential.
Today, we still have obstacles due to our lack of understanding. Why can we not let go? We are still clinging to something. Because of this clinging, we are still mired, still lost in the cycle of birth and death, and still lost in the ten realms of existence. We need to know that if we cannot transcend the cycle of birth and death, most of our time will be spent in the three bad realms. Greed is the cause of the karma that results in our being born into the hungry ghost realm. Anger is the cause of our being born into the hell realm. Then why are we born into the animal realm? Because we were ignorant. Allow me to give you an example.
Once upon a time, there was a very famous priest in a very old religion. He decided it was the right day to perform the ritual sacrificing of a goat. In his ignorance, he thought this was an offering demanded by his god. He obtained an appropriate goat for the sacrifice. He ordered his servants to take the goat to the holy river, wash him, and decorate him with flower garlands. Then they were to wash themselves, as part of the purification practice.
Down at the riverbank, the goat suddenly understood that today he would definitely be killed. He also became aware of his past births and deaths, and rebirths. He realized that the results of his past unwholesome deeds were about to finally be completed. So, he laughed an uproarious goat-laugh, like the clanging of cymbals. In the midst of his laughter, he realized another truth - that the priest, by sacrificing him, would suffer the same terrible results, due to his ignorance. So, he began to cry as loudly as he had just been laughing!
The servants, who were bathing in the holy river, heard first the laughing and then the crying. They were amazed. They asked the goat, "Why did you loudly laugh and then just as loudly cry? What is the reason for this?" He replied, I will tell you the reason. But it must be in the presence of your master, the priest." Since they were very curious, they immediately took the sacrificial goat to the priest. They explained all that had happened. The priest too, became very curious. He respectfully asked the goat, "Sir, why did you laugh so loudly, and then just as loudly cry?" The goat, remembering his past lives, said, "A long time ago, I too was a priest who, like you, was well educated in the sacred religious rites. I thought that to sacrifice a goat was a necessary offering to my god, which would benefit others, as well as myself in future rebirths. However, the true result of my action was that in my next 499 lives I myself have been beheaded!
"While being prepared for the sacrifice, I realized that today it is inevitable that I will lose my head for the 500th time. Then I will finally be free of all the results of my unwholesome deed of so long ago. The joy of this made me laugh uncontrollably. "Then I suddenly realized that you, the priest, were about to repeat the same unwholesome action, and would be doomed to the same result of having your head chopped off in your next 500 lives! So, out of compassion and sympathy, my laughter turned to tears." The priest was afraid this goat might be right, so he said, "Well, sir goat, I will not kill you." The goat replied, "Reverend priest, even if you do not kill me, I know that today I will lose my head and finally be released from the results of my past unwholesome action." The priest said, "Don't be afraid, my fine goat. I will provide the very best protection and personally guarantee that no harm will come to you." But the goat said, "Oh priest, your protection is very weak, compared to the power of my unwholesome deed to cause its necessary results." So, the priest canceled the sacrifice, and began to have doubts about killing innocent animals. He released the goat and, along with his servants, followed him in order to protect him from any danger. The goat wandered into a rocky place. He saw some tender leaves on a branch and stretched out his neck to reach them. All of a sudden, a thunderstorm appeared out of nowhere. A lightning bolt struck an over-hanging rock, and cut off a sharp slab, which fell and chopped off the goat's head! He died instantly, and the thunderstorm disappeared.
There was a fairy that lived in a nearby tree and he had seen everything that had happened. He appeared, gently fluttering in the air overhead. He began to teach the curious people, saying, "Look at what happened to this poor goat. This was the result of killing animals! All beings are born, and suffer through sickness, old age, and death. But all wish to live, and not to die. Not seeing that all have this in common, some kill other living beings. This causes suffering also to those who kill, both now and in countless future rebirths.
"Being ignorant that all deeds must cause results to the doer, some continue to kill and heap up more suffering on themselves in the future. Each time they kill, a part of themselves must also die in this present life and the suffering continues even by rebirth in hell worlds!" Those who heard the fairy speak felt that they were very lucky indeed. They gave up their ignorant killing, and were far better off, both in this life, and in pleasant rebirths.
Fellow practitioners and guests, please listen carefully. The Law of Cause and Effect is unchangeable, immutable. Our greed, anger, ignorance, and arrogance have resulted in disasters that are increasing in both frequency and severity and are approaching a scale that is impossible for us to imagine.
Everything arises from our minds. But just as we have given rise to the cause of this approaching disaster, we can also give rise to another, greater cause that can maybe reduce or possibly even prevent it from happening. We must replace thoughts of self with thoughts of all others. We must give up feelings of pride, the desires for fame and wealth. We must let go of thoughts of trying to control others. Let go of narrow-mindedness and biased viewpoints. Let go of criticizing, of blaming, of gossiping. Let go of the thought of those who owe us, of those we owe. We must let go!
Only by letting go, can we return to purity and tranquility. Only in this way, will our hearts become gentle; our minds become serene, as we give rise to the wisdom to accord with all beings, animate and inanimate. For only with gentle hearts and serene minds will we be able to solve our problems. The goodness that we can bring to others by using our loving-kindness and compassion is infinite - is boundless. And this is our best, our only way to bring true peace to our world. Not for ourselves but for the sake of all sentient beings.
