There Five impurities in the earthly realm that no human being can escape, including: Defilement of Life, Defilement of Views, Defilement of Afflictions, Defilement of Sentient Beings, and Defilement of Fate. In the past, the Buddha said: “The Saha world is a realm of evil and suffering, filled with five kinds of defilements. But because of my vow and compassion, I manifest myself to teach sentient beings about the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha, so that they may aspire to be reborn there.”
In the Sutra of Infinite Life, the Buddha taught: “Bodhisattvas who cultivate until they become Buddhas do not fall into evil paths (Hell, Hungry Ghosts, Animals), possess supernatural powers, and always remember their previous lives. Except when, due to their vows, they are reborn into the five defiled evil worlds, they manifest themselves like sentient beings in those realms, meaning they do not retain the supernatural powers of past lives, and are subject to the same laws of birth, aging, sickness, and death as sentient beings.”
PREVIOUS LIFE: A life of impurity and uncleanness. Because the lifespan of a human being is reduced to less than 20,000 years, life becomes impure. Each human body is subject to four impurities: Impurity of Views, Impurity of Afflictions, Impurity of Sentient Beings, and Impurity of Life. This is lowly and ugly.
IMPURITY OF VIEWS: Impure perception. In the degenerate age, the wrong views of sentient beings flourish, causing confusion in the world, leading to distorted perceptions, such as mistaking wrong for right, or dirty for clean. There are five distorted perceptions, called the Five Defilements:
1- Self-view: Believing this body to be real.
2- Extreme view: One-sided view, such as believing this body will last forever or believing that this body ceases to exist once it dies.
3- Wrong view: A distorted view, not recognizing the truth, not believing in karma and reincarnation.
- Attachment to wrong views: Believing one’s own shortcomings and inferiority to be superior to others.
- Attachment to precepts: Believing in illogical precepts, such as the idea that smearing oneself with ashes or self-mortification leads to enlightenment.
Scheming: Devising various schemes and strategies.
Winning or losing: Being superior or inferior.
Planting: Sowing seeds.
Retaliation: Responding to each other with words or actions, neither willing to give in, constantly calculating and planning counter-attacks.
Afflicted with defilements: Filthy “defilements” such as greed, anger, and delusion; these often cause mental distress and anxiety. Those filthy “or” things make people foolish, that is, the “Five Follies: 1-
Greed 2- Anger 3- Delusion 4- Arrogance (haughtiness and pride) 5- Doubt (doubt towards virtuous practices)”.
CYCLE OF REINCARNATION: The cycle of reincarnation (see the note on the word “Reincarnation” on page 36, Volume 1/3).
DARK ROOT: The root of darkness. Because each sentient being is born from ignorance (delusion) and the more they reincarnate in these realms, the thicker that darkness becomes.
The Master said:
“Originally, darkness has existed since time immemorial,
The veil of ignorance obscures the root of wisdom.”
(Exhortation to Goodness, Volume 5)
DEFILED BEINGS: Sentient beings living in defiled times, due to the karmic consequences of afflictions and defiled views, end up living a dirty life, with little merit and much suffering.
DEFILE LIFE: A dirty, short life. Also, as a result of defiled afflictions and defiled views,
the lifespan of people living in this defiled age is decreasing day by day, and they are never truly
pure and peaceful.
