To Change Human Nature Is to Transform Habitual Tendencies

Some say that to understand human nature, one should watch the animal world; once the animal world is understood, a part of human nature becomes clear. Is this statement reasonable? Why?

The six realms, ranked from lowest to highest, are: hell, the hungry ghost realm, the animal realm, the human realm, the heavenly realm, and the asura realm. Among them, asura beings are distributed across the five realms mentioned above and can be considered part of them. In the cycle of rebirth, the animal realm is adjacent to the human realm, and their natures are similar. When beings transition from the animal realm to the human realm, human nature remains close to animal nature. As long as one has not severed the view of self, they will inevitably return to the animal realm, fully possessing an animalistic nature. This is unpleasant to hear. Last time, when the topic of afflictions touched upon the animal realm, no one was willing to engage, and I knew everyone avoided this issue. But avoidance does not solve the problem; only by facing it can one gain clarity and resolve it.

Habits and tendencies manifest in the manas (the mental faculty). When a being transitions from an animal to a human, the consciousness changes, but the manas remains unaltered. Deep down, they are still akin to animals or hungry ghost beings. Consequently, in future rebirths, they will still fall into the three evil destinies, fully possessing the nature of beings in the three evil realms.

Do not care too much about the meager blessings of being human—fame, profit, power, status, or race. Once one falls into the three evil destinies, all of it counts as nothing, not even comparable to an ordinary person. Therefore, upon encountering the Buddha Dharma, the focus should be on cultivating the manas and transforming it. Once the manas is transformed, the nature of the mind changes, distinguishing one from beings in the three evil destinies, and the karmic retribution becomes different.

To change oneself, one must understand oneself. To understand oneself, one must not only observe oneself and one's own kind but also observe animals and hungry ghosts, for they are similar and largely alike. Once all are understood, one gains a thorough understanding of oneself. And only by understanding oneself can one find a way to change.