What is "Plight of Three Lifetimes 三世怨?"

General Buddhism | 佛法研讨
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Master Ri-Chang explained in 3A [25.24] on this story…

Once upon a time, there was a famous Zen master named Hanshan. His reputation had spread far and wide. While traveling from the north to the south of China, he stopped in Hangzhou. Many people came to listen to him teach, including a man named Liu Yushou.

Liu approached Master Hanshan and shared a dream he had. In the dream, he saw a tall, strong man, but the man had a strange, protruding mouth that looked like a pig’s snout. Liu asked Master Hanshan what the dream meant.

Master Hanshan replied with a story. “Back in the Tang Dynasty, I once listened to a monk give a teaching. Because of the merit from listening to that teaching, I was reborn in the Song Dynasty as a great general named Cao Han.”

Cao Han was a famous general in the early Song Dynasty. During one battle, after a long struggle, he finally conquered a city. However, in his rage, he ordered the massacre of all the people in the city. Because of this horrible act, Cao Han suffered greatly and was reborn as a pig for many lifetimes.

Master Hanshan then said, “In your dream, the pig you saw is me, from my past life. Tomorrow, that pig will be slaughtered, and it came to you in the dream to ask for help.”

Liu woke up from the dream and immediately heard a pig crying near his boat. Remembering the dream, he hurried to the place where the pig was, hoping to save it. But by the time he arrived, the pig had already been killed.

Liu, confused and distressed, asked Master Hanshan about the dream again. The master explained, “Yes, the man who listened to the teaching in the Tang Dynasty and the pig that was slaughtered today are the same. And that person was you.”

Master Hanshan emphasised the importance of dedicating the merit of good deeds, like listening to teachings, to the path of enlightenment. If we don’t, the blessings we receive can lead to negative actions, causing suffering in future lives. This is what is called the “Plight of Three Lifetimes” where good deeds lead to blessings, but those blessings, if misused, result in karma that causes suffering.

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Venerable Bensi also explained in this youtube video at 23:09

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Teacher’s GL2 Discourse 509 at [03:30]

因为你要引导一个有情从轮回的苦海里出来，然后还要到究竟成佛这条路，你要管这条路嘛！对不对？不然就是世间的那些善法。也可以，但是还是不能解决轮回的根本问题，生老病死还是解决不了。而且就算你做慈善然后生天，或者怎么样、怎么样有大福报，如果不纳入无上菩提的这个回向，它有的时候三世怨就没了！对不对？有的时候可能是因为自己过去生修得非常好，这一生很有福报，高高在上，结果没有注意其他的持戒等等，也造了很严重的堕落的业，来生又堕落了。所以在这个六道轮回里边起伏沉沦，它是非常不确定的，每一世所得到的善和美好，如果你不继续地保持它，有可能就失坏了。

Because you are guiding a sentient being out of the sea of suffering in samsara and towards the path of ultimate Buddhahood, you have to know how to walk this path, right? Otherwise, it’s just worldly virtuous deeds. That’s fine too, but it still doesn’t solve the fundamental problem of samsara—birth, aging, sickness, and death remain unresolved. Even if you engage in charity and are reborn in the heavens, or gain great blessings in other ways, if you don’t dedicate it to the supreme path of Buddhahood, sometimes the blessings from the past three lifetimes might be exhausted. Isn’t that so? Sometimes, it may be because of good practices in past lives that one enjoys abundant blessings in this life, sitting high above others. But if one neglects other aspects like maintaining precepts, one might create serious negative karma and fall in the next life. So, in this cycle of the six realms of samsara, there are ups and downs—it’s very uncertain. The goodness and blessings you receive in each life, if not continually sustained, might be lost.