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Getting
and being represent a form of desire, namely the desire not tolet the thing
that one is in
the process of getting or being
disappear or slip away. Suffering arises
from desire to have and desire to be, in short, from desire; and
desire arises from failure to realize that all things are inherently undesirable.
The false idea that things are desirable is present as am instinct right
from
babyhood and is the cause of desire.
Consequent on the desire there come about results of one
sort or another, which may or may
not accord with the desire. If the desire result is obtained,
there
will arise a still greater desire.
If desired result is not obtained, there is bound to follow a struggling
and striving until one way or another
it is obtained. Keeping this up results in the
vicious circle.
Action
(karma)
->result -> action ->result -> which is known as the Wheel of Samsara.
Now
this word samsara is not
to be taken as referring to an endless cycle of one physical existence
after
another. In point of
fact it refers to a vicious circle of three events:
Desire ->action in keeping with the desire -> effect resulting from that
action -> inability to stop
desiring ->having to desire once
more -> action once again -> another effect -> further augmenting
of desire -> and so on endlessly.
The Buddha called this the "Wheel" of samsara because
it is an
endless cycling on, a rolling on.
It is because of this very circle that we are obliged to endure sufering
and torment. To succeed in breaking loose from this vicious
circle to attain freedom from
all forms of suffering, in other
words Nirvana. Regardless
of whether a person is a pauper or a
millionaire, a king or an emperor,
a celestial being or a god, or anything at all, as long as he is caught
up in this vicious circle, he is
obliged to experience suffering and torment of one kind or another, in
keeping with this desire.
We can say then that this wheel of samsara is well and truly overloaded
with suffering.
For the rectifying of this situation morality is quite inadequate.
To resolve the problem we have to depend on the highest principles of
Dhamma.
We have seen that suffering has its origins in desire, which is just what
the Buddha set out in the
Second Noble Truth.
Now there are three kinds of desire.
The first kind is sensual desire, desiring and finding pleasure, or tactful
objects. The second kind is desire for becoming, desire
to
be this or that according to what
one wants. The third kind is desire
not to become, desire not to be this or that. That there are
just three kinds of desire is an absolute rule.
Anyone is defied to
challenge this rlue, and demonstrate
the existence of a kind of desire other than these three.
Anyone
can observe that wherever there is desire, there distress is too; and when
we are forced to act on a desire, we are bound to suffer again in accordance
with the action. Having got rsult, we are unable to put an
end to our desire, so we carry
right on desiring.
The reason we are obliged to continue experiencing distress is that we
are not yet
free from desire, but are still
slaves to it. Thus is can be said that an evil man does
not evil because
he desires to do evil, and experiences
the kind of suffering appropriate to the nature of an evil man,
and that a good man desires to
do good, and so is bound to experience another kind of suffering, a
kind appropriate to the nature
of a good man. But don't understand this as teaching
us to give up doing good. It is simply teaching us to
realize that there exist degrees of suffering so fine that the average
man cannot detect them. We have to act on the Buddha's
advice: if we are to break free from suffering completely, simply doing
good is not sufficient. It is necessary to do things
beyond and above the doing of good, thing that will serve to free the mind
from the condition of serfdom and slavery to desire of any kind.
This is the quintessence of the Buddha's teaching. It cannot
be bettered or equalled be any other religion in the world, so ought to
be carefully remembered. To
succeed in overcoming these
three forms of desire is to attain complete liberation from suffering.
How can
we eliminate desire, extinguish it, cut it out at its roots, and put an
end to it for good?.
The answer to this is simply; observe
and take note of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness (suffering),
and non-self hood until we come
to see that there is nothing worth desiring. What
is there worth
getting or being?.
What is there such that when a person has got it or become it, it tails
to give rise
to some kind of suffering?.
Ask yourself this question: What is there that you can get or
be that
will not bring distress and
anxiety?. Think it over. Does having
a wife and children lead to light-heartedness and freedom or does not it
bring all sorts of responsibilities?. Is the gaining
of high position and tittle the gaining of peace and calm or is it the
gaining of heavy obligation?. Looking at things in this way,
we readily see that these things alway bring only burden and responsi-
bility. And why?.
Everything whatsoever is a burden simply by virtue of its characteristics
of im-
permanence, unsatisfactoriness,
and non-self-hood. Having got something, we have to see
to it that it is stays with us, is as we wish it to be, or is of benefit
to us. But that thing is by nature imper
manent, unsatisfactory, and nobody's
property. It cannot conform to the aims and objectives
of
anyone. It will
only change as is its nature. All our efforts, then,
are an attempt to oppose and
withstand the law of change;
and life, as an attempt to make things conform to our wishes, is fraught
with difficulty and suffering.
There exists a technique for coming to realize that nothing at all is worth
getting or being. It consists in examining things deeply enough
to disover that in the presence of craving one has feelings of a certain
kind towards getting and being; and that when desire has given way completely
to insight into the true nature
of things, one's attitude towards getting and being is rather different.
As an easy example let us consider
eating. One man's accompanied by craving and desire for
deli-
cious testes, must have certain
features that distinquish it from another man's eating, which is accom
panied not by desire, but by clear
comprehension, or insight into the true nature of things.
Their eating manners must differ, their feelings while eating must differ,
and so must the results arising from their eating
Now
what we have we have to realize is that one can still eat
food even though one lacks all
craving for delicious tastes. The Buddha and Arahants,
individuals
devoid of craving were still able
to do things and be things. They
were still able to do work, far
more in fact than any of us can
with all our desires. What was the power by virtue
of which they
did it?.
What corresponded to the power of craving, of desiring to be this or that,
by virtue of which we do things?. The answer is that
they did not it by the power of insight, clear and thorough
knowledge of what is what
or
the true nature of things. We by contrast are motivated
by desire,
with the result that we are unlike
them, continually subject to suffering. They did not
desire to get
or posses anything and as a result
others were benefitted thanks to their benevolence. Their
wisdom told them to make it known rather than remain indifferent, and so
they were able to pass the
teaching on to us.
Freedom from craving brings many incidental benefits.
A body-and-mind freed from craving
can look for and partake of food
motivated by intelligent discrimination and not, as before, by desire.
If we wish to break free from suffering, following the footsteps of the
Buddha and the arahants, then we must train ourselves to act on discrimination
rather than on craving. If you are a
student, then learn how to distinguish
right from wrong, good from bad, and satisfy yourself that that
job is the best thing for you to
be doing, and of benefit to all concerned. Then do it
well, and with
all the coolness and equanimity
your insight provides. If, in doing something, we are
motivated by
desire, then we worry while doing
it and we worry when we have finished, but if we do it with the
quifing power of discrimination,
we shall not beworried at all. This is the difference
it makes.
It is essential, then, that we be always aware that, in reality, all things
are impermanent, unsatis-
factory, and not selves, that is,
that they are not worth getting or being.
If we are to become involved in them, then let us do so with discrimination,
and our actions will not be contaminated with desire.
If we act wisely, we shall be free of suffering right from beginning to
end. The mind
will not blindly grasp and cling
at things as worth getting and being.
We shall be sure to act with
wakefulness, and be able to proceed
in accordance with tradition and custorm, or in accordance with the law.
For example, though we may own land and property, we need not necessarity
have any greedy feelings about them. We need not cling
to those things to the extent that they become
a burden, weighing down and tormenting
the mind. The law is bound to see to it that piece
of land
remains in our possession.
We don't need to suffer worry and anxiety about it.
It is'nt going to
slp through our fingers and dissappear.
Even if someone comes along and snahes it from us, we can surely still
resist and protect it intelligently. We can resist
without becoming angry, without
letting ourselves become heated
with the flame of hatred. We can depend on the
law and do our
resisting without any need to experience
suffering. Certaily we ought to watch over our property,
but if it should in fact stip out
of our grip, then becoming emotional about it won't help matters
at all. All things are impermanent perpetually changing.
Realizing this, we need not become upset
about anything.
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( May, 15, 2008 )
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