Few comments on Udana 3.10 "Lokasuttam". Nature of assumption and how we are responsible for what things are and what they mean to us.
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Understanding that the danger of existence is in being SUBJECT to impermanence, being SUBJECT to change and BEFORE the actual change occurs.
- IMPERMANENCE is about a fundamental lack of control, not about "observing" how "everything is constantly changing".
- How does 'lack of control' regarding one's own life feel?
- Is what is fearful pleasant or unpleasant?
- Hence, "anicca" is ALWAYS unpleasant (dukkha).
- Would that which is inherently inconceivable to control, a thoroughly independent and "unownable" thing, and fearfully unpleasant - would it be possible to regard that thing as "dear", "friendly" and desirable to and for oneself? Would it be possible to regard that thing as "mine"?
That "thing" is: your own body, your own feelings, your own senses, your own mind.
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- Purpose of meditation,
- What Jhana isn't,
- Seeking pleasure as the mistaken goal of meditation,
- Understanding what is true peace,
- Calming within the pressure of enduring.
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Rescuing a baby sambar deer before the tea picking ladies' dogs find it. Pindapat and other morning duties. Sri Lanka Cat snake visiting for some R&R.
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The only way to overcome sensual desire is to fully understand that its nature is not the physical gratification, but a gratification of the mental delight. Delight that is dependent upon your ASSUMPTION.
Reflection:
- Would you be acting towards satisfying the arisen sense desire if there was no desire-to-be-satisfied ENDURING first?
- Is that firstly enduring unsatisfied desire felt pleasantly or unpleasantly?
- Being always unpleasant, would you be able to seek its gratification for any reason other than PRIMARILY trying to get rid of that firstly arisen unpleasantness? (Which means ANY other reason for engaging with that desire would be SECONDARY and WITHIN the attempt of getting-rid-of-enduring-unpleasantness)
- If the assumption of getting-rid-of-unpleasantness is uprooted, would you be able to act toward satisfaction of the desire that is now not there and not felt unpleasantly?
- If there is no getting-rid-of-unpleasantness on the root level of your current action towards any of the six sense objects, there are no "underlying tendencies" or "hidden inclinations" (Pali term "anusaya") underlying your actions.
- The pleasure of sensual gratification IS the pain of sensual desire. How? Lesser pain will be felt pleasantly from the point of view of the greater pain. Greater pain DETERMINES the lesser pain as pleasant (i.e. more desirable). As the Buddha himself described it in Majjhima Nikaya 75 "Magandiya Sutta":
"Suppose there was a person affected by leprosy, with sores and blisters on their limbs. Being devoured by worms, scratching with their nails at the opening of their wounds, they’re cauterizing their body over a pit of glowing coals. The more they scratch their wounds and cauterize their body, the more their wounds become foul, stinking, and infected. But still, they derive a DEGREE OF PLEASURE and gratification from the itchiness of their wounds. In the same way, I see other sentient beings who are not free from sensual pleasures being consumed by the craving for sensual pleasures, burning with passion for sensual pleasures, indulging in sensual pleasures. The more they indulge in sensual pleasures, the more their craving for sensual pleasures grows, and the more they burn with passion for sensual pleasures. But still, they derive a degree of pleasure and gratification from the five kinds of sensual stimulation..."
Same Sutta:
“That fire is painful now and it was also painful previously."
- i.e. Engaging with sensual objects is painful now, and always has been.
"That person was affected by leprosy, with sores and blisters on their limbs. Being devoured by worms, scratching with their nails at the opening of their wounds, their sense faculties were impaired. So even though the fire was actually painful to touch, they had a
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How to attain the Dhamma with more than just your reasoning or magical beliefs.
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