Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
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mean the erroneous belief that there is something stable,<br />
satisfying, or controllable somewhere in the universe.<br />
Under the influence of this misunderstanding, we conceive of<br />
certain experiences as being a source of stability,<br />
permanence, and reliability. We conceive of them to be<br />
therefore satisfying and pleasant and a cause of true<br />
happiness and peace. We conceive of them to be under our<br />
control, predictable, obeying our wishes and desires: that<br />
when we want them to be so, they will be so; when we want<br />
them to be otherwise, that they will be otherwise; when we<br />
want them to be, that they will be; when we want them to<br />
not be, that they will not be.<br />
It is this misunderstanding that leads to greed and desire.<br />
We become partial towards and chase after certain<br />
experiences because we conceive them to be a source of<br />
permanence, satisfaction, and control. We experience<br />
certain states of pleasure or calm and, not seeing them<br />
clearly, we think that they are stable, permanent, and thus<br />
satisfying. As a result, we work and strive and hope and<br />
pray and eventually are dissatisfied when the truth prevails<br />
and such experiences change, disappear, or are<br />
unobtainable. When our hopes and wishes are denied, there<br />
arises the opposite emotion to greed, anger.<br />
When we are confronted with the truth – something we<br />
would expect to be a source of wisdom and understanding –<br />
if we are not prepared to accept it as truth, it will give rise to<br />
aversion, anger, hatred, and many other negative emotions.<br />
The nature of reality is everything that arises, changes, falls<br />
apart, and disappears; everything that brings pleasure is<br />
unsatisfying, a cause for stress and discomfort, suffering and<br />
pain; everything that we hold as ours is uncontrollable, not<br />
subject to our wishes or the wishes of anyone at all. Seeing<br />
this for the first time can lead to such great disappointment<br />
as to make us reject what we see and prefer preconceived<br />
beliefs in the permanent, satisfying and controllable, even<br />
though we have observed such beliefs as going contrary to<br />
reality. When we cling to such beliefs, we will be unable to<br />
accept reality when it is otherwise, and will become angry<br />
and upset even to the point of destroying ourselves in<br />
anguish at the inability to gratify our expectations.<br />
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