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The Four Noble Truth (Part 4) (The Final Part)
In the Four Noble Truth, the third and fourth noble truth, that is the cessation and the path, reference is made to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
In every Text, we know that Buddha Sakyamuni is never a Buddha in the beginning but only an ordinary being. Through his practice of loving compassion, then wisdom realizing emptiness, he ultimately achieved enlightenment. That is why, the true cessation and the true path normally make reference to the precious Buddha, the precious Dharma and the precious Sangha. The one who really follow trough the path to enlightenment and ultimately achieved enlightenment is Buddha Sakyamuni. The precious teachings which is base on the direct experience of Buddha Sakyamuni includes the true cessation and the true path which together form the true Dharma. In the path to realization, or path to enlightenment, we have to apply the true Dharma to ultimately achieve true cessation. That is why the truth of cessation to the path itself becomes the precious teaching.
Who are the ones engaging in the true path to enlightenment? They are beings who are in the stages of learning and no more learning. No more learning are the ones who have achieved Buddhahood and those in the learning stage are the ones who have achieved the path of seeing which are called Arya. They have achieved the path of seeing until the tenth bodhisattva ground. They are the true bodhisattvas or the true Sangha. That is why in the third and forth noble truth reference is made to the precious Buddha, precious Dharma and precious Sangha.
Delusion is normally the cause of our daily negative actions, which we have to overcome or eliminated. If delusion is not overcome, Karma and affliction will be accumulated by such negative actions of the body, speech and mind. One engages in negative actions because it is motivated by afflicted emotion and it is such negative actions that give one all the kinds of sufferings and unfortunate rebirth.
Sometimes we debate on whether or not it is necessary for someone, given a kind of form like a physical body to engage in negative actions? The answer obviously is no. The Buddha has a physical body too and so are the Arhats but they do not engage in negative actions and do not experience the suffering. It is physical body, that is under the power of afflicted emotion having to undergo the suffering.
Karma as we all know, is motivated by the actions of the body, speech and mind. Out of the three, the mind is normally the one dominating the afflicted emotion to cause such negative actions. What is the motivation and intention causing the body and speech to engage in negative actions? The body and speech are under the power of those intention and if we want to overcome, we have to find out what is the motivation that cause our body and speech to engage into negative actions. In this regards, when we analyse on it further, we will eventually find out that ultimately it is over grasping towards ‘self’ as supreme or we got the beginningless ignorance or delusion. These are the afflictions that really grasp and though in reality, it doesn’t exist on it’s own, but because of the grasping for ‘self’ and believing that it is ‘me’ or ‘I’ it really creates that action to lead the speech and mind to engage in negative actions. So if we have to overcome our afflicted emotion and negative actions we have to counter it by using apposite to such action. This is also applies to external element.
For example if the room temperature is too hot, adjust the thermometer of the air conditioner lower to balance the temperature, or if you find the room too dark, turn on more lights. Such is what I mean by using the opposite to counter and balance the condition for external element.
In our mental level, to counter and balance our negativities, it is almost using the same principle. The afflicted emotion is in our thoughts, and to balance it, we have to look for the apposite approach. In normal circumstances like the object of desire or object of hatred, one would generate hatred and will see the object with anger, hostility and aggressive. As a spiritual practitioner we do not want to generate that, because generating hatred, anger or hostility to that object will not give as peace. It will only distract our own emotion, especially our body, our speech and our thoughts and giving us all kinds of sufferings which is not what we want. So what we really need to counter and balance in a situation like that is to change our thoughts and emotion to compassion towards the same object of desire or hatred. Instead of generating hatred and anger we generate compassion and love towards that object. By doing so it does not only help the object of desire or hatred but also help oneself. It will help to bring peace to our mind, calmness, happiness, joyfulness and prosperity. All these are what we need and these are what we really want.
When we encounter any object of hatred or desire or delusion, the first thing in our mind is to find the apposite thought. If it is attachment, we have to apply non attachment, if it is hatred, we have to apply the apposite which is patience, if it is greed we have to apply generosity. Just apply the apposite to that thought, than you will be able to overcome the afflictions.
Afflictions cannot be overcome by running away from it, or by taking some medication or by reading or by doing something. When we do our prayers or doing meditation, we use our mind to concentrate on some virtuous object, like an enlightened being to find some wisdom from there and use it to counter our own delusion and afflicted emotion. We pray and meditate to find that wisdom and try to make a virtuous path to get out of the afflicted emotion.
The affliction emotion is every where in our body which we call the beginningless ignorance that permits all other delusion. It permits our other five senses power. Like I have earlier explained about, the picture of the pig, the rooster and the snake, which appeared in the wheel of life, the pig represents ignorance and because of it’s ignorance, wisdom is not developed to overcome it’s afflicted emotions.
Like anger for example, how can we overcome? In order to generate anger it must have an object that exist of it’s own, though it is like a misconception or wrong view but not. In order to generate anger or hatred to the object it must have the concept of existence. In a total level it seems to be the object of hatred but in the alternate view, it doesn’t exist. We are trying to accept or believing that it is existing by it’s own. That is why it is total ignorance.
Due to ignorance we believe in it’s existence and try to grasp it. If we want to overcome it, though we have other delusions of the eyes, ears, smell or hearing, the main thing we have to overcome is our ignorance, the beginningless ignorance. Once it is overcome it is like the aggregates of form. If you are able to overcome you can overcome all the other forms. That is why when you try to meditate, try to first of all stick to the main root and the rest of the branches can be easily overcome. But if you cut only the branches, it will grow again. Like hatred or anger, if you try to do something it will give rise to other things, but if you cut off the root of ignorance, it will not grow. That is the way how we normally practice.
In the case of generating compassion, it may need the object that exist not on it’s own. That object really is in the form of suffering and needed help. For that you really want to generate love and compassion.
(End of the Teaching)
[this talk was given by Lama Phuntsho on 1 November 2009
and it has transcribed by Bro HP Lim]
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