24th October1999

Feeding desire brings sorrow

The desire created through the eyes is image desire. The desire to hear beautiful sounds is aural desire. The desire to smell sweet scents is scent desire. The desire to taste delicious things is taste desire. Thus welcoming stimuli through the senses is known to create sorrow.

This is because the organs which admit these stimuli and the stimuli themselves are impermanent. If feeding desire brings sorrow, not welcoming stimuli through the senses averts sorrow. Thus an escape from sorrow is there. It is a prime truth. Since the cause for sorrow, and the escape from sorrow are both prime truths, if there is escape, there must necessarily be a road leading to this escape. This path should be understood. This would mean a complete understanding of the value of all images and objects.

If I cannot prevent the objects which I desire moving away from me, and those I dislike coming close to me, it is wrong for me to think of anything as 'me' or 'mine'. That is why it is known as selflessness. This concept of selflessness should be understood intelligently. By reading books and listening to sermons one must strive to comprehend 'anithya', 'dukkha' and 'anathma', impermanence, sorrow and selflessness.

Learning alone is not enough to understand. Having learnt one must investigate that which one has learnt through deep experimentation; as one physically sees so must one attempt to intellectually understand. Sometimes that which one sees physically might not be the true picture. That which one sees with a developed mind and heightened awareness is a definite picture and is clear.

Understanding all things created through cause is to understand sorrow. If one understands sorrow, one must not be slow to find the cause for sorrow and work to dispel all sorrow. But that is not easy. It must be achieved through following a certain path. That path is The Noble Eight Fold Path. With objects as in the case of images, feelings, perceptions and karmic force become consciousness. That is why it is said that due to feelings, perceptions and karmic force, consciousness occurs.

Similarly, since the objects herein stated are impermanent, no stimulus taken in by the mind becomes eternal. Not a single stimulus taken in by the mind can be categorised as 'me' or 'mine'. As they are impermanent they create sorrow. As they are not mine, they become 'selfless'. Thus the three signs are integrated in the Four Noble Truths.

This understanding is also one that is received through The Noble Eight Fold Path. This first stage is called first stream winner 'sovahan',. The second stream winner is referred to as 'sakrudagami', and the third stream winner as 'anagami'. When the understanding is complete one enters the stage known as the fourth stream winner, 'arahat'.

Before understanding the 'sovahan' state, it is necessary to learn the dhamma, the substance of the Buddha's teachings and achieve the supra mundane state. The worldly Noble Eight Fold Path has been given for that purpose.

Following are the ten items which will help one to develop Right Perception. There are good results in giving, there are good results in offerings, there are good results in oblations, there are repercussions in good and bad deeds, there's birth due to the kamma in the past, there will be births in the future due to the kamma at present or the past, there are good results in tending mother, there are good results in tending father, there are beings who are born to this world spontaneously. Recluses who have followed and gone in the correct path profess this world and the world beyond with their super natural knowledge, specially the Buddhas.

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