It is not until one eliminates The Ten Fetters that a being’s mind is
liberated from discontentedness and The Cycle of Rebirth. A fetter can
also be referred to as a taint or pollution of the mind. A taint is an impure
quality of the mind and is why these need to be eliminated to attain
Enlightenment. The Ten Fetters pollute the mind not allowing us to
experience the brightness and radiance of the Enlightened mind.
Personal existence view and conceit both need to be eliminated from the
mind to allow the Practitioner to reside peaceful and calm. As long as the
mind retains a personal existence view and conceit, it will continue to
struggle through personal and professional relationships finding
difficulties in your interactions with others.
Two of the most challenging fetters for one to eliminate can often be
“personal existence view” and “conceit”.
This chapter is devoted to sharing Teachings to help you better understand
both of these fetters and how to eliminate them, but always keep in mind,
seeking guidance with a Teacher is something that each Practitioner is going
to need as they choose to learn and practice these Teachings. One would be
unable to only read a book or take in content through some other resource,
to eliminate the personal existence view or conceit to attain Enlightenment.
Guidance is going to be required to deeply understand each aspect of The
Path to Enlightenment and understand how to improve the condition of the
mind to attain Enlightenment. This is true about all The Teachings of Gotama
Buddha and especially true as it comes to understanding and eliminating
personal existence view and conceit.
Understanding personal existence view oftentimes takes several
conversations along with multiple resources for the average Practitioner to
understand. Then, they will need specific Teachings of how to eliminate
“personal existence view” from the mind with guidance from someone who
has accomplished this goal.
To eliminate personal existence view, a Practitioner will need to understand
The Universal Truth of Non-self as shared in the chapter titled “The Four
Noble Truths: Establishing Right View” (Chapter 4) and in this chapter. It is
suggested that you read that as a refresher then come back to this chapter
to continue your learning while seeking guidance from a Teacher.
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What is Self Image and Self Identity?
To understand personal existence view and how the unEnlightened mind
holds onto the concept of a permanent self not understanding The Universal
Truth of Non-self, it is important to explore what a self image and self identity
are, as these will need to be eliminated to realize The Universal Truth of Non-
self.
Self image: The mind wants to project a certain physical appearance and be
perceived a certain way based on its outward projection of its desired image.
The mind accumulates certain external objects to assemble an outward
appearance it wants to project into the world for favorable treatment by
others.
Jewelry, makeup, clothing, and other material possessions are acquired in
order to project to others how the mind wants to be perceived in the world.
The mind would like to be perceived as successful, wealthy, intelligent,
beautiful, important, or other qualities it finds desirable, and looks for
favorable treatment by others based on physical objects that form a self
image the mind attempts to hold on to permanently.
This is due to the mind's lack of inner contentedness thinking that if others
perceive you in a certain way, then it will create lasting inner fulfillment but
instead, the mind is merely chasing pleasant feelings (i.e, happiness,
excitement, elation) based on impermanent conditions. The pleasant feelings
will eventually fade, as they are based on impermanent conditions, and the
mind will be back where it started from, no longer experiencing pleasant
feelings continuing to seek or long for something with a strong eagerness to
create what it thinks will be lasting inner fulfillment.
The mind is stuck in a cycle of constantly looking for the next “thing” that it
can acquire to project its desired self image to the world longing with a
strong eagerness for pleasant feelings that are never permanent because
there is no permanent self image due to there being “no self”.
As long as the mind holds on wanting to project a self image due to the
fetter/taint/pollution of personal existence view, it will never find permanent
peace because it is attempting to base its inner fulfillment on impermanent
conditions. Once the conditions that created the pleasant feelings change,
the mind can no longer sustain the pleasant feelings because they were
based on impermanent conditions, and the mind continues to seek and long
with a strong eagerness for the next “thing” to acquire to regain the pleasant
feelings.
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But, because the unEnlightened mind does not understand that
impermanent conditions will never create permanent contentedness, having
ignorance (unknowing of true reality) and it does not understand there is “no
self”, it just continues the cycle of wandering and roaming for the next object
of its affection never acquiring permanent contentedness until the mind
eliminates the fetter/taint/pollution of personal existence view no longer
craving to project a certain self image into the world realizing The Universal
Truth of Non-self.
Self identity: The mind wants to project a certain identity and be perceived a
certain way based on those attributes or mental qualities. The mind holds on
to specific attributes of the personality or life circumstances identifying with
those as being who you are as a person.
For example, “I am a Teacher”. “I am a Doctor”. “I am a Mother/Father”. “I
am a wife/husband/life partner/girlfriend/boyfriend”. “I am a citizen of the
United States of America”. “I am a Christian/Hindu/Muslim/Buddhist etc.”. “I
am a business owner”. “I am wealthy”. “I am kind”. “I am friendly”. “I am a
responsible adult”. “I am a hard worker”.
The mind has countless labels that it attempts to identify with and fulfill in
order to adopt and then project a certain self identity into the world. The
mind holds on to these attributes as a self identity seeking pleasant feelings
from these impermanent conditions. But because these labels of the self
identity are impermanent, when they no longer exist the mind experiences
painful feelings (sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, etc.).
Not only does the mind hold on to a specific life partner, but it also holds on
to the identity of being a wife/husband/life partner/girlfriend/boyfriend and
then feels less of a person when the mind can no longer identify with a
certain label.
Not only does the mind hold on to the life circumstances of being a Doctor
or the occupation of being a Doctor, but it holds on to the projected self
identification of being a Doctor as the mind wants to be perceived in the
world in a certain way. When the mind can no longer identify with this
impermanent label to create pleasant feelings, it then experiences painful
feelings.
It is not until the mind lets go of holding on to the self identity attempting to
form pleasant feelings internally based on impermanent conditions of a self
identity that it can reside permanently peaceful and content. If the mind
continues to long for and hold on to impermanent conditions of a self
identity, it will experience painful feelings as the conditions that created the
pleasant feelings are not permanent. It is not until the mind realizes The
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Universal Truth of Non-self and stops attempting to satisfy the mind based
on impermanent conditions for a self identity, understanding there is “no
self” that it will find inner contentedness.
The mind needs to understand and realize The Universal Truth of Non-self to
eliminate the fetter/taint/pollution of personal existence view to eliminate the
mind’s longing with a strong eagerness to project a self image and self
identity into the world for pleasant feelings otherwise, it is welcoming painful
feelings or feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant at some point never
experiencing peacefulness, calmness, serenity, and contentedness with joy
that is permanent.
Understanding The Universal Truth of Non-Self and The Fetter of
Personal Existence View
The Universal Truth of Non-self will help a Practitioner to understand that
there is no “you”, “me”, or “I” to facilitate eliminating the fetter of personal
existence view. We use the pronouns “you”, “me”, “I” and names given to us
during our life, but these are unfitting to truly explain what we are
experiencing in this human existence.
There is essentially a physical body and a mind that have come together for
this existence, but neither of these are “you” or “who you are”.
The challenge that human beings face is that we grow up with a name,
typically given at birth, that the mind starts to associate a certain self image
or self identity with the given name. We start to adopt the thinking and false
belief that we are this name, forming self image and self identity around the
given name. We oftentimes associate the physical body and/or the mind as
being “the self” or “who you are”. But anything that the body or mind
experiences is not “you”.
Take a finger and point to “you”. Where are “you”? Can you point to “you”?
What are you pointing to now, the body or the mind?
That’s not “you”. Where are “you”?
If the body and mind are both impermanent, how could either the body or
the mind be a permanent self or “you”?
In reality, what exists is essentially bones, tissue, and fluids inside a big bag
made of skin. There is a consciousness, or mind, that has come together
with the physical body to form “a being”. A name was given to us at birth as
a label to make it easy for people to refer to us and for us, to attend to our
daily activities. Family and friends could not say: “Has that big bag of bones,
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tissue, and fluid come home yet?”. Instead, we need a name to make it easy
for people to know who we are referring to in our conversations.
But the challenge develops when the given name becomes adopted in the
mind as “who we are”, and the mind forms self image and self identity
around the name, the label, given during our life.
Human beings form a concept of a permanent self in the mind referred to as
a “personal existence view”. The unEnlightened mind thinks and falsely
believes there is an actual permanent self when in reality, this does not exist.
The misunderstanding of a permanent self is comprised of such things as
the self image, self identity, expectations we have of ourself, and
expectations others have of us. The unEnlightened mind will falsely identify
with the body and/or the mind as being “the self”, thus, having a “personal
existence view”.
But, this is part of the mind’s ignorance (unknowing of true reality), delusion,
or confusion. The self does not actually exist, but the unEnlightened mind
has the thinking, misperception, or false belief that there is a self. As long as
the mind continues to hold on to what it thinks is a self, described as
“personal existence view” in these Teachings, it will not be liberated from
discontentedness to experience Enlightenment.
Because the mind is holding on to its self image and self identity thinking
that is “who you are”, when it hears something agreeable or disagreeable
about its self image or self identity, the mind will become discontent.
When the mind hears agreeable and pleasing compliments about the self
image or self identity, it will experience happiness, excitement, or elation as
pleasant feelings will often invade the mind. Then, when the mind hears
disagreeable and displeasing remarks about the self image or self identity, it
will experience sadness, anger, or frustration as painful feelings will often
invade the mind.
Due to the personal existence view, the misperception or false belief of a
permanent self, the mind cannot reside in the middle with calmness as it
experiences pleasant feelings associated with agreeable compliments and
painful feelings upon experiencing the disagreeable remarks. With the mind
holding on thinking there is a permanent self, it cannot reside peaceful and
calm as it will be looking out for the next agreeable or disagreeable
comment, needing to protect itself from its perceived external enemies and/
or anticipation or seeking out of agreeable compliments to produce pleasant
feelings.
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The mind will look to protect itself from disagreeable remarks, not wanting to
experience painful feelings. The mind can be constantly on guard with
strategies of self protection resulting in unwholesome intentions, speech,
and actions. The mind will oftentimes become fearful of even the smallest
little situations as it holds on to its personal existence view, being afraid to
not only hear disagreeable comments, but also fear death or any small
experience that the mind perceives as potentially causing harm to the
physical body or mind.
The unEnlightened mind does not realize that there is only a physical body
and a mind that have come together for this existence but, in fact, there is no
permanent everlasting self. There is nothing permanent that currently exists
related to “a self", so there is no need to be constantly on edge to protect
against the potential of painful feelings, or be ready and willing to allow the
mind to experience great happiness (i.e. pleasant feelings) when one
receives pleasing compliments. Basing one’s internal feelings on
impermanent conditions would only invite discontentedness into the mind.
Due to the mind holding on to a self image and self identity, a Practitioner
may feel that they cannot associate with certain people or types of people as
it would impact “who they are” diminishing one’s reputation. Rather than the
mind being comfortable to reside with all beings peacefully and in harmony,
the mind judges others of who they feel they can and cannot associate with
based on superficial attributes, unable to practice loving-kindness and
compassion for all beings.
The personal existence view causes a dilemma for the mind in that it needs
to constantly evaluate itself and others to determine if it feels comfortable in
any given situation, unable to be at rest to reside peacefully. The mind can
experience anxiety and fear as it perceives what is happening around it as
diminishing or infringing on its self image or self identity. Destructive
protective habits are produced and one finds they are continually discontent
in seemingly innocent situations. The mind can perceive harm to “the self” in
the most simple of circumstances believing that impending doom is headed
your way.
The mind’s confusion accumulates due to the misunderstanding that there is
a self and oftentimes reacts out of self protection rather than through
wisdom, moral conduct, and mental discipline as taught in The Eight Fold
Path.
The personal existence view needs to be eliminated to realize non-self in
order to eradicate the problems associated with holding on to a permanent
self in the mind allowing it to reside more peaceful, calm, serene, and
content with joy, no matter what is or is not happening. Eliminating the
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personal existence view will allow the mind to reside comfortably and in
harmony with others, no longer plotting methods of self protection
developing unwholesome habits, but instead the mind will look for ways to
be more open and loving with all beings.
Techniques to Realize Non-Self
Eliminating and eradicating the fetter of personal existence view will allow
the mind to peacefully and calmly exist without the constant need to protect
and defend “the self”.
The mind can reside being generous, loving, kind, and compassionate to all
beings rather than pursuing selfish desires and strategies of self protection.
The mind can let go of impolite, unkind, unfriendly, and disrespectful
interactions with others because it will understand that the harmful words of
others only affect them not “you”, because there is no “you”.
A mind without a personal existence view can be open and loving to all
beings because it is not judging others based on its own self image and self
identity, only choosing to associate with people who it feels are worthy of
your friendship. The mind will discover ways to develop lasting relationships
with all beings. Through eliminating the personal existence view, a mind will
not experience fear because it is not holding on to the physical body or mind
thinking that any minor situation would cause permanent harm.
If there is still the concept of a permanent self, you will defend it, guard
against it, and react with emotion based on the need to protect the self
rather than respond calmly, peacefully, and with a concentrated mind. There
is also the tendency to place the “self” above or below other beings with
judgment, arrogance, and pride known as conceit.
Once the concept of a permanent self, which is part of the ego, has been
fully dissolved and you realize “non-self”, you will no longer feel a need to
mentally defend or protect the self because you will know it does not exist
and, thus, will be able to attain and maintain a content mind no matter what
is said about you by another person. The mind will not react negatively to
others’ intentions, speech, nor actions. The mind will not experience any
arising of anger or frustration even when someone is being impolite and
disrespectful. There is nothing to mentally defend or guard against because
you no longer have a concept of a permanent self in the mind, and it can see
true reality which is just that someone is being impolite and disrespectful
rather than absorbing this as an assault against your self image or self
identity.
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To attain even the first Stage of Enlightenment, one needs to fully understand
and realize non-self. It is typically through much learning, practice, and
guidance with the help of Teachers that one will fully understand and realize
non-self. The Teaching on non-self is usually a Teaching approached later in
practice as a Practitioner has already established a solid foundation of many
other Teachings and one nears closer to the first Stage of Enlightenment
having already experienced the Jhānas.
If you understand impermanence and that there is no condition that is
permanent, then realizing non-self can be reflected upon in this way.
Is the body yours? Does it belong to you? Will you be able to keep it forever?
No.
Is the mind yours? Does it belong to you? Will you be able to keep it forever?
No.
So, what are we? We are nothing.
There is no permanent self that one can identify. There is no “you”, but we
still use this pronoun since there is nothing else fitting in the English
language to refer to “nothing”.
Understanding “non-self” conceptually is one step of realizing non-self to
eliminate the fetter of personal existence view. Then, it is important to put
this Teaching into practice through daily life and a life practice, to include a
specialized meditation technique - if needed. This Teaching is typically
explored later in the process of attaining Enlightenment and should not be
focused on until there is already a well-established practice of many of the
other Teachings and with the guidance of Teachers.
The mind will not be willing to let go of its personal existence view until
it is well trained through the core Teachings found in The Eight Fold
Path and a Practitioner is starting to experience the Jhānas.
In addition to specialized meditation techniques to help the mind understand
that there is no self, a Practitioner can choose to change the way the mind
thinks of its relationship to material objects, people, and various parts of life.
To train the mind to let go and reside more peacefully, a Practitioner can
modify the language they use in reference to material objects, people, and
various parts of life to help eliminate the way the mind thinks and believes
that a permanent self exists. When there is a self, the mind can become very
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selfish, self centered, and self absorbed. The mind can attempt to control
others wanting things to be done in a certain way that is pleasing to the self.
Changing the language one uses in everyday life can then influence change
in the mind.
Rather than saying, and thus thinking, this is “my phone” a Practitioner might
refer to it as “the phone”.
Instead of “my car” it can become “the car”.
Instead of “my clothes” it can become “the clothes”.
Instead of “my house” it can become “the house”.
Instead of “my job” it can become “the place I work”.
Instead of “my hair” it can become “the hair”.
Instead of “I am hungry” it can become “the body is hungry”.
Instead of “I have a headache” it can become “the head is feeling pain”.
These examples and others that you become aware of can be modified to
remove the “my” or “me” from your language and how you interact in the
world and how the mind wants to hold on tightly.
Essentially, the mind starts to disassociate with material objects,
relationships, and various parts of life as being “mine”. Because if the mind
deeply understands that there is no “you”, then how could anything be
“yours” and belong to “you”?
Through training the mind by using different language, it can start to distance
itself from thinking there is a permanent self and instead see true reality that
nothing actually belongs to you. Therefore, the mind can easily “let go” of the
personal existence view, experiencing peacefulness rather than being selfish
or feeling that something harmful is being done “to you”.
As long as the mind thinks and falsely believes that material objects,
relationships, and other aspects of life belong to “you”, then it will define
itself through these and become highly discontent when things are not
happening the way the mind wants or desires.
Whenever the mind is aware of pleasant feelings, painful feelings, or feelings
that are neither painful-nor-pleasant starting to arise associated with self
image or self identity, a Practitioner needs to apply Right Effort to cut them
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off and let them go. Otherwise, allowing the mind to experience feelings
associated with “the self” will only continue to reinforce its misunderstanding
that there is a permanent self, inhibiting it from realizing non-self. When any
and all pleasant feelings, painful feelings, or feelings that are neither painful-
nor-pleasant are experienced, a Practitioner should cut them off and let them
go.
When there is no longer a self, the mind will not want to or feel a need to
defend itself when hearing negative or disparaging remarks about its self
image or self identity, and the mind will not experience any painful feelings
associated with disrespectful comments. And, when there is no self, the
mind will not experience happiness, excitement, or elation when it hears a
positive compliment about its self image or self identity.
The mind will reside unaffected, uninfluenced, and unshakable through
hearing positive or negative comments about “the self” as the personal
existence view, or the self, will have been eliminated. The mind will no longer
have a misperception or false belief that there is a permanent self, therefore,
it will reside unaffected by any comments related to the self image or self
identity.
Detailed discussion and consultation with a Teacher is required to more fully
understand The Universal Truth of Non-self and to implement practices to
eliminate the fetter of personal existence view.
Because a mind with personal existence view has the false belief that the
body and/or the mind is the self, or the permanent self, then anything a
Practitioner can do to eliminate this confusion will help the mind see more
clearly. Suggested approaches that a Practitioner can employ include the
following:
- Receive guidance in how to use the “Meditation to Realize Non-Self” in
the chapter titled “Meditation: Developing Your Practice” (Chapter 11).
- Change language used to disassociate the mind with the word “my” in
connection to relationships, objects, or various life situations.
- Develop the perception of impermanence deeply observing in the world
that there is no object that is permanent. Soak into the mind that there is
no object, situation, or circumstance that is permanent through observing
the truth through experiences in the world.
- Wear simple clothing and make your appearance simple as desiring
physical beauty is cultivating your “personal existence view” and could be
projecting arrogance or pride.
- Refrain from wearing any jewelry or body decorations including make up,
and eliminate bodily scents such as perfumes and cologne. (This helps to
establish in the mind there is no desire to project a self image or self
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identity. It trains the mind to practice non-attachment to the body’s image
or identity. The mind can be trained to reside unaffected by others’ views
of the image of the body and others’ opinions will have no effect on the
contentedness of the mind helping to eliminate personal existence view.)
- Remove head and facial hair, eliminate the craving to beautify the body.
- Eliminate your interest to project a personal image through “cutting off”
and “letting go” of any feelings or interest in the mind to mentally project
or protect the self image or self identity.
- Consult and seek guidance with a Teacher over multiple sessions to
deeply understand The Universal Truth of Non-self to receive instruction
on how to eliminate personal existence view from the mind.
It is important that we distinguish the difference between non-self and a soul.
Gotama Buddha taught that there is no permanent self as part of his
Teaching on The Universal Truth of Non-self, but he left The Teaching about a
soul as undeclared. See the “Simile of a Man Were Wounded by an Arrow
Thickly Smeared with Poison” to understand Gotama Buddha did not
declare a Teaching concerning a soul and left this as undeclared. This simile
is located at the end of the chapter titled “Transforming The Three Poisons:
Craving, Anger, and Ignorance” (Chapter 8).
Understanding The Fetter of Conceit
Conceit is the attributes of arrogance, pride, judging, measuring or
comparing as superior or inferior that pollute the mind. This causes the mind
to produce intentions, speech, and actions that only backfire as others find
conduct originating in conceit as displeasing, tasteless, and inappropriate.
A person who projects arrogance and pride is most often rejected in
personal and professional relationships as one attempts to place themselves
above others to feel superior. This behavior originates in our countless
existences in the animal realm as there is oftentimes a clear “pecking order”
within a given herd or pack of animals which is needed for survival. But, in
the human realm this non-virtuous behavior is not needed and not
appreciated as being acceptable among human beings who are interested in
practicing fairness and equality while having loving-kindness and
compassion for all beings.
A person who puts themselves below others feeling inferior is often viewed
as weak and incapable of being trusted or other virtuous qualities. An
individual who puts themselves below others can oftentimes look up to other
beings with a mind that is shaken, unsteady, and uncalm fearing potential
harm from others, unable to reside relaxed and peaceful with a concentrated
mind. This inhibits a person from gaining opportunities to apply their
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intelligence and skills to beneficial projects that would help improve one’s
life.
Judging others only puts a wall between you and others as the mind is
unable to practice generosity, loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy,
and equanimity with all beings in all situations. Judging others only harms
you as you will drive away those who are disinterested in comments,
remarks, and discussions where an individual is placing themselves in a
position of judging others.
Due to the pollution of conceit that is part of the ego, a being constantly
struggles to find its place in the world because it needs to continuously
search whether it is above or below others, causing a burden to the mind.
The mind functions much like an animal being uncomfortable unless it knows
exactly where it is in the “pecking order” of the herd or pack of like species.
Acting upon any feelings of conceit, the accumulated arrogance, pride,
judging, and measuring one’s self as superior or inferior to others only
inhibits one from experiencing the fullness of life where they can benefit from
all relationships and opportunities. Instead of fruitful outcomes, a person
with conceit would be limited to only a handful of relationships that will
tolerate their constant need for superiority or their lack of confidence in
feeling inferior.
Conceit inhibits one from being a true member of a team and instead is
looking for how to gain all the glory and attention to create pleasant feelings
in the deluded mind. Team members become disinterested in associating
with someone who is incapable of sharing in the success of the entire team
as a team player but instead, appears to only be out for attaining their own
selfish satisfaction.
When we think that we are “right” and everyone else is “wrong”, conceit and
arrogance (i.e. aspects of the ego) is firmly rooted in the mind.
A being with conceit will struggle to find opportunities to improve its life and
struggle to find individuals willing to participate in life activities that can be
rewarding and fulfilling.
The fetter of conceit will motivate impolite, unkind, unfriendly, and
disrespectful intentions, speech, and actions that only serve to drive people
and opportunities away from you rather than bring people towards you to
assist in producing beneficial outcomes for all individuals involved.
Conceit held in the mind can lead to fights, arguments, hostility, murder, and
even global conflict or war. Countless lives have been ruined and wasted
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through decisions based in conceit that have lasting and long term
consequences unforeseen by a person who is blinded by the cloud of ego,
unknowing of true reality, and unaware of these Teachings to liberate the
mind from its daily struggles and difficulties.
A wise Practitioner will apply energy and effort through a dedicated life
practice to eliminate any and all conceit from the mind, thus, realizing the
benefits of being able to peacefully reside in harmony with all beings.
Eliminating conceit from the mind will result in beneficial outcomes for you as
the mind becomes more comfortable to reside in personal and professional
relationships without a need to be superior or inferior. Instead, the mind will
look for ways that everyone can “win” rather than looking for the selfish
satisfaction and the desire to project its own arrogance and pride.
Techniques to Eliminate Conceit
Anytime a Practitioner observes arrogance, pride, judging, measuring or
comparing as superior or inferior arising in the mind, they need to practice
Right Effort taking active steps to eliminate these unwholesome qualities and
arise wholesome qualities.
There is no benefit to arrogance, pride, judging, measuring or comparing as
superior or inferior arising in the mind, so when it is observed, one needs to
cut it off and let it go.
Allowing even the smallest amount of conceit to trickle into your
conversations, discussions, or relationships will have devastating effects that
result in harmful outcomes (i.e. unwholesome Kamma).
The more readily a Practitioner becomes aware of the arising conceit, they
can take active steps to eliminate it from the mind. Cutting this back further
and further through catching it earlier and earlier, the mind can eventually
eliminate conceit from ever arising. But, a Practitioner will need to
understand what conceit is so that as the mind is aware of its arising, it can
be cut off and eliminated from the mind.
A wise Practitioner can also take proactive steps towards the elimination of
conceit through initiating various practices into their daily life. For someone
who is unfamiliar with Buddhist Teachings or Buddhist culture, these
practices may seem quite foreign and a challenge to understand. You should
seek guidance to understand any practices that are not fully understood as
to why these are helpful to eliminate conceit and how to implement these
into your daily life.
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There are several practices that could help you to eliminate conceit. I offer
the following as potential examples of how to eliminate conceit.
- Say “thank you”, “sorry”, speak politely using “sir, ma’am, or other
respectful pronouns” and say “I do not know” as needed and as
appropriate.
- Sleep in a low position that is not elevated or luxurious and sit on the floor.
- Do tasks that you feel are “beneath” you.
- Listen to others teach you wisdom without any interest to teach them.
- Wash people’s feet. People you have no association with, if possible.
- Show respect and gratitude to all people with a “wai” as done in Thai
culture.
- Show generosity, loving-kindness, and compassion to all beings,
especially people you find challenging to be friendly towards.
- Eliminate judgment of others with no comparisons that you are superior or
inferior to others.
- Be kind and gentle because it’s the “right” thing to do.
- Ask others for advice and what they learned in life, just listen without
trying to prove anything.
- Help others without any expectation of a return favor or positive benefit for
yourself.
- Seek guidance of a Teacher helping the mind to admit to itself that it does
not know everything and needs help in this world.
- Eliminate your interest to project arrogance, pride, judgment, measuring or
comparing as superior or inferior through “cutting off” and “letting go” of
any feelings or interest in the mind that resembles these unwholesome
qualities.
- Consult and seek guidance with a Teacher over multiple sessions to
deeply understand the fetter of conceit to receive instruction on how to
eliminate conceit from the mind.
Never Assume The Ego Has Been Eliminated
We must always and forever develop our practice to “eliminate ego” and
never “assume” it has been extinguished. The ego will always attempt to get
you to think it has been eliminated as it is like a bad tenant that never pays
rent and does not want to leave.
The moment the mind convinces you that the ego has been eliminated is a
moment that you know that ego still exists. Instead, never assume the ego
has been eliminated, and constantly work towards being humble and down
to earth in any and all situations.
A Practitioner who learns and practices these Teachings from Gotama
Buddha will develop profound wisdom. It is especially important for one who
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has deep wisdom to always practice being humble. A truly wise individual is
wise enough to know to always practice being humble and has no need to
project arrogance, pride, judge others, or otherwise allow conceit into the
mind or into their daily interactions.
There is no benefit in projecting self image, self identity, arrogance, pride,
judging others, measuring and comparing one’s self as being superior or
inferior to others. You will find that your personal and professional
relationships will blossom when personal existence view and conceit is
eliminated.
Through eliminating the fetters of personal existence view and conceit, the
mind can reside peaceful and calm no matter what is or is not happening
around you.
The ego props us up and protects “who we think we are” and “our self
image”. It is very difficult for one to see their own ego.
There is no need to mentally protect yourself from anyone when there is “no
self”. A peaceful, calm, serene, and content mind with joy that does no harm,
only needs to walk with “wisdom and a smile”.
A wise person only needs to walk with wisdom and a smile. They have no
desire to project a self image, self identity, arrogance, pride, judge others, or
measure and compare themselves as superior or inferior. A wise person
knows there is no benefit in doing so, therefore, they only need to walk with
wisdom and a smile.
The ego is held deeply inside the mind and blocks us from realizing our full
potential because we “think” we already know who we are and what we
should be doing in the future. It blocks us from healthy relationships and
connecting to other beings with a pure mind and pure intentions.
The ego can block us from learning and growing with wisdom shared by
other beings because we think we already “know it all”.
Dissolving the ego is easier said than done. Because we have spent a
lifetime acquiring the ego and many countless hours thinking about what we
want to do in the future, it is very hard to let go of the ego. There is self
image and self identity along with many other attributes that comprise the
ego, and if we hold on to the ego, we will create discontentedness for
ourself, never being able to fully experience the Enlightened mind.
To reach Enlightenment, the ego must be dissolved, dismantled, and
eradicated. The ego serves no purpose.
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Gotama Buddha explains just how dreadful, bitter, vile, and obstructive it is
to allow ourselves to dwell in praise, pride, and ego in the following
Teaching.
Gain, Honor, and Praise, Are an Obstacle Even For an Arahant
Monks, gain, honor, and praise, I say, are an obstacle even for a Monk who is an
Arahant, one with taints destroyed.
When this was said, the Venerable Ānanda asked the Master Teacher Gotama: ‘Why,
Venerable Sir, are gain, honor, and praise an obstacle even for a Monk with taints
destroyed?’
I do not say, Ānanda, that gain, honor, and praise are an obstacle to his unshakable
liberation of mind. But I say they are an obstacle to (his attainment of) those peaceful
dwellings in this very life which are achieved by one who resides diligent, dedicated,
and determined. So dreadful, Ānanda, are gain, honor, and praise so bitter, vile,
obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage (Enlightenment).
Therefore, Ānanda, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will abandon the arisen gain,
honor, praise, and we will not let the arisen gain, honor, and praise persist obsessing
our mind.’
Thus should you train yourselves.
(Gotama Buddha)
(Reference: SN 17.30)
Progress Towards Eliminating The Ego
You will know the ego is starting to diminish when the mind is no longer
interested in taking credit for the wholesome deeds you participate in, but
instead, is more interested in seeing wholesome things happen for all beings.
The mind will not be affected by praise nor disrespect. If someone tells you
that you have ego and the mind experiences painful feelings, such as,
sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, etc., then the mind still has
ego.
Comparing yourself to others will be entirely eliminated and there will be no
interest in judging others (looking down on others) for any reason. A
Practitioner will choose to cultivate and practice wholesome intentions,
speech, and actions because it is the “right” thing to do, not because one is
looking for a reward or acknowledgment of their wholesome ways.
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An individual without ego will be able to be polite, kind, friendly, and
respectful to any and all beings with loving-kindness, compassion,
sympathetic joy, and equanimity regardless of that person’s intentions,
speech, or actions. There will be no conditions that are required of you to
practice these good wholesome Teachings, and there are no conditions that
would prevent you from practicing these good wholesome Teachings.
A wise Practitioner will never conclude their ego has been eliminated and
instead always be watchful to never allow the ego to remain in the mind
rooting it out whenever it raises its ugly head.
Teaching Through Ego
Gotama Buddha reached Enlightenment during his six (6) years of training
the mind then had a lifelong practice of maintaining the mind. He knew, for
himself, that he attained Enlightenment as a completely liberated mind is
very noticeable to the person who has attained it.
While he knew he had all the answers, others around him taught their
teachings which did not lead to Enlightenment.
Gotama Buddha’s Students attained Enlightenment and they knew the truth.
There were still plenty of people during his lifetime who did not learn and
practice Gotama Buddha’s Teachings.
There is a reason Gotama Buddha only ever taught Students that chose to
learn with him.
He did not go out in search of Students. He allowed them to come find him.
It is important not to “crave” Students as the mind will shutdown and lose
tranquility. Craving is the problem; non-clinging, non-attachment, non-
craving, and Enlightenment is the solution. With craving, there is no
Enlightenment even if the mind is craving more Students.
A Student needs to seek out the help of a Teacher for guidance. This act
alone helps to reduce ego for a Practitioner. The Student needs to open the
front door and welcome The Teachings into the mind with trust and respect.
Without the Student opening the door, the Teacher cannot breathe healthy
life into the mind, thus, the Student will not have The Teachings to make
improvements.
It is only a Student who lowers the ego, seeks out a Teacher, and seeks
guidance through questions that will allow The Teachings to penetrate the
mind, then ultimately improve their life practice on The Path to
Enlightenment.
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The Student needs to do the hard work of transforming the unwholesome
mind into a wholesome and pure mind.
A Teacher cannot create Enlightenment for their Students. A Teacher cannot
“give” their Students Enlightenment. It is only through diligent study,
practice, and commitment to learning and practicing The Teachings that a
Student can actively work towards Enlightenment. A Student will need to
have gratitude, appreciation, and respect for The Teachings and their
Teacher.
A Teacher can teach, inspire, encourage, and offer guidance but it is the
Student that must decide Enlightenment is an important pursuit for their life
and commit to their own growth. The Student needs to seek out Teachers
who can assist them on their path to Enlightenment.
A Teacher cannot seek out Students as unEnlightened beings will be so
attached to their current Teachers and their current practice while perhaps
having ego. A Teacher who seeks out Students will always meet a brick wall.
A Teacher who knows they have The Teachings that lead to Enlightenment
can do little to nothing to “convince” a Student to study or practice. The
interest to study and pursue Enlightenment must be initiated by the Student.
A Student will need to reach out to Teachers for guidance learning how to
establish a healthy relationship built on a foundation of kindness, politeness,
gratitude, and respect in all directions. Only a Buddha would be able to
attain Enlightenment without the assistance of Teachers. While all other
Practitioners are able to experience Enlightenment, they would need the
guidance of Teachers and a well developed practice of these Teachings.
Students should seek guidance through asking questions to gain
understanding while developing an honest and respectful relationship with
their Teachers.
Teachers should only provide guidance to Students when they request
guidance through asking questions and/or designating one as their Teacher.
Seek Teachers without craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true
reality) who have eliminated the ego and who have realized non-self. These
are the people who have attained Enlightenment and will be the best
Teachers to guide you.
It would be very difficult for a Teacher to guide others towards Enlightenment
if they have not yet attained Enlightenment.
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As one progresses in learning and practicing these Teachings, there will be
deep wisdom that is acquired. Sometimes the simplest and most apparent
truth that you see in a situation can be applauded as profound wisdom by
those who are not on The Path to Enlightenment because they are unaware
of the truth and wisdom within these Teachings. Compliments and words of
admiration from others can often invade the mind producing even more
excessive amounts of conceit - if the Practitioner allows the praise to obsess
the mind.
While it is beneficial for your life to learn and practice these Teachings, it is
important to always remain humble. Whether it be with friends, parents,
family, or other associates and Teachers, you need to understand that
projecting arrogance or pride as it relates to your life practice and progress
on this path would only inhibit your own further progress while dissuading
others from exploring Gotama Buddha’s Teachings.
It is possible for a Practitioner to view the beneficial and constantly
improving focus, concentration, deep memory, and clarity of mind as
qualities to take pride in while looking down on others who are lacking
concentration or otherwise experience a muddled mind with
discontentedness. In some cases, a Practitioner can even start to feel so
superior based on their wisdom of these Teachings rather than staying
humble to continue their learning and progress on The Path to
Enlightenment, arrogance, pride, and ego can take over even pushing away
those who helped them to acquire a foundation and deep practice of these
Teachings.
Gotama Buddha himself spoke of Students who would eventually reject him
and his Teachings perhaps even attempt to steal what he taught as being
their own Teachings.
Students can sometimes become unfriendly and disrespectful to the very
person who guided them to realize benefits on The Path to Enlightenment. It
is extremely dangerous for a Student to allow arrogance or pride to invade
their mind thinking they are more superior than their own Teacher. It is the
Teacher who helped them get established and make significant progress on
The Path to Enlightenment, so choosing to have arrogance or pride in a
relationship with your Teacher would not produce a beneficial outcome for
you to continue to progress towards Enlightenment.
Gratitude, appreciation, and respect along with humbleness are foundational
aspects of a mind that will ultimately become Enlightened. If a Student
remains with gratitude, appreciation, respect, and humbleness towards their
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Teachers, they can continue to develop their mind experiencing complete
liberation.
But, one who decides to reject their Teacher’s kindness out of their own
arising conceit, will continue to struggle through their own arrogance and
pride lacking the ability to come close to senior members of The Community
who can provide guidance to eliminate the ego to ultimately attain
Enlightenment.
These Teachings are based in over 2,500 years of generational sharing
based purely in generosity, loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy,
and equanimity. A sincere and devoted Teacher is not choosing to share
these Teachings for any selfish benefits as their goal should only be to help
others. A Practitioner would need to approach these Teachings, and thus,
the senior members of The Community including Teachers with gratitude,
appreciation, and the qualities of generosity, loving-kindness, compassion,
sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
While a Student can oftentimes struggle to eliminate the ego, just through
seeking guidance from a Teacher is helpful in eliminating arrogance, the ego,
from the mind. Seeking guidance would require a Student to develop a
healthy relationship based in gratitude, appreciation, and respect.
It is important for a Student to always be respectful towards Teachers as
without their wisdom, they would be unable to progress on The Path to
Enlightenment.
Likewise, a Teacher needs to maintain gratitude, appreciation, respect, and
practice humbleness with all Students. A Teacher should be among the
deepest Practitioners of these Teachings. A Student will look to their Teacher
as an example of how these Teachings should be practiced in daily life
emulating their wisdom, moral conduct, and mental discipline.
If a Teacher is not practicing politeness, kindness, friendliness, and respect,
the Student would be lost in how to practice these same qualities of mind.
Students who are choosing to diligently learn, reflect, and practice The
Teachings should be appreciated by the Teacher. Without determined,
dedicated, and diligent Students who choose to actively learn and progress
on The Path to Enlightenment, these Teachings would soon fade out.
But over countless generations, these Teachings have continued to be
shared into the world based on mutual gratitude and respect among
Students and Teachers. As soon as either a Student or a Teacher allows the
ego to enter into the relationship and the process of clearly transmitting
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these Teachings, it will pollute and hinder the ability of The Teachings to be
effective at eradicating discontentedness from the mind of all beings.
It is not possible to teach with ego nor teach through ego. The ego needs to
be eliminated, eradicated, and destroyed for there to be a successful
Student/Teacher relationship and success in experiencing the Enlightened
mind.
As a Community, we must always remember that it is not through our
historical texts, intellectual knowledge, or words that we are able to share
with the world the way leading to the complete elimination of
discontentedness but instead, through our virtuous actions.
It is our bodily, verbal, and mental actions, as shared in The Eight Fold Path,
that will help others observe the way of practice leading to the complete end
to discontentedness.
A wise Practitioner will always and constantly remain watchful to never
assume the ego is eliminated, actively applying their dedication to humbly
learn and practice these Teachings to eliminate, eradicate, and destroy the
ego.
Washing Feet
Washing someone’s feet can be powerful for them and you. It cultivates
humility and a caring mind. It will help you to eliminate ego and is a practice
that you should consider to incorporate into your life practice.
In Thailand, it is part of the culture to wash the feet of your parents or other
members of the family to show gratitude and respect. It is not a forced
action or expected. It is up to the individual to decide if it’s something they
should or should not do.
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Thais practice washing feet at special times during the year. Mother’s Day,
Father’s Day, birthdays, new years, and any time during the year they would
like to share this special experience with those close to them.
It is common to wash your parents’ feet on your birthday to thank your mom,
dad, grandparents, members of the family, and Teachers for helping to guide
you in life. No matter what our relationship is with our parents, they did
struggle for many years to provide us our existence. We could never repay
them enough for the hard work of providing us this existence and the
sustaining of our human life.
Washing the feet of family members, friends, Teachers, and people to whom
you would like to show gratitude, appreciation, and respect, can help you
cultivate a mind of loving-kindness and compassion while eliminating the
ego. Each time you do, it gives you a chance to delicately provide a soothing
and loving touch of the feet, that penetrates the heart and the mind.
This practice could help anyone who would like to not only say “I love you”
with words, but also with actions.
When you wash someone’s feet, you are saying through your actions “I love
you”, “I respect you”, and “I have gratitude and appreciation for you”. It is
much more potent than anything you could ever say as actions speak much
louder than words. A caring grasp, a nurturing way of washing the feet says
everything you need to say but in the more powerful method of
communication - through actions.
Learning how to love without attachment is very important. It is possible to
love without attachment. Care and love can come from a place of non-
attachment and this practice can help you cultivate this mental state into
your life for those who have had the most influence in sharing wisdom to
help you grow and progress in this life.
Washing the feet of others is also a powerful practice to eliminate the ego.
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Chapter 17
Eliminating Fears:
Are You Really Scared?
Our fears play a significant role in inhibiting us from realizing our full potential
in life. We get a good idea and either do not pursue it all the way or we give
up at some point because we fear failure, so we fail because we do not even
try.
There are countless fears in life that the mind has the potential to hold on to
including the fear of death.
Through the process of pursuing Enlightenment, you need to eliminate
all fears from the mind including the fear of death. You will also need to
train the mind to trust all beings. Eliminating your fears will help you to
trust all beings.
The best way to eliminate fears is to put the mind into whatever situation it
fears to train it that there is nothing to be afraid of. For example, if you fear
being alone, the loneliness is the mind experiencing discontentedness, so
put the mind in many situations where it is alone until you are content being
alone, no longer experiencing loneliness. Go shopping, travel, take walks in
the park, or any other countless activities - do them alone. This will train the
mind to reside peaceful and content while being alone.
Attempting to always have people around you filling your day with constant
interactions to avoid loneliness, is not solving the true problem as it is
impossible to always have people around you due to The Universal Truth of
Impermanence. The true challenge the mind is experiencing is that it is
uncomfortable being alone, therefore, train it to be alone so that it will never
experience loneliness. Do not avoid being alone by attempting to have
constant interactions as this is impossible and does not solve the true
problem.
If you fear being alone, this could mean you are attached to always being
with other people and that is why the mind is discontent. You are attached to
being with others. If the mind “craves” being with others, then do just the
opposite and train it to be alone. You must eliminate all cravings and desires
including the constant craving for being with others.
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The pursuit of Enlightenment is an independent journey with guidance from
Teachers. You must get comfortable with being alone in your meditation and
in daily activities. Eliminating craving/desire/attachment and eliminating the
constant craving and desire for “things”, means you will need to be content
with just being alone.
You will not always be alone because everything is impermanent except for
Enlightenment and The Natural Laws of Existence. You will have family,
friends, and associates; but to attain Enlightenment, you must be
comfortable with being alone and not fear anything.
A mind that has no fear of failure, death, loneliness, or other fears is a
mind that is independently satisfied and able to function without
craving/desire/attachment, which will always and forever bring the mind
contentedness. Eliminating mental craving/desire/attachment will
eliminate discontentedness of the mind.
Another form of fear can cause aversion to people or situations. You may
have fear of those people or situations for countless reasons. To develop a
stable, steady, and calm mind, you will need to be able to exist in any
situation without discontentedness. You must train the mind to be content in
any and all situations while protecting your own contentedness.
So, if you have aversion to certain people or types of people, put the mind
into situations where you encounter those people and types of people, so
that the mind will not have any fear and develop loving-kindness and
compassion for all beings.
If the mind is discontent around other people and craves solitude, (meaning
you are attached to solitude), place the mind in situations where you are
around people and train the mind to be content in the presence of others.
To eliminate fears, you will need to do exactly the opposite of what the mind
wants. Giving into the fear through attempting to avoid whatever the mind
fears does not actually solve the problem. It is just allowing the mind to avoid
what it fears by not encountering the uncomfortable situation, therefore, the
mind will continue to retain the fear, holding on to what it wants which
produces the discontent feeling of fear, constantly looking out to be on guard
ensuring it avoids those situations but never solving the true problem in the
mind.
If you have fear of specific situations, you will need to get comfortable to
exist in those situations. Put the mind in those situations you fear so that the
mind accepts that there is nothing to fear, and you can function without
discontentedness in that situation.
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Because the mind needs gradual training, you may need to do this slowly to
allow the mind to slowly adapt to the situation and eliminate the cravings/
desires/attachments that is causing the fear. This way, the mind can then
eliminate the discontentedness by overcoming the fear.
For example, if you fear going back to a school where you were kicked out
due to the administration’s discrimination, which resulted in poor treatment
of you and that has left scars in the mind, you must overcome this mental
trauma by training the mind.
If you have since obtained access to the education through various means
available to you to combat the discrimination, you could slowly get the mind
comfortable and content with going back to the school to overcome the fear
and past trauma.
You could drive to the school and park in the parking lot, just exist there and
allow the mind to be calm. Meditate in the car, calm the mind, and allow it to
adjust.
If you would like to step forward that day or in future days of training, next
get out of the car and take a walk through the campus. At any time you feel
fear or anxiety, do not run in fear. Sit down, breathe, relax, and train the mind
to overcome the fear and attain contentedness.
Next, make your way into the school buildings and interact with people.
Observe the mind with “Right Mindfulness” and at any time you need to just
sit, breathe, and calm the mind, do that by applying “Right Effort”. Release
the fear and know that this place, its buildings, its people, and anything
around you cannot hurt you. Only you can hurt yourself.
There is no reason to fear. It is your own cravings/desires/attachments that
cause the mind discontentedness. No one and nothing can cause the mind
discontentedness. It is the mental clinging to the past experiences that is
causing the mind to be discontent (i.e. experience fear).
Maintain the mind in the present moment, realize you are doing nothing but
breathing, therefore, since you are not causing any harm, no harm will be
returned to you. Allow the mind to remain calm and peaceful in the present
moment.
You can apply this same method of training to other situations you fear as
well. Find a way to gradually and slowly, but without being complacent, to
always work towards attaining forward progress. Train the mind to feel
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comfortable and “satisfied with what is”. Train the mind to be content with all
people and all situations.
Another example of eliminating fear would be that if the mind was involved in
a vehicle accident where it now fears driving or being in a vehicle, you will
need to gradually train the mind to let go of this fear. Rather than avoid being
in a vehicle or feeling stress, anxiety, or apprehension when it is time to be in
a vehicle, the mind can be eased into gradually becoming comfortable to
once again travel in a vehicle.
An approach you might consider would be to have someone you trust drive
you around in a neighborhood or community, where the mind is comfortable,
that has small streets with little to no traffic. Let them drive you around a few
times allowing the mind to breath comfortably and adjust to being in the car
trusting that all will be fine. If anything becomes too overwhelming, just close
the eyes and relax.
Next, once the mind is comfortable in a few sessions, then have a person
you trust drive you onto streets that have a bit more traffic and repeat the
process.
Then, when ready, you drive on the small streets with little traffic in a
neighborhood or community where the mind is comfortable.
After multiple sessions of this, move to streets that have more traffic.
In this way, the mind can gradually adjust to training session after training
session gradually becoming comfortable driving in a vehicle to eliminate the
imprint or conditioning of the negative experience it had due to the accident.
The mind needs to replace the negative experience it had with several
positive experiences, so the mind can see there is nothing to fear. The mind
can let go of clinging to the negative experiences and conditioning of mind
that it is holding on to, by having positive experiences, learning and being
trained that there is nothing to fear.
All of this specific training to eliminate fear can be pursued while the
Practitioner is consistently applying Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and
the entire Eight Fold Path, as the mind needs to have ongoing training in
these Teachings to help it “let go” of the past negative experiences and
conditioning of the mind.
Apply this same approach and methodology to any and all fears that exist in
the mind gradually training it to be peaceful, calm, serene, and content with
joy in any and all situations.
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You will see that only you can cause the mind discontentedness. No one and
nothing can cause the mind discontentedness. You can trust all beings while
having discernment, have loving-kindness for all beings, and have
compassion for all beings.
Empty out anything the mind fears. Eliminate any and all fears that exist in
the mind through dedicated training to eliminate cravings/desires/
attachments which will eliminate all fears. You are not really scared. You are
just clinging to past or future thoughts - the mental attachment(s) are
“causing” the fear, and the mind is discontent due to it holding on to past
experiences or anticipating future harm.
You understand The Natural Law of Kamma from a previous Chapter. If you
are not doing anything unwholesome, nothing will come to hurt you. If you
have only wholesome intentions, speech, and actions, the mind can be calm,
steady, and peaceful knowing that only wholesome things will come back to
you.
If you are putting unwholesome intentions, speech, and actions into the
world, then that is another reason you have fear. Eliminate any harm you are
doing to other beings through making the decision to have only wholesome
moral conduct, and no harm will come back to you. By purifying your
intentions, speech, actions, and livelihood, this will ensure you are not
causing harm so that no harm will come to you, and the mind can be at
ease. Knowing that you are not causing harm can allow the mind to reside
peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy.
Your clinging to all those thoughts and experiences which is causing the fear,
will cause the mind discontentedness. So, eliminate the clinging by gradually
training the mind, and you will eliminate the fears.
Fear is a form of discontentedness of mind and needs to be eliminated
100% for you to attain Enlightenment. Eliminate the mental cravings/desires/
attachments and do no harm then you will eliminate fears, and the mind can
reside content.
Gradually train the mind to be comfortable in any and all situations. Train the
mind to be comfortable with any and all people. Train the mind to be content
when alone or in any and all situations, eliminating fear through training the
mind to “let go”.
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Chapter 18
God’s Creative Action:
You Have Free Will
During the lifetime of Gotama Buddha, there was belief in many different
Gods. Gotama Buddha discusses Gods throughout his Teachings. But when
Gotama Buddha discussed God in the below, he only spoke of one God.
A common definition of the word “God” is:
God: The creator of the universe and source of all moral authority; the
supreme being. (God, Allah, All Knowing/All Powerful, Omniscient/
Omnipotent)
All Is Caused by God’s Creative Action
Then, Monks, I approached those Ascetics and Brāhmins who hold such a doctrine and
view as this: ‘Whatever this person experiences — whether pleasure, pain, or neither
pain-nor-pleasure — all that is caused by God’s creative activity,’ and I said to them: Is
it true that you Venerable Ones hold such a doctrine and view?
When I ask them this, they affirm it. Then I say to them: In such a case, it is due to
God’s creative activity that you might destroy life, take what is not given, indulge in
sexual activity, speak falsehood, produce argumentative speech, speak harshly, indulge
in idle chatter; that you might be full of longing, have a mind of ill will and hold wrong
view.
Those who fall back on God’s creative activity as the essential truth have no interest [to
do] what should be done and [to avoid doing] what should not be done, nor do they
make an effort in this respect.
Since they do not apprehend as true and valid anything that should be done or should
not be done, they are muddle-minded, they do not guard themselves, and even the
personal designation “Ascetic” could not be legitimately applied to them.
(Gotama Buddha)
(Reference: AN 3.61)
Gotama Buddha’s goal was not to prove or disprove God’s existence,
because Gotama Buddha only taught “truth” that could be independently
realized or understood by you through your own practice and that which
leads to Enlightenment. This is how you gain “wisdom”.
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Gotama Buddha never denied the existence of God but instead, taught
people how to attain Enlightenment while still having an understanding
of God.
Gotama Buddha did not teach God as being a central role in the attainment
of Enlightenment, but instead, helped people understand how the existence
of God relates to The Five Realms of Existence. Gotama Buddha taught that
one’s attainment of Enlightenment is based solely on your own
determination, dedication, and diligence to actively learn, reflect, and
practice Teachings to train the mind improving the condition of one’s mind
and life.
It is possible to progress on The Path to Enlightenment with or without a
relationship with God. The choice is up to the Practitioner how they choose
to proceed.
This chapter is devoted to helping you understand how to attain
Enlightenment with or without a relationship with God.
Gotama Buddha’s Teachings to attain Enlightenment are not based on
“belief”. These Teachings are a path for you to gain wisdom which liberates
the mind from discontentedness. These Teachings help you to develop a
pure mind to attain Enlightenment.
Gotama Buddha had nothing tangible to teach us that could prove or
disprove God’s existence, so, he taught us not to be attached to God. Your
attainment of Enlightenment is not based on God, but instead, your own
determination, dedication, and diligence to actively learn, reflect on, and
practice these Teachings.
Gotama Buddha understood that any and all attachments would cause us
discontentedness. So, he taught us not to be attached to God, his existence,
nor that God controls all things. If we have this view, then it renders humans
powerless. If you do believe in or have an understanding of God, that would
not be God’s way.
We know that our intentions, speech, and actions are 100% within our ability
to be wholesome. God does not control us like robots, we have complete
“free will” to think, say, and do whatever we please.
Nothing in this world, other than you, can control your intentions, speech, or
actions as you have consciousness and “free will”. But it is our intentions,
speech, and actions coming from a pure and wholesome place that will lead
us to Enlightenment. There is also nothing in this life that is predetermined or
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determined by another being. We have the full ability to make free will
choices that improve our life, or cause our life to decline. Everything that we
have experienced, are experiencing, or will experience in life is based on our
own free will decisions.
The Path that leads to Enlightenment does not require a belief in God or a
relationship with God. A belief in God or a relationship with God will also not
hinder you as long as you have eliminated craving and practice “Right View”
from The Eight Fold Path along with other Teachings shared in this Chapter.
God and Right View
Practicing “Right View” while having a relationship with God would include
understanding that God does not control you and grant wishes, and that you
are 100% responsible for your own intentions, speech, and actions. You
have the ability to eliminate discontentedness of the mind and it is not
dependent on God.
Any pleasant feelings, painful feelings, or feelings that are neither painful-nor-
pleasant are a result of your own decisions, not those of God. It is the mind’s
own craving/desire/attachment that causes discontentedness, not God.
A Practitioner needs to accept responsibility for their own decisions and the
results of those decisions to establish Right View. Please see the chapter
titled “The Four Noble Truths: Establishing Right View” (Chapter 4) to deeply
understand and establish Right View.
God and Elimination of Craving in the Mind
Elimination of craving as it relates to praying to God, would include that you
do not consider God as a “genie in a bottle” who will grant you a wish that
comes true.
If your prayer consists of requests, wishes, desires, and cravings, then the
mind will not be able to reach Enlightenment due to your constant cravings
and desires while being attached to God, asking for “stuff”.
Have you ever prayed for a new car, a new house, or more wealth and God
instantly granted that wish? No, of course not. This is how you know the
truth that God is not a “genie in a bottle” and for you to accomplish anything
wholesome in this life, it needs to be initiated by you and your actions.
Detailed explanation of “Aspirations Are Not Obtained by Means of Prayer”
is available in this same book series found in Chapter 82 of the book
“Generosity” (Volume 13).
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If you choose to have a personal relationship with God, you can through
prayer and giving “thanks”. But the constant asking for “stuff” from God
would only be due to a Practitioner’s own craving/desire/attachment and
inhibit them from the attainment of Enlightenment.
If you choose to pray, you might consider to acknowledge in prayer that you
believe in God, are open to guidance, and give thanks. Any sort of craving/
desire/attachment in prayer would only inhibit a Practitioner from liberation
of the mind.
If you have a craving/desire/attachment to exist in heaven after this life in
union with God, you will need to eliminate this desire from the mind to attain
Enlightenment. If there is still craving/desire/attachment at the time of death,
there will be rebirth. A mind that craves existence with God after this life will
not be liberated to attain Enlightenment, but instead, continue to be reborn
through countless lives until the mind attains Enlightenment.
God and The Natural Law of Kamma
It is important to realize that if you would like change and improvement in
your life, you will need to create that for yourself because constantly asking
God for change has not worked and will not work. Any improvement in your
life needs to be initiated by you.
If you would like a good and wholesome life, you need to create that for
yourself through “The Natural Law of Kamma”. If you do good and
wholesome things through your intentions, speech, and actions, you will
have a good and wholesome life.
All that happens in this life is a result of The Natural Law of Kamma, not the
result of “God’s Creative Actions”. God nor Kamma rewards us nor punishes
us. But, instead, all our own actions produce a result either wholesome or
unwholesome. The Natural Law of Kamma is “the results of our decisions”.
God and Elimination of Fear
Some traditions of teachings that include God, teach human beings to fear
God. God does not need to be feared. If you have belief in God, God would
not be interested in having you fear, which can make the mind neurotic, but
instead know that there is an unlimited amount of love and compassion from
God for you. You should be encouraged to practice these same qualities
towards God and all living beings throughout your life practice.
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It is important that if you have a belief in God that you do not fear God. All
fear needs to be eliminated as part of this path to attaining Enlightenment,
including any fear you may have of God. If there is fear, there can be no
Enlightenment.
The Afterlife - An Undeclared Teaching
An “afterlife”, which Gotama Buddha left as an “undeclared” Teaching, is
what happens when one has attained Enlightenment in this life or at death -
what happens next? That is the afterlife.
Gotama Buddha did not teach about an afterlife or a soul. He left these
“undeclared” in his Teachings. He did not teach whether we exist nor not
exist once we attain Enlightenment and die. He shared that there is no more
rebirth as “a being” in The Cycle of Rebirth which is different than “no
existence at all”. If we do not attain Enlightenment during this life or at death,
we will be reborn through The Cycle of Rebirth. If we attain Enlightenment in
this life, there will be no more rebirth in The Cycle of Rebirth.
These are the undeclared Teachings of Gotama Buddha.
- the world is eternal
- the world is not eternal
- the world is finite
- the world is infinite
- the soul is the same as the body
- the soul is one thing and the body is another
- after death The Tathāgata exists
- after death The Tathāgata does not exist
- after death The Tathāgata both exists and does not exist
- after death The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist
Tathāgata is another term used to refer to Gotama Buddha.
Gotama Buddha is referring to himself who was an Arahant, therefore, you
can also insert “Enlightened Being” for Tathāgata. This means, he left The
Teachings “undeclared” of whether a being who has attained Enlightenment
as an Arahant “after death exists, does not exist, both exists and does not
exist, neither exists nor does not exist”.
Just like all craving/desire/attachment, if we crave the answer to these
questions, it will cause the mind to be discontent. Knowing the answer to
any of these questions will not lead to an individual’s own Enlightenment and
therefore Gotama Buddha never taught or “declared” these Teachings. They
are “undeclared”.
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There were many Teachings Gotama Buddha did not share, as his main
focus was to help people understand that they needed to work towards their
own salvation through the process of attaining Enlightenment.
Gotama Buddha focused everyone’s attention, the mind, and their
development on The Teachings that lead to Enlightenment - the elimination
of discontentedness and the suffering it causes rather than rites, rituals,
ceremonies, and worship. He taught people to practice The Teachings of
being a good moral person that eliminates all unwholesome Kamma
production, producing only wholesome Kamma.
Gotama Buddha’s Teachings are about non-attachment. He was not even
interested in people attaching to him nor the existence of God, as Gotama
Buddha knew Enlightenment is 100% determined by our own intentions,
speech, and actions.
Rebirth, or The Cycle of Rebirth, is the process in which all beings who have
not attained Enlightenment during this life or at death, will be reborn into a
new form or formless existence in the hell, animal, afflicted spirits, human, or
heavenly realms.
You need to be comfortable with not knowing the answer, in other words, not
craving to know what is or is not going to happen in an afterlife as craving to
know this outcome will inhibit you from attaining Enlightenment and will
cause rebirth. The goal is to extinguish all craving for a “personal existence
view”, “desire for form”, and “desire for the formless”. These are just three (3)
aspects of The Ten Fetters required for Enlightenment as it relates to the
discussion in this Chapter.
If you attain Enlightenment in this human existence, life will be so peaceful,
calm, serene, and content with joy that you will have no need to know what
comes next in the afterlife, if anything at all. You will be experiencing
complete and total peace of mind and will know that if there is something
after death, having attained Enlightenment, it must be good.
The goal is to attain Enlightenment in this very life so that you will not be
reborn through The Cycle of Rebirth into another existence. You can attain
Enlightenment during your existing life to experience ever lasting peace or at
death.
In order to accomplish this goal, one would need to ensure there is no
craving/desire/attachment including the craving to know what will or will not
occur once one attains Enlightenment and dies.
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No Interest in God
If you have no belief or understanding of God, that is fine, and you will not be
inhibited from attaining Enlightenment in any way.
This practice has no attachments to God, and there is no requirement to not
believe in God. A Practitioner can maintain a relationship with God, if they
choose, and still attain Enlightenment. But, a Practitioner would need to
understand The Teachings in this Chapter to help them navigate what they
may or may not have been taught in the past related to the topic of God.
This practice is about freedom of thought and “free will”. This life practice is
about observing how your own intentions, speech, and actions determine
100% of your life through The Natural Law of Kamma.
Nothing and no one other than you can control the mind, your intentions,
your speech, or your actions.
Practicing Loving-kindness and Compassion Towards God
Depending on what you have been taught in the past, a Practitioner can
experience anger, hatred, or ill will towards God. This can be detrimental for
one’s own mind and progress on The Path to Enlightenment.
Gotama Buddha taught to have loving-kindness and compassion for “all
beings”. While one does not need to have a belief or relationship with God to
attain Enlightenment, a Practitioner would need to be sure they do not have
anger, hatred, or ill will towards God.
If a Practitioner has anger, hatred, or ill will towards any being at all, the mind
will not experience Enlightenment.
While some people are taught that God punishes us and rewards us, this is
not true and could lead to harmful feelings in the mind. Some are even
taught that God is the one who determines who lives or dies. This also is not
true and would only produce harmful feelings in the mind inhibiting you from
the attainment of Enlightenment.
If you have been taught to pray to God for the objects of your desire and
have not received a favorable outcome, the mind might harbor anger, hatred,
or ill will towards God thinking that he has turned his back on you or failed
you in some way.
It is not that God has failed you or turned his back on you, but instead,
what was taught to you was not the truth.
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If one was taught that God decides who lives or dies and that he answers
prayers giving you whatever you wish for, then when someone close to you
dies this might create painful feelings in the mind that are being attributed to
God and still held on to today. A Practitioner will need to “let this go”
realizing God does not determine who lives and dies.
Instead of harboring anger, hatred, or ill will towards God, a Practitioner will
need to release this realizing that what you were taught in the past is not the
truth. God does not punish and reward us nor give us what we “want”, but
instead, it is our own intentions, speech, and actions that produce results in
our life. It is our own life practice and how we conduct ourselves in the world
that determines the outcomes of what we experience in life. A well known
Teacher who shared many teachings about God shared “you reap what you
sow” and this is The Natural Law of Kamma.
It is important to realize that while certain venues share their beliefs of what
God does and does not do, through learning and practicing these Teachings
you can observe the truth for yourself, without a need to believe.
You can observe for yourself that the only reason why people die is because
they were born. Because an individual was born, they need to die. God does
not punish us through death or the death of those close to us but instead,
we need to die because we were born. This is part of The Universal Truth of
Impermanence as discussed in the Chapter titled “The Four Noble Truths:
Establishing Right View” (Chapter 4).
You can observe for yourself that God does not sit listening for prayers
granting wishes like a “genie in a bottle”. If he did, you could pray for
anything you want right now and it would immediately appear. This is not
how the world works despite this being taught in some venues.
It is not that God does not exist or that he does not care about what we are
or are not doing, it is that what some of us have been taught related to God
is not true. When we are taught that God will do a certain thing and it does
not happen, one might think that God does not care or does not exist.
Instead, what is being taught is not the truth which leads one to think that
God does not care or does not exist, rather than realizing what has been
taught is not the truth.
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Understanding God
If you would like to understand God, then perhaps you might consider that
God is also a Practitioner of these Teachings - The Natural Laws of
Existence. He is the highest and most developed Practitioner of these
Teachings because he is the one who created The Natural Laws of
Existence. Consider that he is not attached to us, but it is possible to have
love and care while not being attached to others.
As a parent, would you constantly restrain your child from touching the hot
stove after repeated lessons to help them see that the stove is hot and that it
will hurt them? Or, would you eventually decide to let the child touch the hot
stove so that they can see the truth for themselves to acquire wisdom so
that they will make the wise decision to no longer touch the hot stove?
God’s approach, purpose, and responsibility is not to constantly restrain us
ensuring that there is never any harm that comes to us. God does not have a
craving/desire/attachment to having your life progress in a certain direction.
Instead, as a wise parent would, he is interested in seeing each being
choose to walk towards Enlightenment through their own free will choices.
God’s purpose is to help us and guide us to understanding these
Natural Laws of Existence, if we choose to have a relationship with him
and seek his guidance. He is not domineering and controlling but
instead, here to help those who choose to have a relationship with him
and request his guidance.
He is interested in seeing all beings acquire wisdom. He is interested in
seeing all beings practicing loving-kindness and compassion towards each
other, learning to live in harmony with one another but he is not attached to
this outcome. God is interested in seeing all beings attain Enlightenment to
create “heaven on earth”.
God does not have a preplanned path for every human being that we must
follow or are required to follow. He does not require us to fulfill his desires
because he does not have craving/desire/attachment for us to do anything
specific. We all have free will to make whatever choices we would like to
make in our life and doing so based on The Natural Laws of Existence will
create peacefulness and harmony in our life beyond anything you could
imagine.
If God “flipped a switch” to have everything in the world function perfectly in
an instant, then within a matter of seconds the world would be right back
into the same problems we have always had as individuals and as a
collective society. Through our own free will, we would choose to make
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unwholesome decisions taking life in an unwholesome direction because we
still lack the wisdom of how to make wholesome decisions.
Anything that God would do to improve upon the world would be
immediately tainted as individuals would make countless decisions through
craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality) to once again bring
the world back into decline and into the darkness.
Instead, a wise parent would choose to share teachings with their children to
learn, reflect upon, and practice so that they can acquire wisdom to make
wise decisions through their own free will as responsible individuals.
The other option would be that God controls everyone, there is no free will,
and we are all robots. We know this is not true reality and no one would
enjoy this type of world. Nobody would appreciate a pushy and domineering
parent who is attempting to control their children, and that is why God does
not practice those qualities.
So, our choice is to decide to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings to
acquire wisdom leading to liberation of the mind where it is completely
peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy or not.
If we choose not to practice these Teachings, then, we should realize that is
a decision that leads to our own consequences based on our own decisions,
not the decisions of God.
And, through choosing to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings that
will also lead to our own consequences based on our own decisions, not the
decisions of God.
God nor Gotama Buddha chooses to motivate us through guilt, shame, or
fear. While others may share teachings in that way, that is not what would
lead to liberation of the mind. God nor Gotama Buddha chose to share
Teachings in that way and neither do I.
Instead, it is more helpful for a Practitioner to realize they have complete free
will to make any decisions they like. And, the more we understand The
Natural Law of Kamma, the wiser decisions that we can make experiencing
improved outcomes.
God does not grant Enlightenment and God does not control all things
in life.
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We have complete “free will” to determine our own path in life. We do not
need to be attached to the outcome of this existence nor be attached to God
to create change in our life. Only you can create change in your life through
your own free will and personal choices as a responsible and wise individual.
If you believe God does exist, God would be interested in all humans being
kind, gentle, warm, and loving with each other. These Teachings will guide
you in developing a mind and life practice free from discontentedness and
the suffering it causes. You can obtain your own salvation and believe in or
have a relationship with God. You will not earn salvation through worship but
through practicing Teachings that lead to universal love for all beings,
causing no harm, and leading a good moral life. These are The Universal
Teachings as described in Chapter 1 of this book.
If you do not believe in God and develop a kind, gentle, warm, and loving life
practice, should you someday find God does exist, God would be very
pleased with your intentions, speech, and actions. And, if God does not
exist, then you would have had a comfortable and wholesome existence on
earth while living in harmony with other beings. You would have led a very
wholesome life in developing this “life practice”.
You do not need to believe in God to learn and practice these Teachings and
a belief in God will also not hinder your practice, as long as you are not
craving and desiring things from God nor having anger or hatred towards
God. A relationship with God would only be helpful if cultivated as described
in this Chapter.
God is able to help you, if you choose to invite him into your life but that is
not required in order to attain Enlightenment. You might think of God as
another Teacher who is able to share his wisdom but only does so when
someone seeks his guidance. He can be thought of as a very best friend
who does not want anything from you nor will ever turn his back on you. God
is only interested in seeing you be well and peaceful. He has an equal
amount of “true love” for each and every being that has existed, exists now,
and will exist in the future. What type of relationship or whether you have a
relationship with God at all, is your choice. You are not penalized for not
having a relationship with God but in choosing to have a relationship with
God, he will help you as a friend or perhaps you might think of him as a kind,
patient, understanding, loving, and wise Father who is always there for you if
you choose to reach out a hand to him.
God does not have any jealousy whatsoever as jealousy is caused by
craving/desire/attachment and God does not have any craving/desire/
attachment.
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A Practitioner will need to deeply consider The Teachings in this Chapter and
all other Chapters within this book and book series to attain Enlightenment.
All things that happen are not due to God’s creative actions and
Enlightenment is not granted to you by God. For this reason, you can
understand, believe, and have a relationship with God or not while still
attaining Enlightenment.
This is your journey, and you get to decide what is or is not included in your
life journey.
You are not being controlled and you cannot gain “material things” from God
through prayer as everything that you acquire in this life is based on your
own life decisions and your own life choices through The Natural Law of
Kamma.
Choose wisely…
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Chapter 19
The Difficult Human Existence:
Sickness, Aging, and Death
Three aspects of life that are the most difficult for us to deal with in our
human existence are sickness, aging, and death.
The young Prince Siddhartha Gotama, who eventually became Gotama
Buddha, was sheltered during his first 29 years of existence as his father, the
King, was keeping him in the palace attempting to lure him into the ways of a
monarch through keeping him attached to the luxurious life of being a Prince
and eventually a King.
At the age of 29, Siddhartha Gotama exits the palace for the first time
without his father’s knowledge to observe life outside the palace. He had his
attendant with him who helped explain Siddhartha Gotama’s four (4)
observations of sickness, aging, death, and an Ascetic or monk - a spiritual
seeker.
Siddhartha Gotama was passionately interested in understanding the nature
of life and why beings experience sickness, aging, and death along with the
associated discontentedness of mind. He observed the Kingdom was full of
discontentedness and was not interested to rule over the hardship that he
observed. Instead he was interested in finding the answers to what plagued
the people of the Kingdom to help them, and decided to embark on a
spiritual journey that ultimately led him to Enlightenment and all the answers
to his questions.
The motivation and determination of Siddhartha Gotama eventually led him
to the understanding that because of the impermanent nature of all
conditioned objects and the mind’s craving for permanence, we cause our
own discontent mind. Through a lack of wisdom, the mind is ignorant
(unknowing of true reality) of The Natural Laws of Existence and, thus,
beings are trapped into a Cycle of Rebirth repeatedly experiencing sickness,
aging, and death.
It is not until we learn, reflect, and practice The Teachings to eliminate the
discontentedness in the mind attaining Enlightenment that we solve the
discontent mind and escape The Cycle of Rebirth. Only then, will our
constant wandering and roaming be eliminated residing peaceful, calm,
serene, and content with joy - permanently.
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Sickness
The health of our physical body is important and we should maintain our
health through a proper food supply and other prudent activities. We need to
give the body what it needs to maintain its health. If the body ceases to exist
through death, then the mind cannot stay in the current human form to
cultivate the consciousness. If we do not attain Enlightenment, we will be
reborn thus, our difficult experiences continue.
Sickness is a major challenge in our human existence. Oftentimes when we
are sick, we might moan or groan about our illness. Our normal activities
might cease and thus our attachment to being active and to wanting
permanent health of the physical body causes the mind to be discontent.
It is important that we seek help for our sickness but in doing so, understand
that sickness is part of the human existence. We cannot escape this as part
of our human condition. The body is impermanent and we will not always be
healthy. If we are human, we will be sick.
During times of sickness, it is easy for the mind to stop practicing these
Teachings and perhaps talk poorly to people around you and have poor
actions while feeling miserable. The mind is often highly discontent when we
are sick.
The “cause and effect” of The Natural Law of Kamma does not stop just
because we are sick. Being sick is not an excuse for being impolite, unkind,
unfriendly, and disrespectful to others.
Be sure you continue to practice The Teachings shared in this book which
includes Right Intention, Right Speech, and Right Action along with all the
other Teachings. If we speak kindly and politely to those caring for us during
our sickness, it will continue to create wholesome Kamma and we will
experience excellent care as people will be pleased to help us.
Aging
Aging is a challenge of life. As we age, our youthful appearance fades and if
we are attached to our youthful appearance, we may take drastic steps to
continue looking youthful that can cause discontentedness.
By attaching to our youthful appearance, we may opt for costly medical
procedures or go down the path of extreme efforts to maintain our youth.
This would require extensive effort all to please the mind that “craves” a
youthful appearance rather than accepting that we all age. It is a normal part
of life and the human existence.
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Aging brings challenges with the physical body that we all experience. We
experience aches, pains, and difficulties that we did not have during our
more youthful days. We need to accept this as part of the human existence
while recognizing it is impermanent. We will not always look or feel the same
as the body ages as the body is impermanent.
If you are attached to your youthful appearance and constantly “crave”
youthfulness, the mind will be discontent. If you are attached to the physical
body and constantly “crave” to never feel pain, the mind will be discontent.
These things are all impermanent and if the mind is clinging to permanent
youthfulness or permanent comfort in the physical body, there will be
discontentedness.
Death
Death is one of the biggest challenges for humans to accept and
understand. Accepting our own death and the death of those close to us can
be extremely challenging. There are major attachments to our friends and
family unless you have learned and are practicing “love without attachment”.
Upon the death of friends and family or our own death, it’s the end of our
time together in this existence without any chance to ever again resolve any
undiscussed concerns or dilemmas.
Death can be a time of grave and deep discontentedness or despair due to
the burden of significant attachment and the sometimes abrupt end of life
rather than a gradual letting go. Even with gradual death, it can often be a
challenge for humans to accept and deal with when the mind is craving
permanence.
A friend or family members’ death does not need to be taken as a tragic
loss. Through understanding and practicing these Teachings, you can accept
death as a natural and normal occurrence that will happen because we are
humans and we must die. The human condition means we were born and
thus we will experience sickness, aging, and death. The mind craves for
permanent health, youthfulness, and for those close to us to be with us
permanently. The unEnlightened mind is uncomfortable with the
impermanent nature of the human condition and when we experience
sickness, aging, and death this represents significant impermanence in our
life. Therefore, the unEnlightened mind is often discontent associated with
these unwelcome changes in our life.
The mind can be trained to understand and accept the impermanent nature
of the human condition, residing peaceful and calm even during sickness,
aging, and death.
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Death does not need to involve sadness, grief, and remorse. These are
feelings produced due to attachment and the mind causing itself to be
discontent. If there is love without attachment, you can experience death of
those close to you without sadness, grief, nor remorse. You can have
gratitude for the time you spent together rather than craving/desiring
permanence which will only cause discontentedness.
Gotama Buddha explained to us that there is only one reason why we die
and it’s because we were born. Because there is birth, there is sickness,
aging, and ultimately death. This is the human condition and Gotama
Buddha’s Teachings help us to eliminate all three of these by escaping The
Cycle of Rebirth. If we are not born, then we will not experience sickness,
aging, nor death.
It is ignorance (unknowing of true reality) that the unEnlightened mind does
not understand what it does not understand that continues us in constant
rounds of The Cycle of Rebirth. It is only when the mind acquires wisdom,
that it is liberated from discontentedness experiencing Enlightenment and at
the same time liberated from The Cycle of Rebirth.
Gotama Buddha did not teach what happens after death once we have
already attained Enlightenment. The Teachings of the “afterlife” is an
undeclared Teaching. He did explain that we can attain Enlightenment during
this life or at death. He left The Teaching undeclared of what transpires once
one attains Enlightenment and then dies, because knowing the answer to
this question does not change or effect our ability to attain Enlightenment in
this life in this human state.
No one has ever attained Enlightenment and returned, since one who has
attained Enlightenment would not return back to any future existence in The
Cycle of Rebirth. Therefore, it is an undeclared Teaching of what happens
once one attains Enlightenment and dies. Gotama Buddha’s goal was to
focus the mind on attaining Enlightenment in this very life so that we could
escape The Cycle of Rebirth and no longer experience existence in The
Cycle of Rebirth which would only bring sorrow, misery, displeasure, and
despair. The Enlightened mind will only experience peacefulness, calmness,
serenity, and contentedness with joy - permanently.
If we still have craving at the end of this life, that is the fuel that will cause us
to remain in The Cycle of Rebirth and be reborn into another realm. If we
have not attained one of The Four Stages of Enlightenment, we will most
likely be reborn into a lower realm of existence such as hell, animal, or the
afflicted spirits realm although there is the opportunity to be reborn back into
the human realm or the heavenly realm. None of the existences in any of the
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