[Phighicle]

Hello forum friends,

The Mahali Sutta caught my attention. The lecture I have gotten from it is that dukkha and its realization is a very basic step toward the practice of a dispassionate and still mind.

Here a quote from it:

[...]what, lord, is the cause, what the requisite condition, for the defilement of beings? How are beings defiled with cause, with requisite condition?"

[...] if form were exclusively stressful — followed by stress, infused with stress and not infused with pleasure — beings would not be infatuated with form. But because form is also pleasurable — followed by pleasure, infused with pleasure and not infused with stress — beings are infatuated with form. Through infatuation, they are captivated. Through captivation, they are defiled. This is the cause, this the requisite condition, for the defilement of beings. And this is how beings are defiled with cause, with requisite condition.

"If feeling were exclusively stressful...

"If perception were exclusively stressful...

"If fabrications were exclusively stressful...

"If consciousness were exclusively stressful...

"And what, lord, is the cause, what the requisite condition, for the purification of beings? How are beings purified with cause, with requisite condition?"

"Mahali, if form were exclusively pleasurable — followed by pleasure, infused with pleasure and not infused with stress — beings would not be disenchanted with form. But because form is also stressful — followed by stress, infused with stress and not infused with pleasure — beings are disenchanted with form. Through disenchantment, they grow dispassionate. Through dispassion, they are purified. This is the cause, this the requisite condition, for the purification of beings. And this is how beings are purified with cause, with requisite condition.

"If feeling were exclusively pleasurable...

"If perception were exclusively pleasurable...

"If fabrications were exclusively pleasurable...

"If consciousness were exclusively pleasurable...

Mahali Sutta
IMO, seems that this teaching can aid for a deep understanding of the First Noble Truth about knowing dukkha there, where the untamed mind can not see it.

Any comments?

[SallythePearl]

nice find

[Unlinozistimi]

Some things are pleasurable when they arise and painful when they cease. Others are painful when they arise and pleasurable when they cease. Unfortunately things are uncontrollable, therefore cannot be relied on. The escape is to not rely on anything.


.

[VovTortki]

Unfortunately things are uncontrollable, therefore cannot be relied on.

Pegembara

Would you consider any of the two phrases above to fit into the nature of any of the three characteristics (anicca, dukkha, anatta)?

[AmfitNom]

Growing Dispassionate

When I saw the topic title I vaguely remembered something that Ajahn Chah said to a man about becoming dispassionate - - and then I found it again and thought I'd post it because I think its a good example of how one might misunderstand the meaning of the word. It was this:



There was a layman who used to come and see Ajahn Chah, who had a lot of complaints - his fields weren't producing very much, and his buffalo was getting old, and his house wasn't big enough and his kids weren't satisfying him... and he said he was getting really sick of the world, and becoming dispassionate.

And Ajahn Chah said, "No, you're not. You're not dispassionate. If you got more buffaloes, newer ones, healthier ones, and a bigger house and a lot more wealth, then you'd find that your dispassion with the world is very temporary. You just have aversion to the world."

He continued, "What you need to meditate on is, "It's good enough". Whatever comes up in the mind: "It's good enough." So the man practised that for a while and the next time he came back to see Ajahn Chah he had become contented, just by meditating on "It's good enough".

Craving arises because we have discontentment with what we have. But when we have that sense of "It's good enough", then the mind starts to settle down and come to a place of ease. And it’s from that place of ease, well-being and contentment that the mind can go into what we call samadhi.


http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha115.htm

with kind wishes,

Aloka

[chuecfafresslds]

Yes, of course

[BGThomasis]

The best you can do is, to live in the moment and see what is real now and to feel good about what you have. because tomorrow you can lose everything.

To suffer should make us happy because we know we are getting good Karma from sufferen and the more we suffer the less bad karma we will have

The thinker

[LookSe]

But if we became content wouldn't we quit searching for enlightenment?

[CiccoineFed]

how do you come to the conclusion the more suffering we have the more good karma we produce regards

The best you can do is, to live in the moment and see what is real now and to feel good about what you have. because tomorrow you can lose everything.

To suffer should make us happy because we know we are getting good Karma from sufferen and the more we suffer the less bad karma we will have

The thinker

[CxofxJFm]

Well, one interpretation that I give to this sutta is that it is teaching us the recognition of the ultimate unsatisfactory nature of conditioned things which is the turning point for having confidence in the teachings of Buddha so to realize everlasting happiness.

But