No God, no Brahma can be found. No matter of this wheel
of life, Just bare phenomena roll Dependent on
conditions all. (Visuddhimagga)
The scripture of Dependent Origination demonstrates the
Buddha�s view of the nature of reality by showing how
human beings wander in Samsara as a result of ignorance
(avijja); it further defines the path leading to the end
of rebirth as the development of wisdom (vinnana). The
ultimate reality as defined in Buddhism rests on the
definition of these words avijja and vinnana. Reality as
perceived through ignorance is conditional and is that
pointed to in the first and second Noble Truths.
In the Dependent Origination formula, it is suggested
that due to lack of wisdom, through not seeing reality
clearly, a person is bound to commit kamma. Conditional
reality, therefore, leads to wandering round the wheel
of becoming. The nature of wisdom, on the other hand, is
pure and unconditional. This teaching is the subject of
the last two Noble Truths and it is this teaching alone
that leads to the end of rebirth. The Buddhist training
aims at abandoning the commiting of kamma and should be
developed by the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path.
It is just through this that we attain the ultimate
wisdom that ends rebirth.
There are thus two ways to experience reality in this
world: the arising of rebirth dependent on ignorance and
the cessation of rebirth dependent on wisdom. This is
all there has ever been. From this point of view, the
Middle Path means understanding the reality of the
present that no abiding self ever existed in the past
nor will persist in the future. When recollecting all of
His past births the Buddha found only this reality. The
rebirths were there without permanent abiding soul, as
many people believe. There was no self, no soul to be
found, which is unchangeable, he said. The existence of
these two realities is not dependent upon the
manifestation of a Buddha to point them out.
Buddhism came into existence as a result of the
discovery of these two realities. Accordingly, practice
within it should be concerned with practice rather than
with ceremony. Since the realisation of ultimate reality
is the central element of Buddhism, the practice of the
Dhamma therefore means the practice of religion.
Human beings are subject to suffering and the Buddha
makes use of wisdom to show how one can get rid of this
suffering. Ultimately, experience of suffering and the
cause of its arising are products of the mind. Since
this is so, the Buddha insists that to investigate such
metaphysical questions as the creation of the universe
and our place in it only enslaves the mind and
overpowers it with concepts of god, divine grace and
dependence. Such mind games do not provide empirical
evidence and, in fact, create the bondage that is called
Samsara. He further confirms that it is not possible to
get rid of suffering by such investigation.
Ignorance, it appears to us as a permanent being or
soul, or even inner spark of divinity, sets in motion a
process which surfaces in the form of physical, mental
or verbal action. These are the product of a mistaken
belief in an unchanging self. Thus, any form of craving,
either for sensual pleasure or for an eternity of
individual existence (or indeed, anything else), is
called conditional reality and subjects the mind to
commit kamma.
Conventional religious practices, for example, can be
seen as the result of attachment to the concept of a
creator, an eternal soul and so on. Such clinging
produces kamma and results in rebirth. In Buddhism, the
concept of liberation is opposed to such clinging to
concepts. That is why the Buddha avoids metaphysical
speculation, judging it to be extremely harmful. Down
the centuries many battles have raged, much blood has
been shed by religious factions striving to prove the
true message of their religion.
The Buddha says that attempting to fathom the
metaphysical world does not put an end to the human
predicament but creates Samsara. Similarly, by craving
pleasurable sensations there arise conflict and
suffering which turns into kamma.
For the mind to become stable and at peace one has to
experience for oneself the conditional nature of
reality. Ultimately, a human being is solely a
psycho-physical construct of five components: form,
feeling, perception, mental formations and
consciousness. This is the reality that the Buddha
discovered. Because of this five factors human being
becomes identical in terms of perceptions, emotions or
feelings, no matter of their race. These are common.
The existence of a human being is a mere phenomenon of
the rebirth process. Such renewed being should not,
however, be considered dependent on an everlasting soul.
There is no eternal soul nor is there annihilation.
Ultimate reality is completely apart from concepts of
annihilation and of eternal being. There is no place for
them. Samsara, conditional existence, is due to the
clinging of the five aggregates. It is necessary to
learn the theory and practice as discovered by the
Buddha in order to achieve liberation. When beginners
learn the theory they see it as philosophy rather than
reality and misunderstand the Teaching. One must
practice insight meditation to see things as they really
are. What ultimately exists is only peace, which is
experienced right now.
The second part: Buddha said that neither parents nor
relatives, friends nor material acquisitions could give
us inner peace. None of these can surpass and excel the
inner peace that arises from one�s cultivation of mind;
a developed mind and a mind associated with purity that
comes from meditation. On contrary, looking for peace
outside of ourselves rather than from within prevents us
investigating the peace available within the framework
of our mind and body. The Buddha pointed out His central
aim of teaching in the Majjhimanikaya where he states
�My teaching is only to know two things:
Dukkha and cessation of Dukkha�. Many people
misunderstand Buddhism since they do not accept Dukkha
as a true reality. They see Buddhism as teaching a
negative view of life rather than seeing the teaching on
dukkha as a positive contribution to their
understanding. They cannot accept dukkha as a reality
because they never look into its underlying meaning. To
see the reality of dukkha, as it is one has to see it
for oneself, and the way to this realisation is through
the practice of meditation, through listening to the
teaching on the dhamma and by the exercise of wisdom.
Meditation enables us to see the reality of mind and how
it operates within us. The timeless reality pertaining
to natural law, the pure method of dealing with the
investigation into the peace offered by the Buddha is to
see the true dhamma as it really is within human
consciousness, and no only to see the consciousness
associated with dukkha but to see the consciousness
associated with ultimate peace and purity. One becomes
peaceful knowing both purity and impurity, sukkha and
dukkha, and how they operate within us.
One after another, we seek pleasures, in the process of
causing ourselves much worry, anxiety, fear, hatred and
disappointment. But we never see the arising of worry,
anxiety, etc., because the mind becomes overpowered by
the object we crave, fettered by taints and clinging to
what is desired. Our mind remains restless until our
desired object is acquired, only to repeat the same
action over and over, as new objects of desire rise up
and confront us.
So our mind remains restless, day after day, week after
week, month after month, year after year, even up to
death, never seeing reality nor finding peace. Unless
one sees into this process and recognises it for what it
is, the mental turmoil will continue to have the power
to overwhelm us.
The meaning of dukkha should not merely be considered
when we are suffering from disease or are in pain, for
the ultimate meaning of dukkha transcends both disease
and pain.
We are dogged by dukkha, by unsatisfactoriness. There is
always something to cling on to: feelings, objects,
fame, power, material objects etc., and all are
unsatisfactory for they never quench the thirst for very
long. Having achieved one desire another takes its place
you will hear someone say �I need only this in my life
to become happy� (a recognition of this sense of
unsatisfactoriness that drives us on). After
acquisition, the possession of that which was desire,
there is only a temporary easing before the mind diverts
into another object causing new desire and craving to
arise, the same as before.
This unsatisfactoriness never comes to an end. Dukkha
remains constantly active driving us on and on, making
us the seeker of ever-new desires, objects and
objectives.
As well as the craving for acquisitions, there is also
the fear of loss associated with ownership and in
relationships. Those we love dearly may die or leave us.
Maybe they stop loving us back. Here dukkha comes in the
form of disappointment, frustration, despair, and loss,
even fear of loss. We are never safe from it.
Living with undesirable sequences, full of resistance
and reaction, little relaxation and without a balanced
mind, how can even a so-called religious person find
peace? Only through knowing the reality of dukkha can
one achieve peace that is absent from mental turmoil,
worry, fear, unsatisfactoriness and so on.
Insight meditation is important both to see and to
overcome this unsatisfactory life.
The well-developed meditator lives with knowledge,
reality and peace within. (Internet)
අව
අටවක
අමාවක
පුර අටවක
පසෙලාස්වක