BUDDHISM IN KERALA: Everything Converges on Feeling!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Everything Converges on Feeling!

Detached from Bodily and Mental Feeling!

The Blessed Buddha once said: Bhikkhus, the uninstructed ordinary person
feels pleasant feelings, painful feelings, and neither-painful-nor-pleasant
feelings... Such does the instructed Noble Disciple also feel. What then is
the difference, the variation, and the distinction between the instructed
Noble Disciple and the uninstructed ordinary person? Bhikkhus, when the
uninstructed ordinary person is being touched by a painful feeling, then he
cries, grieves, moans, weeps, beats his breast and becomes bewildered!
He feels actually two feelings: A bodily pain and a mental sadness...!!!
Imagine they hit a man with a dart, and then they pricked him immediately
after with another dart, then that man would indeed feel two feelings
caused by both the two darts. Similarly is it in this case where this poor
uninstructed ordinary person touched by a painful feeling, actually feels
two feelings: A bodily pain and another mental frustration over that pain.
Whenever touched by pain, he responds with aversion towards that painful
feeling, then the latent tendency to aversion towards painful feeling grows
even deeper. When touched by painful feeling, he seeks for sense pleasure!
Why? Because the uninstructed ordinary person does not know any other
escape from painful feeling than seeking to relief by new sense pleasure.
When he seeks towards delight by sensual pleasure, the latent tendency
to lust for pleasant feeling grows even deeper. He does not at all really
understand as it really is neither the cause, nor the fading away, nor the
satisfaction, nor the danger, nor the escape regarding these feelings!#
Not understanding any of these things, then when touched by a neutral
neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling the latent tendency to ignorance also
grows deeper. When feeling a pleasant feeling, he feels it as if attached
to it, and as the owner ("my feeling") being involved in it. When feeling a
painful feeling, he also feels this as if attached to it and involved in it. If
he feels a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he feels it as if attached
to it and involved in it... This, bhikkhus, is called an uninstructed ordinary
person, who is attached & clings desperately to birth, aging, death, sorrow,
pain, discontent, and despair. I tell you: What he clings to is Suffering ...!
Bhikkhus, when the instructed Noble Disciple is being touched by a painful
feeling, he neither cries, nor grieves, nor moans, nor weeps, nor beats his
breast, nor does he become bewildered! He feels actually only one feeling:
Bodily pain, yet no mental sadness or frustration! Imagine they hit a man
with only one single dart, and not any other dart, then that man would feel
a single feeling caused by only one single dart. So too, when the instructed
Noble Disciple is contacted by a painful feeling, then he feels one feeling:
A bodily pain, but not any mental sadness or frustration. Touched by that
painful feeling, he neither develops nor reinforces any aversion towards it!
Because he develops no aversion towards this painful feeling, the latent
tendency to aversion towards painful feeling does not grow deeper!
When touched by painful feeling, he does not wish for sense pleasure.
For what reason? Because the instructed Noble Disciple knows another
escape from painful feeling other than sensual pleasure! Since he does not
seek delight in sensual pleasure, the latent tendency to lust for pleasant
feeling does not grow deeper in him. He indeed understands as it really is,
the cause, the fading away, the satisfaction, the danger, and the escape
in the case of feelings. Since he understands all these things, the latent
tendency to ignorance, when touched by a neither-painful-nor-pleasant
feeling, does not grow deeper in him. When feeling a pleasant feeling, he
feels it as if detached from it, as something remote, irrelevant and alien.
When feeling a painful feeling, he also feels this as if detached from it,
as if remote and alien. If he feels a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling,
he feels even that neutrality as if disconnected from it, remote and alien.
This, Bhikkhus, is called a Noble Disciple, who is released from birth, aging,
and death! Who is separated from sorrow, lamentation, pain, discontent,
and desperate despair... I tell you, such one is separated from Suffering!
This, is the difference, variation, and distinction, between the learned
Noble Disciple and an uninstructed ordinary person! The wise, clever and
learned one does not feel the adjoined pleasant & painful mental feeling!
This is the great difference between the wise and learned one and the
ordinary person. For the learned one, who has comprehended the Dhamma,
who clearly sees this world and the next, the desirable things do neither
incite, nor stir up, nor stimulate his mind...Towards whatever disgusting,
he has no aversion. All mental attraction and repulsion has ceased in him...
Both have been extinguished, brought to silence. Having known this stain
and sorrow-less state, such transcender of existence rightly understands:

Pleasant feeling induces greed...
Painful feeling produces hate...
Neither-painful-nor-pleasant neutral feeling
causes neglect and therefore generates ignorance...

Note #:
The cause of feeling is contact bye the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body or mind.
The fading away of feeling occurs right when this contact ceases.
The satisfaction in feeling is the delight one can take in it.
The danger of feeling is the impermanence of it. Instantly it goes away!
The escape from feeling is Nibbāna by completing the Noble 8-fold Way!