Chain of Misery

“Why this craving? He was not playing an intellectual game, he was not reading scriptures or discussing scriptures. He was experimenting like a scientist: what is happening deep inside?

A small little desire starts. You start liking it and how quickly it turns into craving. A small little desire to get rid of something which turns into aversion.

Taṇhā in the language of those days — craving means craving turns into clinging. Small little desires turn into craving and craving into clinging.

Why these small little desires? Even what is the cause? It became so clear because he was experiencing it.

These sensations on the body. When one experiences sensations on the body and if the sensation is pleasant, you start liking it, which very soon turns into craving, clinging.

When the sensation is unpleasant, when you experience unpleasant sensation, very soon it turns into aversion, hatred. You like to get rid of it. The craving is to get rid of it.

Oh, the sensations means the cause. The vedanā, sensation, is the cause of your craving which turns into clinging.”

Sensation <- Contact

“Why these sensations? What is the cause?

He was experimenting. What is happening there?

There is a contact and as soon as there is a contact there is bound to be a sensation on the body.

Contact of what with what? The six sense doors.

The eyes contact of the eyes with some shape, some form, some color, some light, the object of the eyes. As it comes in contact, there is bound to be a sensation.

Object of the ear sense door, a sound comes in contact with the ear sense door, there is bound to be a sensation.

Nose sense door, a smell coming in contact, bound to be a sensation.

Tongue sense door, a taste coming in contact, bound to be sensation.

Body sense door, there is a contact of something tangible, bound to be a sensation.

And the mind sense door — any thought, any emotion — there is bound to be a sensation on the body.”

Contact <- Six Sense Doors

“Why this contact?

It was so simple, so clear.

Contact means [contact through] the six sense doors

So long as one is having these six sense doors, the respective objects, the entire world is full of respective objects, there is bound to be one contact or the other at one sense door or the other.

The contact is because of the six sense doors that we carry and their respective objects in the world.”

Six sense doors <- Mind and Matter

“Why the six sense doors? What is the cause of this?

So clear means the mental structure, nāma, rūpa means the physical structure.

The combination of these two. As soon as this combination started, that means the life flow started, the continuum of the life started.

It started with these six sense doors.”

Mind and matter <- Conciousness

“Why this mind and matter, life started like this?

And it was so clear.

This flow of consciousness is there all the time and as soon as one life ends, this flow of consciousness comes in contact, arises somewhere else.

It keeps on arising, passing, arising, passing.

At the time of death it passes, then again it arises somewhere in another life, another body, and starts flowing in the same way.”

Consciousness <- Saṅkhāra

“Why this? What is the cause of it?

And it was so clear.

These mental volitional actions that take place, all mental volitional actions are responsible for the consciousness of the next moment.

This moment I generate a saṅkhāra. Next moment consciousness arises.

You generate saṅkhāra, next moment consciousness arises.

At the time of death a very deep saṅkhāra, which is like a deep line drawn on the rock with chisel and hammer, that arises on the surface, gives a strong push and the consciousness arises somewhere else.

So the flow continues because of the saṅkhāra.”

Saṅkhāra <- Ignorance

“Why this saṅkhāra?

And it was so clear.

Oh, ignorance.

Ignorance. Everybody is generating saṅkhāra because of ignorance.

What ignorance?

Not ignorant because one has not gone to any school or college.

Not ignorant because one has not read scriptures.

Not ignorant because one has not listened to Dhamma talks.

Nothing doing.

Ignorance at the experiential level.

One does not know how the misery is arising deep inside.

How there are sensations everywhere and how pleasant sensation one reacts with the saṅkhāra of craving.

How unpleasant sensation one keeps on reacting with the saṅkhāra of aversion.

This whole process continues deep inside and one at the surface level doesn’t know anything what is happening.

And this process of multiplication: generating misery, multiplying misery, generating misery, generating saṅkhāra, multiplying saṅkhāra.

Oh ignorance, ignorance.”

The complete circle

“Because of ignorance one generates [saṅkhāra].

Because of [saṅkhāra] there is consciousness.

Because of the consciousness a new life, life in mind and matter, starts.

With this mind and matter six sense doors are there.

Because of that the contact is there.

And because of the contact a sensation is there.

And because of the sensation a craving is there.

And this craving turns into clinging, into deep attachment.

And because of this deep attachment to the craving the process of becoming, becoming, becoming, the flow of life keeps on flowing.

It gets all the strength every time one comes to the end of the life.

This bhava, the saṅkhāra which is so deep, is responsible to give a new life.

So the process of becoming, becoming, becoming continues.

It does not stop at the end of the life. It continues.

And because of this process of becoming, becoming, becoming, even after death a new life starts.

Again a life, a birth comes.

And when the birth comes, whenever life starts it has to pass through all these miseries: misery of old age, misery of disease, misery of death, misery of wanted things not happening, unwanted things happening.

All kinds of physical and mental miseries one has to pass because the birth has started.”

The point where the chain is broken

“He found out the sensation as an important point from where a sort of junction, from where two roads start.

One road is a road which is full of misery.

You generate misery, you keep on generating misery because you keep on reacting every moment.

You are experiencing sensation every moment, you are reacting.

So it is a process of multiplication of misery.

And this very junction, this very point of your sensation on the body can take you to the road which is the road of liberation.

All your misery will get eradicated.

Because now when you experience the sensation you don’t react.

You just understand: anicca, impermanent.

This is what you started doing.

First important thing is that you have to be aware of the sensations.

And when you are aware of the sensations, not to react.

Every sensation should turn into paññā, wisdom.

Not every sensation to result in taṇhā, craving and aversion.

This is the path that you have chosen for liberation.

Going deeper to the level of sensation and not reacting.

The whole chain is broken here.”

~ Goenka, Day 5 Vipassana Course

1.Philosophy being nothing else but THE STUDY OF WISDOM AND TRUTH, it may with reason be expected that those who have spent most time and pains in it should enjoy a greater calm and serenity of mind, a greater clearness and evidence of knowledge, and be less disturbed with doubts and difficulties than other men. […] But no sooner do we depart from sense and instinct to follow the light of a superior principle, to reason, meditate, and reflect on the nature of things, but a thousand scruples spring up in our minds concerning those things which before we seemed fully to comprehend. […] We are insensibly drawn into uncouth paradoxes, difficulties, and inconsistencies, which multiply and grow upon us as we advance in speculation, till at length, having wandered through many intricate mazes, we find ourselves just where we were, or, which is worse, sit down in a forlorn Scepticism.

2.The cause of this is thought to be the obscurity of things, or the natural weakness and imperfection of our understandings. It is said, the faculties we have are few, and those designed by nature for the SUPPORT and comfort of life, and not to penetrate into the INWARD ESSENCE and constitution of things. […]

3.[…] Upon the whole, I am inclined to think that the far greater part, if not all, of those difficulties which have hitherto amused philosophers, and blocked up the way to knowledge, are entirely owing to ourselves–that we have first raised a dust and then complain we cannot see. […]

6.A CHIEF SOURCE OF ERROR IN ALL PARTS OF KNOWLEDGE.- […]Taking notice of what seems to have had a chief part in rendering speculation intricate and perplexed, and to have occasioned innumerable errors and difficulties in almost all parts of knowledge. And that is the opinion that the mind has a power of framing ABSTRACT IDEAS or notions of things. He who is not a perfect stranger to the writings and disputes of philosophers must needs acknowledge that no small part of them are spent about abstract ideas. These are in a more especial manner thought to be the object of those sciences which go by the name of LOGIC and METAPHYSICS. […]

7.PROPER ACCEPTATION OF ABSTRACTION. — It is agreed on all hands that the qualities or modes of things do never REALLY EXIST EACH OF THEM APART BY ITSELF, and separated from all others, but are mixed, as it were, and blended together, several in the same object. But, we are told, the mind being able to consider each quality singly, or abstracted from those other qualities with which it is united, does by that means frame to itself abstract ideas. […] Not that it is possible for colour or motion to exist without extension; but only that the mind can frame to itself by ABSTRACTION the idea of colour exclusive of extension, and of motion exclusive of both colour and extension.

9.OF COMPOUNDING. — And as the mind frames to itself abstract ideas of qualities or MODES, so does it, by the same precision or mental separation, attain abstract ideas of the more compounded BEINGS which include several coexistent qualities. […] The mind having observed that Peter, James, and John resemble each other in certain common agreements of shape and other qualities, leaves out […] that which is peculiar to each, retaining only what is common to all, and so makes an abstract idea wherein all the particulars equally partake. And after this manner it is said we come by the abstract idea of MAN, or, if you please, humanity, or human nature; wherein it is true there is included colour, because there is no man but has some colour, but then it can be neither white, nor black, nor any particular colour […] So likewise there is included stature, but then it is neither tall stature, nor low stature, nor yet middle stature, but something abstracted from all these.

10.TWO OBJECTIONS TO THE EXISTENCE OF ABSTRACT IDEAS. — Whether others have this wonderful faculty of ABSTRACTING THEIR IDEAS, they best can tell: for myself, I find indeed I have a faculty of imagining […] those particular things I have perceived, and of variously compounding and dividing them. […] But then whatever hand or eye I imagine, it must have some particular shape and colour. Likewise the idea of man that I frame to myself must be either of a white, or a black, or a tawny, a straight, or a crooked, a tall, or a low, or a middle-sized man. I cannot by any effort of thought conceive the abstract idea above described. […] I deny that I can abstract from one another, or conceive separately, those qualities which it is impossible should exist so separated; or that I can frame a general notion, by abstracting from particulars in the manner aforesaid.

12.EXISTENCE OF GENERAL IDEAS ADMITTED. — By observing how ideas become general we may the better judge how words are made so. And here it is to be noted that I do not deny absolutely there are general ideas, but only that there are any ABSTRACT GENERAL IDEAS; for […] it is always supposed that they are formed by ABSTRACTION, after the manner set forth in sections 8 and 9. Now, if we will annex a meaning to our words, and speak only of what we can conceive, I believe we shall acknowledge that an idea which, considered in itself, is particular, becomes general by being made to represent or stand for all other particular ideas of the SAME SORT. To make this plain by an example, suppose a geometrician is demonstrating the method of cutting a line in two equal parts. He draws, for instance, a black line of an inch in length: this, which in itself is a particular line, is nevertheless with regard to its signification general, since […] it represents all particular lines whatsoever; so that what is demonstrated of it is demonstrated of all lines, or, in other words, of a line in general. And, as that particular line becomes general by being made a sign, so the name LINE, which taken absolutely is PARTICULAR, by being a sign is made GENERAL.

16.OBJECTION.—ANSWER. — But here it will be demanded, HOW WE CAN KNOW ANY PROPOSITION TO BE TRUE OF ALL PARTICULAR TRIANGLES, EXCEPT we have first seen it DEMONSTRATED OF THE ABSTRACT IDEA OF A TRIANGLE which equally agrees to all? […] It seems therefore that, to be certain this proposition is universally true, we must either make a particular demonstration for every particular triangle, which is impossible, or once for all demonstrate it of the ABSTRACT IDEA OF A TRIANGLE, in which all the particulars do indifferently partake and by which they are all equally represented. To which I answer, that, though the idea I have in view whilst I make the demonstration be, for instance, that of an isosceles rectangular triangle whose sides are of a determinate length, I may nevertheless be certain it extends to all other rectilinear triangles, of what sort or bigness soever. And that because neither the right angle, nor the equality, nor determinate length of the sides are at all concerned in the demonstration. […] Which sufficiently shows that the right angle might have been oblique, and the sides unequal, and for all that the demonstration have held good. […] And here it must be acknowledged that a man may consider a figure merely as triangular, without attending to the particular qualities of the angles, or relations of the sides. So far he may abstract; but this will never prove that he can frame an abstract, general, inconsistent idea of a triangle.

18.SOURCE OF THE PREVAILING NOTION. — I come now to consider the SOURCE OF THIS PREVAILING NOTION, and that seems to me to be LANGUAGE. […] The truth of this appears […] from the plain confession of the ablest patrons of abstract ideas, who acknowledge that they are made in order to naming; from which it is a clear consequence that if there had been no such things as speech or universal signs there never had been any thought of abstraction. Let us examine the manner wherein words have contributed to the origin of that mistake. First then, it is thought that every name has, or ought to have, ONE ONLY precise and settled signification, which inclines men to think there are certain ABSTRACT, DETERMINATE IDEAS that constitute the true and only immediate signification of each general name. Whereas, in truth, there is no such thing as one precise and definite signification annexed to any general name, they all signifying indifferently a great number of particular ideas. […] It is one thing for to keep a name constantly to the same definition, and another to make it stand everywhere for the same idea; the one is necessary, the other useless and impracticable. […]

21.CAUTION IN THE USE OF LANGUAGE NECESSARY. — We have, I think, shown the impossibility of ABSTRACT IDEAS. We have considered what has been said for them by their ablest patrons; and endeavored to show they are of no use for those ends to which they are thought necessary. And lastly, we have traced them to the source from whence they flow, which appears evidently to be language. It cannot be denied that words are of excellent use, in that by their means all that stock of knowledge which has been purchased by the joint labours of inquisitive men in all ages and nations may be drawn into the view and made the possession of one single person. But at the same time it must be owned that most parts of knowledge have been strangely perplexed and darkened by the abuse of words […]

24.But, THESE BEING KNOWN TO BE MISTAKES, A MAN MAY with greater ease PREVENT HIS BEING IMPOSED ON BY WORDS. He that knows he has no other than particular ideas, will not puzzle himself in vain to find out and conceive the abstract idea annexed to any name. […] It were, therefore, to be wished that everyone would use his utmost endeavours to obtain a clear view of the ideas he would consider, separating from them all that dress and incumbrance of words which so much contribute to blind the judgment and divide the attention.

25.Unless we take care TO CLEAR THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF KNOWLEDGE FROM THE embarras and DELUSION OF WORDS, we may make infinite reasonings upon them to no purpose; we may draw consequences from consequences, and be never the wiser. […] Whoever therefore designs to read the following sheets, I entreat him to make my words the occasion of his own thinking, and endeavour to attain the same train of thoughts in reading that I had in writing them.

~ A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, Introduction

Honor, position, power, and wealth are like visitors, since they are not eternal things, and once they go, they cannot be retained. It is like the case of flowers in the spring, which must necessarily die and fall to the ground. In attaining them, one is not delighted; in losing them, what sadness is there?

Now, I know that I am lazy by nature and extremely short on talent. Even if I were to be respectful and go about my duty, proceeding as quickly as dust on the wind, I would not necessarily be able to achieve great fame or position, or avoid sorrow or encumbrance. How much more so is this the case, since I cannot even do this?

~ Ge Hong, The Master Who Embraces Simplicity