But in fact, emotions, be they afflictive or pleasant, are not only temporary (Anijja), dis-satisfactory (Dhukkha), and not self (Anatta), as stated by the Lord Buddha, but are also natural physical reactions, due to chemicals released by the brain into the nervous system, based on what one is thinking.
What one is thinking is conditioned, and will cause the brain to send chemicals into the nervous system. One unconscious process we can notice consciously which reflects when we are feeling stressed, is the breath.
Controlling the breath, and noticing if it is agitated, or not, is a key to reverse-engineering the chemicals within the nervous system, which causes stress, and agitated breathing, to douse out, or to change the nature of those chemicals, and create a peaceful physical feeling, and hence, a peaceful mind and emotion.
The anger, stress, sadness, loneliness, and other afflictive emotions are not sinful. Sin is not the meaning of ‘Defilement’. Defilement is more like a stain that was conditioned as we grew up, and society conditions us, as do human cultural habits and traditions, and which can be ‘polished off’ leaving the consciousness void of impurity, and liberated from afflictive emotions (Dhukkha Vedhana).
Note; Just because I may be able to explain a technique, does not necessarily mean that i myself have mastered it in my own applied practice and manifested it into my life. Watch the Teachings, Not the Teacher.
Vedanā (Pāli; Sanskrit) is a Buddhist term traditionally translated as either “feeling” or “sensation.” In general, vedanā refers to the pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sensations that occur when our internal sense organs come into contact with external sense objects and the associated consciousness.
One of the seven universal mental factors in the Theravāda Abhidharma.
One of the five universal mental factors in the Mahāyāna Abhidharma.
One of the twelve links of dependent origination (in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions).
One of the five skandas (in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions).
One of the objects of focus within the four foundations of mindfulness practice.
In the context of the twelve links, craving for and attachment to vedanā leads to suffering; reciprocally, concentrated awareness and clear comprehension of vedanā can lead to Enlightenment and the extinction of the causes of suffering.
Comments Off on What Is Sin?
The concept of what Sin is, is a question many people ask, and never really get a straight answer. Sin, is a word, which we Humans use to express the concept of some kind of Judicially Regulated list of acts and intentions, thoughts and words, some of which are considered to be of a positive charge (nature), and others with a Negative Charge (unnatural). Those which we consider positive are said to be Auspicious, or Meritorious.
Those actions words or intentions and thoughts which are negatively charged, are considered to be Sinful, Unethical and Immoral. I would say that before any Humans and Religions and Philosophies ever arose, Evolution was already at work long before, and that Sin, is a Human Concept, based on a measurement Principle which differs according to the varying Ethical Beliefs of each Culture or Belief System (Religion).
In truth, all things are in motion and living beings react to each other according to how Nature has programmed them to survive and evolve as species… even inanimate objects such as rock, lava, water, and clouds, behave in reaction to their surrounding environment, which is also involved in the causes of effects. Cause and Effect is not just our own actions, rather, the environment and our memories and experiences and genetic makeup also condition our responses.
Does True Justice Exist? and if so Where? – in Our Heads? or Outside of It?
They are programmed by nature, such as anger is what a buffalo mother is programmed to have, when her perception sees an approaching living being, and memory association or genetic memory, then associates the approaching being as enemy or friend, and if a lion, the buffalo gets angry, and prepares to fight or flee… It is a chemical reaction of mother nature, and evolution’s survival of species .. not sin! it is Natural. But this inbuilt pre-programmed survival instinct system evolved by Nature in the creation of life forms, is a natural process that is not sinful, it is merely defilement that hides the true Buddha Nature from the Experiencer, who has fallen into Samsaric Existence and Physicality by way of Birth, due to Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda).
Supernatural, is the Human who has overcome the base instincts, which mother nature provided each species with to survive, and which cause illusory perception of existence (subjective, not objective), and this is what the Human who has seen the escape route to the existential question, seeks.. Buddhists call it Nibbana. The cessation of suffering and consciousness of dis-satisfactory sensations, and afflictive thoughts and emotions.
Sin is when knowing all of the above, one still wishes harm towards others, with no reason that is programmed by evolution, survival of species, or human conditioning. Such is hardly possible, except when the ‘sinner’ is still oblivious to the nature of all things. Sin is hence Ignorance, and Ignorance is always present, for Anger or Greed to arise.
The three mind poisons (for me, better named as ‘Desire, Aversion, and Delusion’ as ‘Greed Anger and Ignorance), which prevent us from becoming liberated, and which shroud our minds and affect our behavior, and are afflictions of the spirit, are that which must be destroyed, by destroying ignorance. In Thailand, we call this Ignorance of the True Nature of all Things (Dhamma), ‘Awicha’ (Avidyā in Sanskrit, or Avijjā in Pali).
where there is sadness , joy .
A nice prayer (but wishful thinking).. however, prayers are for people who are not prepared to make the effort to change.. the lord wont make you patient or forgiving or generous or merciful.. only you will. The Lord may wish you to be.. but Free will dictates that it is You yourself, who must make the efforts and reach the necessary understanding, to become an angelic mind, and only with an angelic mind, can one enter the pearly gates.. after all, heaven is a pure place isn’t it?
To sow love where there is hatred.. you need understanding.. not prayers, you need to destroy your false views so you don’t feel offended, and to destroy your false views so you don’t feel resentment or wronged, and don’t hate others. However, the power of prayer can strengthen your own resolve, and indeed, is intended for self mindfulness, more than for the angels to hear you.
However, having said this, ‘Athithaan‘ in Thai means ‘to pray’, or cultivate the deep wish (and willpower), to manifest one’s desires.
When i was preparing to Ordain as a Bhikkhu (Buddhist Monk), i was told to pray and pray and pray for the chance to become a Monk, and indeed, the repeated praying developed a higher and more serious attitude and stronger resolve to become one.
This also helped to develop the bases of attitude (Dhitti), needed to become a person deserving of Ordination. So Prayer does have its place and importance as a practice, when performed with wisdom, but not blind faith, and when accompanied by personal efforts to change, and to manifest what one is praying for.
The Below Video shows a very young girl who is still a young child, asking questions which reveal her own deep understanding, far superior to many adults who profess to be Pundits, and receives some answers which may help you to understand what self purification entails.
A Sotāpanna means ‘stream enterer’, and refers to someone who has entered an unstoppable process of introspective self development and purification and ‘eye-opening’ insights, which can never be stopped again, rather like the turning of the wheel of the Dhamma.. or a snowball, which once it begins to roll, never stops, and just keeps growing and growing. A stream enterer will attain the final stage of the path, and will never leave this streamflow which leads to that which Humans call ‘Enlightenment’ which is in truth, is merely the process of reawakening to the true nature of all things in existence, living and not living, and the cessation of all the causes of suffering and rebirth in Material Realms.
Celestial Realms of Mind and Spirit, are not Nibbana, and the denizens of these realms are still subject to the law of impermanence, dissatisfactoriness, and not selfness, but have an existence which has much more comfort and less sufferings than the Human Realms.
My Comment on the Header Picture Caption; Praying Hands on a Holy Book. A Very Human Phenomena, based in Hopes and Fears, and the feeling of Helplessness. Some Turn to Prayer, others to Magic, and a very few, choose the path of self introspection, self honesty and self transformation through efforts of renunciation of false views and clinging to impermanent things.
Facing Death can be considered our ultimate test we have to pass in Life.
One inspiring teaching and incredibly well filmed video which affronts the tabu topic of facing one’s own eventual death and cessation, is this video of Pra Ajarn Tippakorn, made with the help of mdesignffm, which is translated into three languages already (Thai, English, German).
I wanted to share it because it can bring you more easily to addressing this, one of the main issues a true Buddhist Practitioner and Dhamma Warrior should face, and conquer the fear in his own heart. Understanding death, is not as hard as understanding life itself, so it shoulnd’t be such a difficult task to try to understand. What is harder, is accepting the fact of one’s own death, and this is of course one of the subtle causes of suffering we carry around with us throughout our daily lives. Mindfulness of Death may sound depressing, but it can make you live your life more wisely, and skilfully.
« The Destroyer 1 – How Did Humanity End Up Like This?
A Critical Investigation into why Gurus and Spiritual teachers always try to appear Flawless and without Defilement in Public, and why they never speak of their own failings or defilement, or how they learned from them. True and Fake Gurus and what is a ‘Perfect Teacher’?
A true teacher reveals his teachings as coming from the developments he has achieved or surpassed within his own life trajectory. The Buddha gave his teachings based on his own experiences, and told of his misconceptions and fails in the run up to his enlightenment. The problem with the modern unenlightened professional ‘teacher’ is ‘Dhitti’ meaning ‘attiude’ or ‘disposition’. One tends to believe one’s own concepts, be they arisen from experience, or through mere Vijjikicha (analytic thought). Dhitti can be a right or wrong attitude.
The Buddha spoke of ‘Sammā Dhitti‘ which means ‘Right View’ and ‘Mijchā Dhitti‘ which means ‘Wrong View’. Many Modern Gurus teach the very egoistic rich and self centered Hollywood society and make immense amounts of money, but they are like the Demon Mephisto, who used trusths to trick the Alchemist Faust into selling his Soul. Teaches like Prof. John hagelin of the Maharishi Transcendental meditation Group for example, teaches to see Not-Self-ness in things, and flip it back into the wrong view (Mijchā Dhitti) of ‘I am the Universe’.
I conclude with this question, which cannot be answered, and is Rhetorical; Should one say ‘God is in My heart’? or would it be better to say ‘I am in the Heart of God’?
In Buddhist practice, people try to ‘Attain’ Enlightenment. Academically, there are four stages to Enlightenment, each of those four stages having a path, and a fruit. In the thing we perceive as ‘the path to Enlightenment/Arahantship’ we tend to see the four stages as explained in Buddhist Dhamma Theory, as something to ‘Attain’ when in Truth, there is Nothing to ‘Attain’ or ‘Get’.
It’s not about Getting anything or Attaining anything, rather, more about Shedding things, and Getting Rid of Things. There is Hence Nothing to be Attained, no Stages of Enlightenment to ‘Get’ . There are merely states of existence, trapped in causality, or free from causality.
The below podcast talks about and elaborates on this.
The mere desire to ‘Become’ a Buddha, is in basis, a false view, because part of the path is to escape the process of Becoming, which is what causes our ceaseless rebirths in Samsaric Illusory Existence (Dependent Origination).
One should not wish to ‘Become’ anything at all, for that is ‘Bhava Tanhā’ (desire of becoming/craving for eternal existence).
The opposite mood, is also a defilement – ‘Vibhava Tanhā’ (desire to not become something/craving for non-existence).