Human consciousness suffers from illusions. Illusions are what creates a vector directed away from one's own goal, from one's own good. And what directs this vector in the direction of what is beneficial for a person in the true sense is the Eight Practices and the Four Immeasurable States of the Soul.
Let's put it more concretely. First of all, any person wants to live in happiness, and the meaning of this so-called "happiness" is determined by the degree of satisfaction of worldly desires, which our chakras point to us. And the work of consciousness to satisfy these worldly desires contributes to the development of phenomena in the direction opposite to personal good.
For example, let's imagine a person who thinks: "I want something tasty, I want to eat a lot." And so at first he eats deliciously, then a lot more and gets used to this way of acting. But the sense of taste weakens with age, and he gradually loses the ability to feel the pleasantness of taste. However, let's imagine that he donates the tasty that he longs for. Then the feeling of joy of the one who is the object of the sacrifice is transmitted to the soul of the one who donated, and the sense of taste of the donor will increase many times, and he will have to experience the pleasantness of taste inaccessible to ordinary people.
There is a story about this, for example, in the Gatikala Sutra, one of the scriptures of the Great Sutra of the Southern Tradition. It says that Buddha Kashyapa was a very, very long time ago, and Gatikala, who made an offering to him, was in a state of joy for two weeks, thanks to the merit before Buddha Kashyapa.
Now - about the quantity. And here it is the same: because of eating food in large quantities, the stomach sinks, sags, and a person can no longer but eat a lot. That is, a state is created in which the stomach, which was initially satisfied with a small one, must be abundantly filled, otherwise one has to endure hunger. If you donate at least a part of this abundant food, the stomach of such a person will be completely healthy until his death and a person in this state will feel satisfaction. You all know that the cause of various diseases is the lowering of the stomach due to pressure on the adrenal glands or on the organs of the lower abdominal cavity.
If you look at this from a scientific point of view, you can say that it is a teaching that gives happiness. It is also a teaching that, by moving away from self-interest, restores self-interest in its true sense.
Let's take the example of sex drive. Initially, both men and women want to experience lasting sensations of sexual pleasure. And to satisfy this desire, they enter information from various erotic books, from videos, etc. However, due to the fact that at the same time consciousness is already reaching its highest point, they cannot experience sexual sensations during real intercourse. If, on the contrary, they practiced the Dharma, accumulated Merits, finally, in an environment where there is no such kind of data, entered into a relationship, had sexual relations with a representative of the opposite sex to which they are truly attached, then, naturally, they could feel a sexual ecstasy that far exceeds that of modern people.
It follows from this that there is a large gap between the pleasures you seek and the actual practice you are doing.
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Then what about hatred? By nature, people should consider it a joy to communicate with people, especially with loved ones and loved ones. However, the feeling of hatred closes the soul of a person and blocks it both in relation to the bad and in relation to the good. Then, if the feeling of hatred increases, the kindness of others or the warmth of others ceases to be transmitted and the work of the soul comes to a manic phobia - as if everything hurts - and ultimately it makes the person lonely and unhappy. If you study the Fa persistently, listen carefully to what people say, and try to internalize it, this should not happen. Further, thanks to the continuous radiation of kindness, the human soul acquires maturity. That is, one cannot but say that it is hatred that is the servant of the devil. Why? Because hatred, antipathy hinder that many useful things,which we should initially learn from other souls.
From the above, you probably understood that craving for food, or sex drive, or hatred - all this, if we fix it, practice it, does not bring any benefit and, on the contrary, is directed towards a minus.
The next is attachment corresponding to the Anahata Chakra. What can you say about her? Attachment is a work of the soul, in which a person desires sole possession of those with whom he has a deep connection, and seeks to reject those who try to approach this object of sole possession. That is, this work of the soul is intertwined with hatred, leads to a similar work of feelings and emotions. Due to attachment, such a work of the soul arises: the desire to get closer and closer to a person, get to know him more and more, communicate more and more with him. And the work of the soul that arises from this is the attachment we are talking about. And attachment, as already mentioned, distinguishes between the object of attachment and others. And because of the work of the soul, which desires the sole possession of the object of affection, on the contrary,pressure begins on this attachment, on its object. It is exactly like this situation: wanting to bring the boat to the shore, someone rests against it with the sixth. Moreover, the more force he applies, the further the boat will sail. Basically, every single soul should be free. In other words, it is with deep respect for this freedom that harmony in the true sense should be established. However, here and there in the relationship between parents and children, between brothers, in marital relationships, in relationships between friends, everyone falls into this mistake of attachment … This must not be overlooked.it is with deep respect for this freedom that harmony in the true sense must be established. However, here and there in the relationship between parents and children, between brothers, in marital relationships, in relationships between friends, everyone falls into this mistake of attachment … This must not be overlooked.it is with deep respect for this freedom that harmony in the true sense must be established. However, here and there in the relationship between parents and children, between brothers, in marital relationships, in relationships between friends, everyone falls into this mistake of attachment … This must not be overlooked.
Further, what about the pursuit of power? Our thoughts related to power are limitless, since power gives the fulfillment of a lot. However, power can be likened to the clothes we wear. The point is that it is impossible to occupy a place forever. Well, for example, a person is born, grows up as a prince, becomes a king, then dies. But when he dies, he has to throw off the robe called "the king." Will this person, throwing off this garment, be in a normal state of mind or not? In other words, whether he can be happy or not without using a vehicle called "power" is the most important thing. And if you realize that power is a garment, that power is a vehicle, then it will probably become the highest garment or the highest vehicle that benefits all living. But if you think that power and you,clothes and you or your vehicle and you are identical, for such a person the dying suffering or suffering that will arise when he is deprived of this power will be immeasurable.
This can be perfectly illustrated by using this example. There is a very cold region, where, for example, minus 30, minus 40 degrees. Imagine that it is in the middle of winter. And there is a house with the strongest heating. And a person lives in it. And he thinks like this:
"I can live peacefully here in the north, where minus 30, minus 40 degrees." But is it really so? This person actually does not live in the outside world, where minus 30, minus 40 degrees, but in a comfortable space warmed by heating to 20–25 degrees. Power can be compared to this house. And if he really wants happiness, the question arises whether he can live at a temperature of minus 30-40 degrees or not.
And now - about the manifestation of Virtues (Merits). It can provide various gratification of aspirations. However, these Merits are also an illusion. This is because if you do not accumulate Merits and continue to spend them, they will surely end, there will be a turn from joy to suffering.
It can be compared to an air conditioner. At some point, the heater is turned on. But then the heater broke down. If you press the next switch, the air conditioner becomes a chiller. If you continuously repair this heater, constantly check it, then for a long time you can enjoy the benefits of the heater. This is a Merit feature. So you shouldn't get attached to the manifestations of Merit.
Further, it is believed that the highest state of mind of the four is Indifference, spiritual detachment. What the Dharma calls "spiritual detachment" is a teaching based on the following: the pleasures and pains we are experiencing now are nothing more than a manifestation of our speech, actions and work of consciousness in the past or in past lives.
In other words, the joy or suffering we are experiencing is not related to this moment. In other words, this is purely an illusion of the past, not a result of the present.
Therefore, in order to become the Mahayana Buddha who saves all souls, one must have Indifference, completely not being captured by the suffering or joy that is arising now. Making the present is what is important.
Here we come to Two Correct Efforts and Two Correct Interruptions. To experience with all your might every moment of the present or with all your might to experience the future - this is the true meaning of Buddhism. After all, we really experience in the present the illusions of the past, but these illusions are only illusions of the past, and for our future they are of no use. And more than that: now every moment it is necessary to practice the practice of Two Correct Efforts, Two Correct Interruptions, and thanks to it, increase the Good Law that you are creating now. Further, "Now I still cannot do this due to the fact that there are no Merits, but when I collect them, I will definitely accumulate this Merit!" - to direct consciousness to increase Merits. Next, interrupt the bad deeds that are happening now. Next, prepare yourself not to commit bad deeds that may arise in the future. Do you think that this determines our future joys? In general, Buddhism is a striving for the future.
And what needs to be done for this? First of all, one must start with constantly laying down data: what is Truth and what is not. Without repeating this many times, without entering these data, we will not be able to perceive the phenomena correctly due to the confusion coming from past lives. Therefore, it is necessary to practice and practice Memory Fixation.
Now about what practice should be carried out now so that it would bring the greatest benefit. For this you need to make a choice. If, for example, a beginner practices meditation that is too difficult, or someone who is advanced in the practice recites a simple mantra and illusoryly believes that he is conducting a spiritual practice, this will become the reason leading the person's practice to collapse or lack of progress. Thus, this second step - choice - is the most important, it is one of the steps on the path leading to the level of Buddha.
The third is to bravely advance the chosen spiritual practice, to promote it tirelessly. This is what is needed. This is called strenuous tenacity or brave tenacious effort. This is the third practice to strengthen Buddha consciousness, creating Buddha consciousness.
The fourth is not to do spiritual practice while saying at the same time, "Oh, well, I'm tired today." It is necessary to conduct a real practice of maintaining in oneself a state of only joy in relation to spiritual pursuits: “How glad I am! How glad I am to practice! How glad I am to be able to practice! How glad I am that I can master the Teaching! How glad I am to accumulate Merits!"
Finally, to establish a clear rhythm of life and organize practice to gain lightness of mind and body, lightness as a result of practice. This is the fifth practice that lays the foundation for our attainment of the Buddha level.
Then, after achieving perfection in these five types of practice, provided that you have already established yourself in them to some extent, the next thing is to look deeply inside yourself. Then - calm the mind, stop the mind and observe. After that, it is clear to understand what worldly desires there are, what kind of world you will be reborn into, or what structures of thinking you have. Here is the sixth practice to support us in becoming a Buddha.
There is one problem here. If, for example, in the first step, an understanding of what is and what is not Truth is not achieved, in this sixth step, naturally, there will be an imbalance of wisdom in observation. For example, modern people spend a lot of time watching TV, take in information from magazines, cartoons, films, books, etc. Then these data, imperceptibly for us, take root deep in our minds and lead to the education of an erroneous view, to judgments based on these data. Therefore, if you do not fix in memory what is and what is not the Truth, Samadhi will be completely useless.
Further, one should in no way get caught up in, for example, antipathy, sex attraction, craving for food, attachment, power or fulfillment of worldly desires, but continue and continue to lead spiritual practice. This is the seventh foundation for attaining the Mahayana Buddha level.
The fact is that, as already mentioned, the moment called the present is an illusion. It represents the state of manifestation of our karma, which arose in the past or in past lives. If a person is captured by this illusion of the present, and because of this he again accumulates bad karma, or if the illusion floods him, creating a situation in which the person will not accumulate Merits, the future of this person, projected from the present, will again be unhappy. Therefore, it is necessary to ignore the present. This is Right Life.
Now - about the body, speech and thoughts, and above all about the control of the actions of the body. What do we have to do? Suppose, for example, we commit the murder of a living being or, for example, we bring pain and suffering to another. If pain is hurt, the vibration of that pain remains within ourselves. That is, the total amount of suffering is constant. The fact that the total amount of suffering is constant means that if we made someone else suffer, then the data about this necessarily enter into ourselves. And if so, even if it is a small insect, since it also has suffering, this total amount of suffering is transmitted to us. Large living beings with higher Merits have a greater measure of suffering, and the data about this suffering will be deeply rooted in our Causal. Conversely, if we give peace to a living being,then his joy will take root in our soul and return to us, [manifested] as our joy.
If you understand this pattern, you can see how majestic the distance from killing living beings and the pacification of all souls.
The next is stealing. In his heart, a person necessarily loves what he owns, or what he is attached to. Therefore, to deprive a person of his property is to cause him the suffering that will arise from this attachment. Consequently, at the stage when the theft is committed, there is a transfer of the suffering of the owner of the stolen. This means that you yourself will have to suffer in such a form that you will be deprived of the thing to which you are attached. Therefore, giving to others and not stealing will be beneficial to oneself.
It's the same with adultery. More precisely, adultery has two meanings. First: because of the leakage of sexual energy, a person spends Merits and gets tired. And the second is what is considered adultery in Buddhism, and in general: to sleep with someone else's wife or someone else's husband. As for someone else's wife or someone else's husband, it has already been said that in a marital relationship there is necessarily such a work of the soul as attachment or the desire for sole possession. Since the work of the soul, directed towards sole possession, is dealt a powerful blow, it is only natural that this suffering is directed towards its object. And because a person takes this suffering upon himself, he creates the karma that in the future he will have to suffer.
Therefore, Right Action is, moving away from killing living beings, affectionately treating others; moving away from theft, give to others; moving away from adultery, cultivate friendly feelings that really come from the soul.
Now, what about speech? First - about the lie. Lying leads to an increase in the work of the soul aimed at concealing phenomena. This work of the soul slows down the manifestation of one's own karma. It looks like she is creating some kind of bag or box. In other words, the more lies, the more late the manifestation of karma. And if the manifestations of karma are late, a person ceases to be able to understand its Law and accumulates a lot of bad karma. As a result, at the moment when bad karma finally manifests itself, the calculation of karma will take place and it will be impossible to return what was missed. That's what a lie is. So there is nothing good about telling a lie. “Nothing” means that nothing good will come back to us. Seeing all phenomena clearly, as they are, is what is good.
What about idle talk? The idle talk changes the stream "work of consciousness - speech", in other words "Causal - Astral" (the world without forms -> the world of forms). Namely: as a result of the abundant utterance of words that are not in the soul, a lot of unnecessary things that are not associated with the soul will appear in the Astral. This means that what is thought of in the soul will not manifest, refraction will arise. So idle talk is the biggest obstacle to achieving anything.
What about backbiting? This is the same case as with the killing of living beings. By scolding, we make the other suffer, and the vibrations of this suffering return to our soul.
Thus, you need not to gossip, but to speak only the truth, what is. And not to slander, but to tell people only kind words. Only through this will we already be given a great reward.
In Buddhist scriptures there is an example of falling into Hell due to backbiting. That is, although slander and murder are different in form, karma returns in the same way.
Now, what about libel? There is always jealousy or envy behind slander. It was mentioned earlier that in envy there is antipathy in the background as a work of the soul. This means that such a person narrows everything and narrows his own world. Antipathy is a wall. It turns out that the one who incites enmity between people, at the same time narrows his own world, and ultimately comes to autism - painful isolation.
If, however, we practice speech that creates harmony between people, the soul will become richer, barriers will be destroyed, communication with many people will become possible, and finally, by learning a lot, a person will gain growth.
So, lies, idle talk, slander, slander - all these actions of speech plunge us into misery. To tell the truth, to say what is needed, to say kind words to people, to say what leads to harmony between people - this is what eliminates the diseases of our soul, what expands our consciousness. This is called Right Speech.
And what is Right Sight and Right Thinking, which are the basic principles of the Eightfold Holy Path? First of all. Right View implies that it is necessary to master and master the teachings of the Buddha, the teachings of the Guru. You can't think about it. Why? The thinking that we call ourselves is instilled in us by our parents, instilled in us by our relatives, or developed under the influence of information, for example: magazines, television, cartoons, films, etc. So we think that it is ourselves. But the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, who lived 2,600 years ago, or the real teachings of Indian yoga that existed even earlier, or the teachings that resulted from the spiritual practice of many saints from two and a half millennia past to the present day, are a single, unchanging teaching. Why is this so? Because they are preaching with a fundamental, everlasting principle behind them, after seeing which,anyone understands: yes, it is absolutely true.
This is why Right View begins with an effort to learn and learn from your own thoughts.
Then, based on this, check your own body actions, speech actions and the work of consciousness. This is Right Thinking. So Right Look, Right Thinking is the process of studying oneself based on Buddhist scriptures or the teachings of the Guru. So, those Correct Speech, Correct Actions, Correct Life, which were discussed earlier, are the main teaching of Buddhist scriptures, and behind them stands, the core for them is the Correct Look, and it should be clear that if you are established in it, you need conduct the listed practices.
Next is Correct Memory Fixation. This Correct Fixation of Memory means not once, not two, not three, not four, not five, but at the level of one hundred thousand times or a million times to repeatedly memorize, for example, the meditation you need. Why do you need to memorize repeatedly? The fact is that after a certain number of repetitions, the data is transferred from the surface consciousness to the subconscious, and then from the subconscious to the super-subconscious. And only when, by practicing Correct Fixation of Memory, we reach deep consciousness, then, in relation to which Correct Fixation of Memory was carried out, becomes a vehicle - do you follow? - with a vehicle that guides us in the stage of Meditation, Samadhi, we closely observe our Five Accumulations, we check the accumulated and accumulated in us bad and good karma, and then we discard, purify that part,which is bad karma. And finally, the last one is Wisdom, the achievement of the Six Divine Abilities.
Thus, the Eightfold Holy Path and the Six Perfections are absolutely one and the same.
