Here Maitreyi looks at pleasure and suffering in the context of samsara - compassionate responses to self and other, and how to loosen the bonds...
Excerpted from the talk The Defects and Dangers of Samsara, the last in a five-part series The Four Mind-Turning Reflections of the Tibetan Tradition given at Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre, 2005. ***
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[music] Dharma Bites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for your life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donate. Thank you and happy listening. Another way of describing the defects of samsara is that it is characterized by the three marks or latchiness of conditioned existence. I'm sure you know this well. The unsatisfactory or painful Dukkha, the impermanent Anitya, and the emptiness of self or essential being, Anatman. The connection of Dukkha and Anitya is obvious that things are impermanent is often a cause of suffering. Anatman is less obviously connected, but emptiness of self means that we are not in control. We are a process, not an entity. We too, arise day by day, moment by moment, independence on conditions. There is no self that is in control of those conditions. We can only have some influence as a part of those conditions. So there is suffering and there is no blame. I think it is very important to see that we tend to equate these two states, suffering and blame, and very important that we can distinguish them. I think equating blame and guilt with suffering is probably the result of Christian conditioning in our culture. While I was brought up an atheist, I was still horrified as a child by the idea that Christ died for our sins. While we are in a culture of guilt or blame, whether self or other blame, it will cloud our ability to understand suffering and its causes. We hope you enjoyed today's Dharma Bite. Please help us keep this free. Make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donny. And thank you. (upbeat music)
