In todayand#8217;s Dharmabyte Desire and Resolve, Srivati touches into the Five Vinyatas including Desire and Resolve illustrated in the story of Bahiya of the Bark Garment. Simply put, if we desire freedom we can liberate ourselves.
Dharmabyte from the talk titled and#8220;Becoming a Citizen of the Presentand#8221; given on the Western Buddhist Order National Order Weekend, 2001
[Music] Dharma Bites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for real life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, come and join us at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. Thank you and happy listening. [Music] I've recently begun to look at the five object determining mental events or vineatters as preparation for meditation. Maybe it's more accurate to describe these as preparation for life, a way of motivating myself to practice, including being more present to the moment. Although these are chiefly concerned with meditation, what are we doing if we don't regard our lives or what am I doing if I don't regard my life as itself one long meditation practice? So I'm going to use these vineatters as reference points for Bahia's story. To begin with, the first object determining mental event is chunder or interest. We need to want to be more present. We all have desire. We all have our likes and dislikes. But that very desire that trips us up and causes countless difficulties and disappointments is the very thing that sets us free. To be free of our limitations, we must want to be so. If we desire freedom, we can liberate ourselves. The same energy that gets us into trouble will save us. We just have to choose between Karmachanda and Dharmachanda. Bahia has this Dharmachanda. Even though he's well respected, honored even, he wants to know whether or not he is an Ahat. And when he finds that he isn't, his interest or eagerness is such that it compels him to make a long journey across India to find the answer. He doesn't rest on the laurels of his status amongst those that know him. In Know Your Mind, Bante talks about laziness, the opposite of interest, really meaning being busy doing something that is not conducive to skillful mental states. Bahia isn't spiritually lazy. And he asks himself, how is he getting on? Now while my spiritual development isn't at the level where I'm asking myself if I'm an Ahat, it does make me wonder whether I ask myself enough how well I'm doing. I put the emphasis here on how well I'm doing. Because I know all too often that some of us can focus unduly on where we are failing to reach our spiritual goals. As Bahia says in his article, while confession is of great benefit to us, shouldn't we perhaps have progress coolers as well as confession coolers? A place in our chapters where we report in on our conquests as well as our defeats. In my chapter, along with a number of you I'm sure, we do have a rejoicing in merit section, but I usually choose to rejoice in someone else. Rejoicing in myself still smacks us some old injunction not to get too big for my boots. But I'm experimenting with turning that particular spotlight on myself. In this way we can cultivate an appreciative mode that supports our enjoying the present. I'll say more about this mode later. What happens next for Bahia is that he gets help. In his case it is a God that helps him. And symbolically speaking, this resonated with my own experience of occasional deeply significant assistance from my spiritual friends. I think that this is important in relation to our resolve, or adi-moksha, the second object determining mental event. If we are wanting to be more present it does require resolve, and in the absence of divine intervention we can call on our friends to encourage and support us in keeping our interest focused. And I mean this quite literally. If we notice a friend spends an unhelpful amount of time caught up in the past or the future, maybe we could tell them this. I'm also struck by Bahia's resolve that it is so focused that he pays no heed to the fact that the Buddha is doing something else, and the Buddha even tells him twice that it's not an appropriate time. Now I'm not reading this as an encouragement to be rude or inappropriate, but it made me think of the many interviews that I've listened to with famous and successful writers, musicians and actors and so on. It seems to me that it isn't just talent that makes these people special. The truly great, as opposed to the transient celebrities, seem to be marked out by their desire and determination. They want to succeed and they are resolute in doing so. Bahia's resolve means he literally can't wait to hear the Dharma from the Buddha's mouth. He is aware that time might not be on his side. It is difficult to know for certain how long the Lord will live or how long I will live and how right he was. Do I have that sense of urgency? Apparently, having looked at the chapter in philosophy as a way of life that Bahia referred to, it was Horace who gave that advice about living each day as if it were your last. "Believe that each new day shall be the last for you, then each unexpected hour shall come to you as a delightful gift." There's also an alcoholics anonymous phrase which goes, "Yesterday's history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is reality. Today is a gift which is why it's called the present." [Laughter] We hope you enjoyed the talk. Please come and help us keep this free at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. And thank you. [Music] [Music] [Music] You You
