Worldly Passions - Desire

                         Very soon at December's end, countries from all around the world will celebrate the coming of a new year.  The exact date may vary for some nations, but it’s still an occasion where people will mark the passing of 365 days of time with creative and quite unusual customs.

                      In Latin countries, twelve grapes are eaten, one for each month in the year. It is meant to bring good luck and fortune.

                      Thai people throw water on each other in hopes that it will bring rain for their crops. They also release birds from their cages and return fish back into streams for good luck.

                      In Japan, the bells in temples are rung 108 times. This is because Buddhism teaches that we have 108 worldly passions. These passions are said to be blind because we are entirely driven by them, causing us constant trouble and torment. So a New Year's tradition arose that striking the bell 108 times banishes all the worldly passions that caused us suffering from the passing year.

                     However, we know from the Law of Cause and Effect, little rituals that promise luck are not true. In order to receive good fortune, we must first plant the good seeds ourselves.

                      In the case of a bell dissolving all our worldly passions, this is also untrue -- no matter how many people still practice it. It may be fun to ring in the New Year, but believing anything will follow your action besides a loud "GONG!" noise is surrendering yourself to a false superstition.

Original Photo by MIKI Yoshihito available on Flickr.com

                      What is true is that we are made up of worldly passions and nothing else. Buddhism explains that worldly passions never vanish within us as long as we're living, and attempts to remove them don't even leave a dent.

                      You can think about it like a snowman.

Original Photo by islandjoe available on Flickr.com

                      If you take away all the snow from out of the snowman, what do you have?

Original Photo by mrsdkrebs available on Flickr.com

                      You don't have anything. Without snow, a snowman loses form and ceases to be what it is supposed to be. 

                       It's the same with us. If you remove all of our worldly passions, there is nothing left.

                      Sakyamuni Buddha used the number 108 to represent the idea that our worldly passions are seemingly countless. 

                      Yet within this large number of passions, there are Three Poisonous Passions which are the most dreadful of all. These passions reflect the very nature of all the other 105 worldly passions. They are DESIRE, ANGER, and IGNORANCE. 

The Three Poisonous Passions

DESIRE -   

It's the constant longing we have to get something. 

If we don't have it, we really want it. If we have it, we want more of it. 

And no matter how much we are satisfied, we will still have new cravings arise within us.

There is no end to our limitless desire.

Original Photo by Ani Carrington available on Flickr.com

Our desire can be compared to the deep, blue sea. 

Our wants come to us like waves, one after another.

The deeper the water, the deeper the blue becomes in color.

If we always get what we want, we can endlessly drown in our own greed.

ANGER -  

It's the fury within you of being denied anything you think you deserve. 

We can yell at people we love or curse strangers over the slightest offense.

Our anger can spread uncontrollably and become unpredictable.

The more we feel betrayed, the angrier we become. 

Original Photo by wwarby avaialble on Flickr.com

Anger can be likened to a fire, because it burns at high heat.

Flames span outwardly scorching everything it touches quickly.

We turn red when we're mad because our blood is boiling.

 Left unchecked, it can torch everything in our life like a wildfire.

IGNORANCE -

It's the venomous feeling we harbor deep within us.

We secretly envy our superiors, curse those who cross us, and delight in others' misfortune.

Everyone else is to be blamed for our misfortune, and we resent them for it in our minds.

Not taking responsibility for our own fate is defiance of the Law of Cause and Effect.

Original Photo by Darco TT available on Flickr.com

Ignorance leaves us totally blind to the truth, and so it can be said to be pitch black.

These ugly feelings are dirty and filthy and spread like a disease or pollution. 

We distort the world with our own private, warped views.

The nature of ignorance is dark and ugly, because it is so hard to see clearly within ourselves.

               Now, let's take a look at the first worldly passion.

Desire

               Buddhism teaches that Desire can be further broken down into five categories. 

               They are Food, Wealth, Love, Fame, and Sleep. 

                They are known as the Five Desires.

The Five Desires

FOOD -

Original Photo by elsie.hui available on Flickr.com

 It's the pleasure we get from eating a delicious meal.

We love to eat at restaurants and have home-cooked meals.

People enjoy fad health diets or binge on holidays like Thanksgiving.

Even with dessert, we'll still be hungry for more.

WEALTH -

Original Photo by epSos.de available on Flickr.com

It's the urge to stockpile money and not pay people back.
We want to brag about our new smart phones and cruise in our new cars.
Whether we're rich or poor, we revel when funds rise within our bank accounts.
There is no amount of cents that decreases our desire for more money.

LOVE -

Original Photo by kainr available on Flickr.com

It's the wanting intimacy from another man or woman physically and emotionally.
We watch attractive people on the street and get excited when we get to talk to them.
There's an intense feeling that burns to be near the person we love.
Our heart beats expectantly for the next burst of romance and passion.

FAME -

Original Photo by Gareth.D.Jones available on Flickr.com

 It's the thrill of being praised and honored by someone special or a large group of strangers.

We want to have fans like a movie star or be held in high regard like a president.
Deep down we secretly just want everyone to think we're cool.
No man is an island; we always have the desire to be liked.

 

    SLEEP -

Original Photo by Matt Erasmus available on Flickr.com

It's that yearning to sleep in, relax on the sofa, and just be plain lazy.
We hit snooze to escape going to school briefly or take a sick day just to stay in bed.
All we want to do is just chill out and take it easy.
The longer we are awake, the stronger our need for sleep.

                      At the mercy of these five desires, we slave to them in some form or another. We will to go to such great lengths just to get satisfaction, even if it causes to pain those around us.

                       Now of course we should do serious soul-searching if we sense that we are greatly troubling others with our desires. Self-reflection can sometimes catch when we are being too lazy in our studies or when we've been taken over by the luring idea of an illicit affair. We may even overcome the temptation of stealing the last bite on the plate at the family dinner, but our worldly passions will keep flaring up despite our best efforts. They remain as a filter by which we perceive all of our experiences for every moment we're alive... up until our very last breath.

                        In the next post, we will take a look at the second poisonous passion, Anger.

Law of Cause and Effect -- Buddhism Essentials

               The Law of Cause and Effect is the foundation of Buddhism. Without understanding this universal truth, one's knowledge of Buddhism cannot progress. The more we understand the Law of Cause and Effect, the more we can then put the teachings into practice.

               If Buddhism is like a tree, that would mean that the Law of Cause and Effect is like the roots and the trunk of that tree.

Original Photo by Nicholas_T available on Flickr.com

               If the trunk is cut or the roots are severed, the tree would die. Likewise if you don't understand the Law of Cause and Effect, you won't get what the teachings of Buddhism are all about.

Original Photo by CmdrGravy available on Flickr.com

               First, the word law used in Buddhism is different than the traditional use of the word in the court system.

               By Buddhist definition, a law is a truth that never changes within the Three Worlds and the Ten Directions.

               The Three Worlds consist of the Past World, the Present World, and the Future World.

               The Past World represents the time before we were born as a human being.

               The Present World spans the time from our birth to our death in this lifetime. 

               The Future World is the eternity following death.

               Our life flows eternally through these three temporal worlds of the past, the present, and the future. 

               Looking through a closer lens, the world of the past is not only our countless past lives but also last year... yesterday... an hour ago... and the breath you just let out.

                Similarly, the world of the present is this year... today.... this hour... and your current breath.

                Then the world of the future becomes next year... tomorrow... the next hour... and the next breath you take in.

                So in Buddhism we learn that the three temporal worlds meet in every breath we inhale and in every breath we exhale. Every passing moment of our lives is represented within these Three Worlds.

              Understanding how the Law of Cause and Effect functions in relation to the Three Worlds is known as the Law of Causality in the Three Worlds. Knowing this on a deep level reveals the importance of the present moment and leads us closer to understanding of who we are in that now.

              Moving on to the Ten Directions, they are North, South, East, West, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, Up, and Down. This is a very thorough way of saying everywhere.

               This makes the Law of Cause and Effect valid at all times and in all places.

                Now laws in the United States do not necessarily apply in Japan or the United Kingdom. Drivers in these island nations must obey a traffic law which requires them to operate their cars on the left side of the road. Here in the U.S., however, we drive on the right side of the road.

                                                 JAPAN                                             UNITED STATES

                

                Both are a law in each country, yet each gives opposite instructions on what is the proper way to drive. Depending on where you are in the world, laws are subject to the differing viewpoints of the people living in that country.

                 As the years roll on, laws can change. Many of them can come into question or be challenged as society progresses. Laws fluctuate based on the perspectives of the public at the time.

                    CIVIL RIGHTS - 1960s                                                                            GAY RIGHTS - 2010s

Original Photo by Kheel Center, Cornell University, available on Flickr.com

Original Photo by chadmagiera available on Flickr.com

               

             But since the Law of Cause and Effect never changes and is always valid in all time and space, it is universal truth.

             So now let's move on to define the terms cause and effect.

                A cause is the reason that leads to an effect.

                Cause = Reason

                An effect is the result from a cause.

                Effect = Result

                The Law of Cause and Effect is the energy force behind why things happen, when they happen, and who they happen to. Every event in the universe has a cause. There is not a single effect that has ever occurred without a cause, even though sometimes we falsely think that things can happen without cause. 
                                                           

Original Photo by Stewart Black available on Flickr.com

                 For example, let's say an aircraft in flight suddenly crashes into the ocean.

Original Photo by elias_daniel available on Flickr.com

            






               Search and rescue teams are dispatched to comb the waters for survivors, but there is not even a trace of the plane or its flight data recorder (the black box).

                  When this happens, the cause of the accident is said to be unknown. But just because there is no evidence of the cause, does not mean that there is no cause.



                 The Law of Cause and Effect states there must have been some very real reason that made the plane crash. The pilot could have gotten sick or have steered accidentally into a storm. There may have been unforeseen engine trouble, or the plane may simply have ran out of fuel.

Original Photo by BobMacInnes available on Flickr.com

             Just because it is unexplained to us or we can't figure out why does not mean there is no cause. Every phenomenon in the universe, no matter how strange, has a cause. Never in a million or even trillion cases can there be an effect without cause.

             Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that the most important thing for us to consider about our future is this relationship between cause and effect.

The Law of Cause and Effect

 Good cause, good effect.

Bad cause, bad effect.

Own cause, own effect.

            Here the word "cause" means an action, and "effect" means an outcome.

            Buddha revealed the Law of Cause and Effect to us so we can see that we determine our future by our own choices now.

    Practice good actions, and you will get good outcomes.

  Practice bad actions, and you will get bad outcomes.
Whatever you practice is what you alone will receive.

               Using farming as an example, if you plant watermelon seeds, you will get watermelons. And if you plant radish seeds, you will get radishes. Whatever you decide to plant is what will grow. You can never plant watermelon seeds and receive radishes. It's just not possible!

               Even if a farmer hits his head and plants seeds without knowing what kind they are, he can tell instantly what kind of seeds he planted by what grows there later.

Original Photo by Amy Gaertner available on Flickr.com

           











               "Oh, I must have planted watermelon seeds here!" he exclaims upon seeing the watermelon.


            In this way even though we don't remember what seeds we've planted, we can tell by the results we currently receive in the present.

                Some may challenge this and ask, "Wait, but can't good causes lead to bad results sometimes?" OR "What about bad causes leading to good results?"

           The answer to both these questions is: NEVER!          

    Good cause = Bad Effect       Impossible!    

 Bad Cause = Good Effect   No Way!

             According to the Law of Cause and Effect, we are always the ones who determine our own destiny, for better or for worse.

             When we hear terms like fate, destiny, and fortune, they can often be misleading because they imply events are fixed in advance by other forces. But in Buddhism, these words still represent the effect created by our own past choices.

Original Photo by docksidepress available on Flickr.com

            That's because the forces of nature, our lives, and everything in the universe operate by the Law of Cause and Effect. This absolute principle is the universal truth, always and everywhere, without exception to anyone.

           We all want the good life, and we all of course want to avoid bad times. The Law of Cause and Effect reveals to us that the good or bad choices we make in every, single, given moment make or break our future moments.

           It is completely up to you to decide your own fate. And all you have to remember is...

Stop Evil; Do Good.

           Find out more about the Law of Cause and Effect and the role of condition in the next post.