Does man crave because he is entrapped in a temporal body and the outer world which this temporal body inaccurately perceives adding up to a substantial illusion? If this is the case how does one dispel such an all encompassing illusion except by making a passage through the illusion which seems at first to be impassable.
Craving which I forgot to add is a powerful desire for something. Craving is thrust upon us from the time we are infants, and perhaps even earlier. We cannot un-crave at will. Oh sure, I admit that we can resist craving to a small degree. We can practice holding our breath and even try fasting. We can forgo sex and lead a pure life. But craving is always present, especially biological craving.
On that note, if I am alone in retreat practicing the Dharma, isolated from everyone, craving appears to me to be somewhat different than just a desire for something. When I turn inward to examine it I can see what it is trying to do. Craving is about escape. I can see that this escape is directed outward to the illusion, not inward where it ends. If I feel empty and hungry and a little bored, maybe I should get a pizza. If I feel lonely all the time, how about someone to hold and share my life with? If I suffer from self-loathing, why not end my miserable life or stay drunk for the rest of it?
In order to change the old escape plan by, instead, looking within eventually beholding that which is non-illusory and unconditioned, requires commitment and work. This will demand a major shift in an individual’s life patterns. It requires a radical change of behavior.
Joining the military, going through bootcamp is one example of changing our behavior. Suddenly becoming homeless after many years of living the middle-class life is another. Becoming a Buddhist monk or nun is another example. In these examples and many others, there is a radical change of behavior but Buddhism goes much deeper and tries to change the escape from the outer to the inner; to seeing what is immortal and unchanging thus to place our life on a path that goes beyond the seemingly impassable barrier of samsara.
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