Against the Stream

Desire pertains to the conditioned world of samsara not the unconditioned absolute Siddhartha realized.  From the moment of our conception in our mother’s womb desire has taken hold of us, that is, a powerful passion for what is external to our true nature.  We are confused, immersed and enclosed by this antithesis which is prison-like.  In the end, even death will not save us. 

The synthesis between the innate ignorance of our true nature and the world of appearance neither this life nor the next life (after death) can overcome through the force of desire.  The direction itself is all wrong.  Nothing truly will be gained by taking it.  What is gained is an accumulation of delusions which leads to a false authority that can never amount to truth. 

On the other hand, going in the opposite direction of desire is the most difficult way of all.  It goes against our natural inclination to seek and grasp at the conditioned—an important and key part of Darwinian fitness.  The Buddha was right to say:  “The way which goes against the stream is a profound one, very difficult to see.  Those who are afflicted with passion will not see it; they are enveloped by a heavy darkness” (Catuṣpariṣat Sūtra).

We were born into heavy darkness by our desire for the conditioned. We cannot see it as dreamlike or māyā like a Buddha does.  The pain which comes with living in a human form seems very real making the illusion that much more intense and serious.  The way the Buddha has given us is very difficult.  For Buddhism is all about transcending the conditioned world which includes birth and death.

Comments

[DANIEL J PAVLOVSKY]

Mark Tinley,

Are you trying to prove something to yourself or others?

Has not your suffering become acute enough?

[Mark Tinley]

I'm glad you are back and hopefully feeling better. I have a question. Do you ever believe that all of the things you believe and teach could merely be a way the mind tries to escape your own fear and unknowing of death? I believe in nobility and honor. I believe in facing down death and our worse fears even if it means we lose important inner and outer battles. It seems more honorable to me to face these trials of life and the trials of death as they are, not as viewing life as a mistake of our perception. There is nobility even in losing sometimes. What good is honor or dignity and living a good life if all of human existence and the power and presence inherent in it is just a misperception of reality?