A Discourse on Paticcasamuppada

by Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw | 62,614 words

The Paticcasamuppada refers to “The Doctrine of Dependent Origination”. This is the English translation done by U Aye Maung Published by U Min Swe Buddhasasana Nuggaha Organization Rangoon, Burma....

Chapter 8 - Ignorance Of The Origin Of Dukkha

People do not know that craving is the origin (samudaya) of suffering. On the contrary they believe that it is attachment that makes them happy, that without attachment life would be dreary. So they ceaselessly seek pleasant sense objects, food, clothing, companions and so forth. In the absence of these objects of attachment they usually feel ill at ease and find life monotonous.

For common people life without attachment would be indeed wholly devoid of pleasure. It is tanha that hides the unpleasantness of life and makes it pleasant. But for the Arahat who has done away with tanha, it is impossible to enjoy life. He is always bent on Nibbana, the cessation of conditioned suffering.

Tanha cannot exert much pressure even on the yogis (meditators) when they become absorbed in the practice of vipassana. So some yogis do not enjoy life as much as they did before. On their return from meditation retreat they get bored at home and feel ill at ease in the company of their families. To other people the yogi may appear to be conceited but in fact his behaviour is a sign of loss of interest in the workaday world. But if he cannot as yet overcome the sensual desire, his boredom is temporary and he usually gets re adjusted to his home life in due course. His family need not worry over his mood or behaviour for it is not easy for a man to become thoroughly sick of his home life. So the yogi should examine himself and see how much he is really disenchanted with life. If his desire for pleasure lingers, he must consider himself still in the grip of tanha.

Without tanha we would feel discomfited. In conjunction with avijja, tanha makes us blind to dukkha and creates the illusion of sukha. So we frantically seek sources of pleasure. Consider, for example, mens fondness for movies and dramatic performances. These entertainments cost time and money but tanha makes them irresistible although to the person who has no craving for them they are sources of suffering.

A more obvious example is smoking. The smoker delights in inhaling the tobacco smoke but to the non smoker it is a kind of self inflicted suffering. The non smoker is free from all the troubles that beset the smoker. He leads a relatively care free and happy life because he has no craving for tobacco. Tanha as the source of dukkha is also evident in the habit of betel chewing. Many people enjoy it although in fact it is a troublesome habit.

Like the smoker and the betel chewer, people seek to gratify their craving and this tanha inspired effort is the mainspring of rebirth that leads to old age, sickness and death.

Suffering and desire as its cause are evident in everyday life but it is hard to see these truths for they are profound and one can realize them not through reflection but only through the practice of vipassana.

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