Bouddha and the desire

 

Bouddha and the desire

Chapter XXIV of the Dhammapada:

 

The Desire

 

334. In the Man without vigilance, desire grows like a liana. This Man, then, passes from existence to existence, as the monkey leaps from tree to tree, in search of fruit.

 

335. Whoever is dominated by desire, sees his suffering grow like wild grass after rain.

 

336. Whoever dominates desire, so difficult to overcome, sees suffering slip on him like water on the leaves of the lotus.

 

337. To all of you gathered here (bikkhus or monks), I give this salutary advice: uproot the root of desire, as you would the root of wild grass. Don’t let Mâra (death, the devil, the false-ego) take you like the river in flood rips away the reed.

 

338. As a fallen tree still throws out buds, if its roots remain intact, suffering springs up again and again, as long as the roots of desire have not been torn away in itself.

 

339. Unable to resist forcefully the many currents of passions, the Man who is misguided, driven by desire, is carried away by his flow.

 

340. These currents* flow in all directions. The vine of desire clings and buds. Seeing her rise like this, be wise and cut her roots.

 

* For the Jains, the four « currents » or « torrents », (ogha) are desire (kâma), existence (bhava), ignorance (avidyâ) and false opinions (drishti).

 

341. Feelings of joy and pleasure are easy to obtain. But those who cling to their desires will have to be born again and again and die.

 

342. Besieged by uncontrolled desire, man struggles like a rabbit trapped and bound. He will know suffering for a long time.

 

343. Besieged by uncontrolled desires, man struggles like a rabbit trapped and bound. A monk must therefore renounce desire, if it is to the abandonment of passions that he aspires (nirvana).

 

344. He who, freed from the jungle of desire, plunges back into it, looks at him as a freed being returning to slavery.

 

345. It is not a powerful bond, says the wise, that one made of iron, wood or hemp. Far more powerful is this thirst for jewels and ornaments, sons and wives.

 

346. These bonds that choke you without appearing tight, these are difficult to undo. However, some cut it, and choose the homeless life* ; they give up pleasure and desire without looking back.

 

* It should be remembered that Gautama, the Buddha, most often spoke to the bikkhus, that is to say to the monks who made vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, like our Catholic monks. Thus, for these monks, the vow of chastity means renouncing the founding of a family, having wife and children, and renouncing desire and even pleasure. For a lay practitioner, family and pleasure are not outlawed. Even the desire, that which one has for his wife, is valid, it is part of the duties of a husband. The parivrâjaka (perigrinator, vagant) takes vows of perpetual wandering.

 

347. Those whom passion has trapped fall back into the restless flow they themselves have created, like a spider trapped in its own web. The wise man, abandoning desire, passes through, without turning back, and leaves all worry behind.

 

348. Free yourself from the past, free yourself from the future, free yourself from these times* to overcome them. Having thus freed your spirit, you will no longer return to be born and to die.

 

* Free yourself from the memories, the « old man », the projects and the illusion of the present world. The present moment, which is touched by meditation (dhyana), is another thing. It is not this present moment that the Gautama Buddha speaks of here, but the vicissitudes of today’s world.

 

349. A man obsessed with his thoughts, dominated by passion, sees desire grow in him. He then forged a heavy chain.

 

350. The Man who loves to dominate thoughts, who is always vigilant, does not run after pleasures, in truth, such a Man will break the chains of Mâra.

 

351. At the end of the way, fearless, free from desire, this Man has broken the chains of existence and at his death he is the "bearer of the last body*".

 

* Who will not be reincarnated, freed from the shackles of samsara.

 

352. Delivered from desire, detached from everything, skilled in etymology and vocabulary, he who knows the assemblage of syllables is the one who is called the wise « bearer of the last body ».

 

353. I am the one who understood everything and learned everything, that nothing defiles or embarrasses, freed by the destruction of desire, having realized everything alone. Who could I call my master ?

 

* This passage suggests that the Gautama Buddha advocated spirituality without a master, but he was a master ! Of course Gautama, the awakened, had no master ! Who could have been ? However, before he was awakened, he had masters.

 

354. The Grace of Dharma (agya) surpasses all graces. The flavor of Dharma surpasses all flavors. Joy born of the Dharma surpasses all joy. The liberation of desire leads beyond all suffering.

 

355. Riches ruin the foolish but not those who seek what is beyond. By the thirst for riches, the fool is ruined as if he were ruining others.

 

356. Weed* is the scourge of cultivated fields**, just as attachment is the scourge of humanity. That is why detachment, Grace of Dharma, produces many fruits.

 

* Useless thoughts, vain concepts, desires, vrttis.

 

** A cultivated field is the adept's spirit who practices dharma, in whom the seeds of knowledge germinate, take root and grow, producing good fruits. Jesus said this in Luke 8:4-21.

 

357. The weed is the scourge of cultivated fields, as the hate is the scourge of man. Consequently, the gift that frees you from hatred produces many fruits.

 

358. The weed is the scourge of cultivated fields, like ignorance the scourge of humanity. Consequently, the gift that frees you from ignorance produces many fruits.

 

359. The weed is the plague of cultivated fields, as the greed the plague of humanity. As a result, selfless action* frees you and produces many fruits**.

 

* Lao-Tzu or Wu Wei's “inaction” who is the “service” or “giving up the fruit of his actions” of the Bhagavad-Gita, the Sikh Sewa.

 

** Spiritual Virtues Enabling Dharma Realization.

 

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