..續本文上一頁o this is simply: observe and take note of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness (suffering) and non-selfhood until we come to see that there is nothing worth desiring. What is there worth getting or being

　　 What is there such that when a person has got it or becomes it, it fails to give rise to some kind of suffering

　　 Ask yourself this question: What is there that you can get or be that will not bring distress and anxiety

　　 Think it over. Does having a wife and children lead to lightheartedness and freedom or does it bring all sorts of responsibilities

　　 Is the gaining of high position and title the gaining of peace and calm or the gaining of heavy obligations

　　 Looking at things in this way, we readily see that these things always bring only burden and responsibility. And why

　　 Everything whatsoever is a burden simply by virtue of its characteristics of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and non selfhood. Having got something, we have to see to it that it stays with us, is as we wish it to be, or is of benefit to us. But that thing is by nature impermanent unsatisfactory and nobody”s property. It cannot conform to the aims and objectives of anyone. It will only change as is its nature. All our efforts, then, are an attempt to oppose and withstand the law of change; and life, as an attempt to make things conform to our wishes, is fraught with difficulty suffering.

　　There exists a technique for coming to realize that nothing at all is worth getting or being. It consists in examining things deeply enough to discover that in the presence of craving one has feelings of a certain kind towards getting and being; that when desire has given way completely to insight into the true nature of things, one”s attitude towards getting and being is rather different. As an easy example let us consider eating. One man”s eating accompanied by craving and desire for delicious tastes must have certain features that distinguish it from another man”s eating, which is accompanied not by desire, but by clear comprehension, or insight into the true nature of things. Their eating manners must differ, their feelings while eating must differ, and so must the results arising from their eating.

　　Now what we have to realize is that one can still eat food even though one lacks all craving for delicious tastes. The Buddha and Arahants, inpiduals devoid of craving, were still able to do things and be things. They were still able to do work, far more in fact than any of us can with all our desires. What was the power by virtue of which they did it

　　 What corresponded to the power of craving, of desiring to be this or that, by virtue of which we do things

　　 The answer is that they did it by the power of insight, clear and thorough knowledge of what is what or the true nature of things. We by contrast are motivated by desire, with the result that we are, unlike them, continually subject to suffering. They did not desire to get or possess anything, and as a result others were benefited thanks to their benevolence. Their wisdom told them to make it known rather than remain indifferent, and so they were able to pass the teaching on to us.

　　Freedom from craving brings many incidental benefits. A body and mind freed from craving can look for and partake of food motivated by intelligent discrimination and not, as before, by desire. If we wish to break free from suffering, following the footsteps of the Buddha and the arahants, then we must train ourselves to act with discrimination rather than with craving. If you are a student, then learn how to distinguish right from wrong, good from bad, and verify that studying is the very best thing for you to be doing. If you have a job of some kind, then learn how to distinguish right from wrong, good from bad, and satisfy yourself that that job …

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