..续本文上一页ative intelligence often end up turning it upon themselves; they become very self-critical and even begin to hate themselves. This is because our discriminative faculties tend to focus upon what is wrong with everything. That is what discrimination is about: seeing how this is different from that. When you do that to yourself, what do you end up with
Just a whole list of flaws and faults that make you sound absolutely hopeless.
When we are developing Right Understanding, we use our intelligence for reflection and contemplation of things. We also use our mindfulness, being open to the way it is. When we reflect in this way, we are using mindfulness and wisdom together. So now we are using our ability to discriminate with wisdom (vijja) rather than with ignorance (avijja). This teaching of the Four Noble Truths is to help you to use your intelligence — your ability to contemplate, reflect and think — in a wise way rather than in a self-destructive, greedy or hateful way.
RIGHT ASPIRATION
The second element of the Eightfold Path is samma sankappa. Sometimes this is translated as ”Right Thought”, thinking in the right way. However, it actually has more of a dynamic quality like ”intention”, ”attitude” or ”aspiration”. I like to use ”aspiration” which is somehow very meaningful in this Eightfold Path — because we do aspire.
It is important to see that aspiration is not desire. The Pali word ”tanha” means desire that comes out of ignorance, whereas ”sankappa” means aspiration not coming from ignorance. Aspiration might seem like a kind of desire to us because in English we use the word ”desire” for everything of that nature — either aspiring or wanting. You might think that aspiration is a kind of tanha, wanting to become enlightened (bhava tanha) — but samma sankappa comes from Right Understanding, seeing clearly. It is not wanting to become anything; it is not the desire to become an enlightened person. With Right Understanding, that whole illusion and way of thinking no longer makes sense.
Aspiration is a feeling, intention, attitude or movement within us. Our spirit rises, it does not sink downwards — it is not desperation! When there is Right Understanding, we aspire to truth, beauty and goodness. Samma ditthi and samma sankappa, Right Understanding and Right Aspiration, are called pa
a or wisdom and they make up the first of the three sections in the Eightfold Path.
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We can contemplate: Why is it that we still feel discontented, even when we have the best of everything
We are not completely happy even if we have a beautiful house, a car, the perfect marriage, lovely bright children and all the rest of it — and we are certainly not contented when we do not have all these things! ... If we don”t have them, we can think, ”Well, if I had the best, then I”d be content.” But we wouldn”t be. The earth is not the place for our contentment; it”s not supposed to be. When we realise that, we no longer expect contentment from planet earth; we do not make that demand.
Until we realise that this planet cannot satisfy all our wants, we keep on asking, ”Why can”t you make me content, Mother Earth
” We are like little children who suckle their mother, constantly trying to get the most out of her and wanting her always to nurture and feed them and make them feel content.
If we were content, we would not wonder about things. Yet we do recognise that there is something more than just the ground under our feet; there is something above us that we cannot quite understand. We have the ability to wonder and ponder about life, to contemplate its meaning. If you want to know the meaning of your life, you cannot be content with material wealth, comfort and security alone.
So we aspire to know the truth. You might think that that i…
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