..续本文上一页nspiration, excitement, adventure, all these things rise to a peak and then condition their opposites, just as an inhalation conditions an exhalation. Just think of inhaling all the time. It”s like having one romance after another, isn”t it

　　 How long can you inhale

　　 The inhalation conditions the exhalation, both are necessary. Birth conditions death, hope conditions despair and inspiration conditions disillusionment. So when we attach to hope we”re going to feel despair. When we attach to excitement it”s going to take us to boredom. When we attach to romance it will take us to disillusion-ment and porce. When we attach to life it takes us to death. So recognize that it”s the attachment that causes the suffering, attaching to conditions and expecting them to be more than what they are.

　　So much of life for so many people seems to be waiting and hoping for something to happen, expecting and anticipating some success or pleasure — or maybe worrying and fearing that some painful, unpleasant thing is just lying in wait. You may hope that you will meet somebody who you”ll really love or have some great experience, but attaching to hope takes you to despair.

　　By wise reflection we begin to understand the things that create misery in our lives. We see that actually we are the creators of that misery. Through our ignorance, through our not having wisely understood the sensory world and its limitations, we have identified with all that is unsatisfactory and impermanent, the things that can only take us to despair and death. No wonder life is so depressing! It”s dreary because of the attachment, because we identify and seek ourselves in all that is by nature dukkha: unsatisfactory and imperfect.

　　Now when we stop doing that, when we let go, that is enlightenment. We are enlightened beings, no longer attached, no longer identified with anything, no longer deluded by the sensory world. We understand the sensory world, we know how to co-exist with it. We know how to use the sensory world for compassionate action, for joyous giving. We don”t demand that it be here to satisfy us any more, to make us feel secure and safe or to give us anything, because as soon as we demand it to satisfy us it takes us to despair.

　　When we no longer identify with the sensory world as “me” or “mine”, and see it as anatta, then we can enjoy the senses without seeking sense-impingement or depending on it. We no longer expect conditions to be anything other than what they are, so that when they change we can patiently and peacefully endure the unpleasant side of exist-ence. We can humbly endure sickness, pain, cold, hunger, failures and criticisms. If we”re not attached to the world we can adapt to change, whatever that change may be, whether it”s for the better or for the worse. If we”re still attached then we can”t adapt very well, we”re always struggling, resisting, trying to control and manipulate everything, and then feeling frustrated, frightened or depressed at what a delusive, frightening place the world is.

　　If you”ve never really contemplated the world, never taken the time to understand and know it, then it becomes a frightening place for you. It becomes like a jungle: you don”t know what”s around the next tree, bush or cliff — a wild animal, a ferocious man-eating tiger, a terrible dragon or a poisonous snake.

　　Nibbana means getting away from the jungle. When we”re inclining towards Nibbana we”re moving towards the peace of the mind. Although the conditions of the mind may not be peaceful at all, the mind itself is a peaceful place. Here we are making a distinction between the mind and the conditions of mind. The conditions of mind can be happy, miserable, elated, depressed, loving or hating, worrying or fear-ridden, doubting or bored. They come and g…

《Now Is The Knowing》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…