With Little Pleasure And Too Much Dukkha

revised on 2024-07-10

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 5th October 1960

Sensual pleasures have little pleasure but bring too much suffering. The Buddha teaches about the killing of craving. Craving is never satisfied and always gives you dukkha. You’re doing things that never bring satisfaction and you suffer wherever kamma sends you (i.e., refer to D.A process). Only the four apāya khandhas will appear, which are actions done with an unwholesome mind. Is there anything that leads to sugati and Nibbāna? This happens because there is never enough clinging and action. This is the power of craving, which is indeed a very bad dhamma. You can’t abandon it until it burns you to death. (Sayadaw gives the simile of a blazing grass torch for craving : Craving is like grasping the blazing fire tightly. Even with the burning and not letting it go, is there anything more foolish than that? You’re foolishly holding on while burning. Only a crazy man holds on to a burning thing. A corpse burned to death will go to apāya.

Why is that? Because one is dying in a serious way. First, don’t go and hold it; but if you have already held it, then throw it away. You all are already holding on with sons and daughters; but if you let them go, you can still be freed. Throw them away with knowledge. If you don’t correct your first foolish fault of holding on to it and your second foolish fault of not throwing it away, you will encounter your third foolish fault of burning with kilesa fire and falling into apāyas.

Observe everything with the knowledge of non-self. If you know that they are not good to hold on to, this is vipassanā contemplation. Contemplate insight into the external phenomena and also into yourself. By not holding on to them with taṇhā, upādāna, and kamma, samudaya ceases. With the cessation of samudaya, the later arising of all dukkhas also ceases.

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revised on 2024-07-10

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• Content of Part 16 on "Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw"

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• Content of "Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw"

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• Content of Publications of Ven. Uttamo

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