Dangerous Desires (Part 2/3)
Knowing the
confusion and defiance in Ariṭṭha’s mind, the Buddha said, “You foolish man!
You should realize that your view of my teachings is wrong. Now, I will ask the
assembly of monks what their understanding of my teaching is.”
The Buddha then
asked the monks, “Monks! Do you―like this former hawk trainer, Ariṭṭha―misunderstand
my teachings? His misunderstanding of my teachings led him to slander us, destroy
himself, and accumulate much bad karma. Do you also understand my teachings the
way he does?”
The monks replied,
“No, World-Honored One! The World-Honored One has clearly taught us through
various methods what the dharmas of obstacles are, and that those who greedily
seek enjoyment in them will indeed be hindered from liberation. The World-Honored One has
said that sensual pleasures are sparse in happiness and full of suffering and
vexation, and that they hide even more calamities. You have used the similes ‘like
a bare bone,’ ‘like a piece of meat,’ ‘like a dry-grass torch,’ ‘like a pit of
hot coals,’ ‘like a dream,’ ‘like a borrowed thing,’ ‘like a tall tree’s fruit,’
‘like a slaughterhouse,’ ‘like a knife-edge ride,’ and ‘like a snake’s head’ to
make us realize the dangers of sensual pleasures.”
The Buddha praised
them: “Very good, monks! You have correctly understood my teachings. I have
taught you in many ways what the dharmas of obstacles are, and that indulging
in sensual pleasures certainly causes hindrances. I said that sensual pleasures
are actually sparse in happiness and rich in suffering and vexation, and that
they hide even more calamities. Furthermore, I used the similes ‘like a bare
bone,’ ‘like a piece of meat,’ ‘like a dry-grass torch,’ ‘like a pit of hot
coals,’ ‘like a dream,’ ‘like a borrowed thing,’ ‘like a tall tree’s fruit,’ ‘like
a slaughterhouse,’ ‘like a knife-edge ride,’ and ‘like a snake’s head’ to
illustrate the harm that they bring. Yet, this former hawk trainer, Ariṭṭha,
due to his own misunderstanding of my teaching, has turned around and slandered
us. By doing this, he has destroyed himself and accumulated bad karma. Truly, foolish
people like him will never achieve genuine benefits and will only head toward
misfortune in the long run.”
The Buddha continued,
“Monks, Ariṭṭha who indulges in craving desires whereupon thinking of these are
other than sensual pleasures. Such people can never achieve true liberation.”
The Buddha then said,
“Monks, there are some foolish people who come to learn the Buddha Dharma—the
Discourses (Sūtras), Mixed Verses, Expositions, Stanzas, Inspired
Utterances, Thus-Spoken Sayings, Birth Stories, Unique Events, Broad
Discourses, and so on—but do not use wisdom to realize and experience their actual
meanings. Because they have no true realization, they cannot genuinely
comprehend the principles that can be found in them. They merely use the Buddha
Dharma that they have learned as a tool for debating or as a means to show off
their eloquence. They do not study the Buddha Dharma for the correct purpose.
Due to their failure to grasp the true meaning of the Buddha Dharma, they will
never obtain genuine long-term benefits and will experience misfortune. Why so?
They resemble a man who goes out looking for a snake, hoping to catch one. He
finally spots a large snake, but he doesn’t know how to catch it. He carelessly
grabs it by its body or tail. The snake turns back and bites his arm, wrist,
and other parts of his body, causing him great pain, perhaps even death. Why
does this happen, monks? It’s because he doesn’t know the proper way to catch a
snake. Similarly, some foolish people come to learn the Buddha Dharma—the
Discourses, Mixed Verses, Expositions, Stanzas, Inspired Utterances,
Thus-Spoken Sayings, Birth Stories, Unique Events, Broad Discourses, and so on—but
they don’t use wisdom to explore its true meaning. Thus, they do not genuinely
understand the Buddha Dharma. They merely use it as a tool for argument or as a
means to show off their eloquence. They do not study the Buddha Dharma for the
correct purpose. Because they fail to grasp the true meaning of the Buddha
Dharma, they will never obtain genuine long-term benefits, and this will lead
to their misfortune.”
The Buddha further
said, “Monks, there are good men who study the Buddha Dharma—the Discourses,
Mixed Verses, Expositions, Stanzas, Inspired Utterances, Birth Stories, Unique
Events, Broad Discourses, and so on—and are able to use wisdom to explore its meaning.
Thus, they arrive at a true understanding of it. They study the Buddha Dharma not
for the purpose of debating or showing off their eloquence but for the sake of thoroughly comprehending its true meaning. Because they correctly
and truly understand the Buddha Dharma, they gain long-term benefits and
happiness. What constitutes a
correct and true
understanding of the Buddha Dharma? For example, a man who
hopes to find a snake looks for one, and upon finding one, he tries to catch it
and knows how to. He knows how to use a forked stick to pin the snake’s head
down and then grasp it. In this way, even if the snake wraps its body around
his arm, wrist, or other parts of his body, it will not be able to bite him, and
he will not suffer pain and die. This is because the man understands the snake’s
nature and uses the correct method to catch it. Monks, these good men study the
Buddha Dharma—the Discourses, Mixed Verses, Expositions, Stanzas, Inspired
Utterances, Birth Stories, Unique Events, Broad Discourses, and so on—and after
studying it, they are able to use wisdom to determine its true meaning. Thus,
they gain a true understanding of the Buddha Dharma, and joy arises within them.
They study the Buddha Dharma not for the sake of debate or for showing off
their eloquence but to thoroughly comprehend its true meaning and achieve ultimate liberation.
Because they correctly and truly understand the Buddha Dharma, they gain real
and long-term benefits and true happiness.”
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