I am sure that all of us have made the self discovery that sometimes “the thrill of the hunt,” or the expectation, the objectification of our desire is much more satisfying than the perceived result, or the actual result, for that matter. One of the bodhisattva precepts (Do not misuse sexuality) has a commentary that states, “When there is nothing to desire, we follow the way of all buddhas.”
The subject today is about desire or the concept of gain; how that relates to our perception of who we are, or the common image of a self, an ego, a person, and how this all relates to the process of bodhi, or enlightenment and the path that is really no path.
In my days as an exploration geologist, traveling the hinterlands looking for gold and other valuable commodities, I had what seemed like a concrete and vivid drive to actualize the search to its desired result. It was s mental attempt to “conjure” a final product. Along with that state of action came a whole persona of who I was. It was this rugged outdoorsy person who drove a 4×4 truck, always hoping for success and disappointed when the samples came back negative. I was the hero my little girls thought I was! So much of my “self” was embedded in my desire. Who the hell was I anyway? Nowadays, looking back on my past career, being fully retired, what I have left is the memory of having been a wandering geologist. The whine of the truck tires is still in the back of my head and dreams about strange geological lands and potential discoveries still comprise a good part of my dream subject bank. It was a fabrication. And my successes or failures would not have changed the outcome in the sense that any result would have just spawned another series of desires and goals. So a good part of myself is simply a concept, or where did the time go?
I am not saying that we should just be limp biscuits not desiring anything. In that case we would not eat or drink and simply wither away and die. There is a definite mystery to our existence and our drives. Biology and evolution require dynamic volition for physical survival, but a constant desire for personal gain, at least as full adults, will spawn more consequences, or to put it another way, more karma. This is the ordinary life. All of us, and I mean it, also have the seed of self discovery, call it spirituality, religiosity, curiosity about existence. Often times that spirituality is diverted or perverted by desires and morphs into likely destructive behaviors, whether they be a drive to become rich or powerful or a succumbing to alcohol or drug addiction. But when the conditions are right, we find a wholesome framework that appeals to us and we begin walking a directed path, with help from others –thus enter “religion” or formal spiritual practice, which itself carries a lot of baggage and potential pitfalls.
But what happens when that desire, the drive for personal gain, which on the surface seems to “fullfill the person,” is modified? Do we still exist? Are we better or worse? One can argue that positive mental states are ultimately selfless, like Love, compassion, equanimity, lightness, and pliancy, to name a few of the beautiful mental states or factors listed in the buddhist study of Abhidharma. These states are developed by practice, and transform our unwholesomeness, including desires, into a “happier” state of consciousness that not only makes our selves feel good, but helps others. And yes, we really hate to hate and hate to be hated. It feels bad, and does not have to be that way.
In the Platform Sutra, Huineng, the sixth Chinese buddhist patriarch, explains that being a person is to be attached to form and being a buddha is not being attached to form. We are told in the Mahayana tradition that all people have buddha nature. There is not much difference between the ordinary life and being a buddha, the difference being transformation of desire or attachment to non-attachment. It is then desire itself, that is both the problem and the solution.
So, does this sound boring? And perhaps really it’s just better to hang at the beach under a jalapa and sip a margarita? For those who have watched the Netflix series The Good Place (spoiler alert!), in the very end, when the protagonists of the plot have experienced every desire they can contrive in their “designer heaven” they all choose to leave, since it is time to essentially dissolve back into the fabric of the Universe. That “dissolving” into the fabric of the Universe is from the perspective of form, our conventional human condition, and no one really knows and can say what is on the other side.
One thing I will say, especially in this very troubled time for our planet — especially in context of the recent shooting massacres and the war in Ukraine; we have the power to incrementally make changes that can stop shootings and wars. These horrible events did not happen overnight. They are a conjunction in time and space based on a series of past myriad, interacting, events associated with negative mental states and harmful actions. The reason that all humans are special is that at this very moment we have the potential to pause, and say the right thing to someone, or just listen, and just be plain kind. That is being a buddha, and the ramifications for a positive future lie in that. Have no schemes on being a buddha, you are one.
Little Known Mystic 