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EFTA01129103 | EFTA01129465 2. The happiness of theform sphere (the happiness of attaining the form absorptions) is the satisfaction of someone who fulfills himself by performing his work well. 3. The happiness of theformless sphere (the happiness of the formless absorptions) is like the satisfaction of seeing the success of others who you have raised up, such as the happiness of raising one's children into responsible members of sodety, when you once again have the freedom to live your own life again. 4. The happiness of the transcendental (the happiness of removing all defilements) is happiness beyond comparison. Furthermore, the states of mind on the transcendental level will be beyond the touch of the worldly vicissitudes (see Blessing Thirty-Five) — the reason for this difference is the radically reduced number of defilements inthe mind. If we can permanently raise our mind to the highest level, then when dying from the human realm we will gain entry to a purer existence, or better still, will not be reborn any more. C.1 Relinquishing as a relay We have to throw off the temptations of sensuality, and the temptations of satisfaction with the form or formless absorptions. You have to sever the attachments sequentially. This point is difficult to understand — it has been very widely misunderstood even amongst monks. You don't give up everything all at once. According to the Rathavinita Sutta 145ff.), the process is a relay. For the mind it is e same, in order for the mind to escape a lower level, we need to build up a higher state of mind ready and waiting to receive the outgoing mind. If you plan to remove sensual interest from the mind and you just try to sever the ties without anything in the way of replacement you will never succeed. The mind needs something as the object of its attention. If you have no new (better) object of interest as a replacement, the mind will never give up its old ways. This is why you have to train yourself in meditation to the degree that you attain the first absorptions of the mind (brightness within) before you can hope to sever the ties of sensual tempta- tion. Your mind has to be completely absorbed in the happiness of meditation attainment before it will be able to give up the happiness derived from sensual fulfillment. If you have sweet dreams of graduating and finding a cute husband or wife to marry, and having a cute little house and one or two cute little children of your own, and someone comes along and says — give up all interest in sensual pleasure — it'll be good for you— you would probably think that killing yourself might be a more viable possibility. If you really want to give up sweet dreams of sensual fulfillment, you have to meditate until brightness arises within, there is a possibility of finding alter native forms of fulfillment. Without an alternative you cannot force people to give up sensuality. Thus, anyone who decides to give up sensual attachment without doing meditation to build up a better alternative for themselves is doomed to failure. 1). RAC 1S1N6 THE BRAHMA-FARING EVERYDAY LIFE D.1 Attitude to Sensuality How can it be that a person already had a spouse or a partner or a boyfriend or a girlfriend or children and the Buddha still insisted that sensual fulfilment is a mistake? The Buddha gave many reasons, but in these pages, just ten of his metaphors will suffice, to make the point. If you cannot completely sever the ties, you can prevent yourself from increasing them. Howevet. if you can release yourself fromall the ties of sensuality it is the best of all. Someone wishing to extricate themselves from sensuality should remind themselves regularly of the following metaphors: 1. Sensuality is like a hungry dog chewing a dry bone (the dog exhausts itself with its chewing but will never satiate its appetite). Married life is just the same. It never fulfills us. Love is never what it promises; 2. Sensuality is like a piece of meat fought over fry vultures. (It is said if you choose a wife, never choose a beautiful one, because she will be a source of attraction to other men in the future too, and that will become the bane of your life.); 3. Sensuality is like carrying a torch offire while Blessing Thirty-Two: Practising the Brahma-Faring 363 EFTA01129465
May 10, 2026 at 9:48 AM