"As the monsoon rain pierces through the roof of an ill-thatched house, so lust enters the undisciplined mind."
This is a quote from the Dhammapada, a collection of sayings of Buddha that most Buddhists consider their bible.
Lust in this case can be taken as a metaphor. On one hand it refers to sexual desire, the most literal of interpretations. Metaphorically it refers to any kind of intense desire. In the etymology of that word you will find "any source of pleasure or delight."
Lust for power, for revenge, for material things, the need to be right, possessiveness, selfishness, resentments, thinking you are more than others either by virtue of your intelligence, wealth, possessions or looks, all of them are forms of lust. And the result? At some point frustration, anger, misery or grief.
An undisciplined mind is a weak mind. It is unable to negotiate the powerful waves of feelings lust can engender. Like a small leaf in a storm, the mind sways this way and that, with the ego trying to latch on to this or that for stability or security. Maybe if I have enough money, looks, possessions. Maybe if I get even with someone, harbor self righteous anger for the wrongs done to me in the past, then I will keep my head above water. But it doesn't really work. It only takes a small incident, a comment by someone else, a remembered feeling or event, and off to the races the mind goes again.
And the way out? It's really a hard road, unfortunately. A first step is to take a step outside the mind and look at it from above, taking the point of view of an impersonal observer. It is like popping open the hood of a car and looking at the engine. And upon popping open the hood of our mental car we find two engines at work. The really fast parts and the somewhat slower parts, both of which don't necessarily work in unison.
What it will come down to in the end is a choice. A choice between history and freedom. Between fate and freedom. Between karma and liberation. Stay tuned.
This is a quote from the Dhammapada, a collection of sayings of Buddha that most Buddhists consider their bible.
Lust in this case can be taken as a metaphor. On one hand it refers to sexual desire, the most literal of interpretations. Metaphorically it refers to any kind of intense desire. In the etymology of that word you will find "any source of pleasure or delight."
Lust for power, for revenge, for material things, the need to be right, possessiveness, selfishness, resentments, thinking you are more than others either by virtue of your intelligence, wealth, possessions or looks, all of them are forms of lust. And the result? At some point frustration, anger, misery or grief.
An undisciplined mind is a weak mind. It is unable to negotiate the powerful waves of feelings lust can engender. Like a small leaf in a storm, the mind sways this way and that, with the ego trying to latch on to this or that for stability or security. Maybe if I have enough money, looks, possessions. Maybe if I get even with someone, harbor self righteous anger for the wrongs done to me in the past, then I will keep my head above water. But it doesn't really work. It only takes a small incident, a comment by someone else, a remembered feeling or event, and off to the races the mind goes again.
And the way out? It's really a hard road, unfortunately. A first step is to take a step outside the mind and look at it from above, taking the point of view of an impersonal observer. It is like popping open the hood of a car and looking at the engine. And upon popping open the hood of our mental car we find two engines at work. The really fast parts and the somewhat slower parts, both of which don't necessarily work in unison.
What it will come down to in the end is a choice. A choice between history and freedom. Between fate and freedom. Between karma and liberation. Stay tuned.
