- 11
- Sorrowless, Stainless and Secure
Sorrowless, stainless and secure are three attributes of an Enlightened
One (//Arahant//). Sorrowless: no //dukkha//; Stainless: no defilements; and Secure: no
fear. Obviously these three are extremely desirable, as they make for happiness. When we
think that they are characteristics of an //Arahant//, we might wonder: "This is so
far removed from me, how can I even aspire to that?" The conviction might arise that
it's too immense to consider for one's own achievement.
We all know what it means to have sorrow (//dukkha//). We are familiar
with our defilements, when we get upset, worried, anxious, envious or jealous. We have all
experienced fear. It can be fear of death of oneself or of loved ones, or fear of not
being liked, praised, accepted, or fear of not reaching one's goals, or of making a fool
of oneself.
We can also experience the opposites of those three states. The seeds
are within us, otherwise Enlightenment would be a myth. It is possible to have moments of
being sorrowless, stainless and secure. If one has a really concentrated meditation,
momentarily //dukkha// doesn't arise. Only one-pointedness. No defilements can enter
because the mind is otherwise occupied. It can either have defilements or be concentrated,
which is wonderful, though may last only one single moment. There can be no fear because
all is well at such a time. The more often one regenerates these moments of being
sorrowless, stainless and secure, the more they become part of oneself and we can revert
to them again.
Even just remembering that it is possible and trying to bring up a
little of these feelings, enters into a person as part of his or her makeup. Just as a
person with fear of not being accepted, or worried about achievements, experiencing a lack
of self-confidence, will always act accordingly. He or she doesn't even have to make an
effort, but remembers his or her fears and re-enacts them. The same goes for the liberated
mind-states.
Every moment of concentration during meditation is a moment of no
defilements, no sorrow and no fear. That sort of experience must be duplicated over and
over again. Thereby we reinforce our liberated mind-states and as we remember them we can
retain them and act in accordance with them even under ordinary or trying circumstances.
Defilements need not arise constantly, there are pauses when there is no ill-will, only
loving-kindness (//metta//), no sensual desire, only generosity and renunciation.
Sensual desire means wanting, renunciation means giving up. When one
gives, one isn't desiring, unless one is wishing for applause or gratitude. If one gives
for giving's sake, then there is a moment of no defilement. The same holds true for
loving-kindness, compassion and helpfulness, which are all opposed to greed.
When we have no doubt, being absolutely sure of what we're doing -- and
these moments do arise -- that too is an instant of being stainless. No worries, no
restlessness also add to our freedom. Not wanting to go anywhere or do anything; not
worrying about what was done or left undone in the past, which is absurd anyway, when one
realizes that nobody cares a year or even a month from now, least of all oneself.
We all know moments without all this //dukkha//. When those moments
arise, we are "stainless," without any blemishes, sorrowless and fearless. We
feel at ease and secure at such a time, which is difficult to find in the world. There are
so many dangers threatening our desire for survival, and they are constantly with us. But
when heart and mind are fully occupied with purified states, fear does not have a chance
to arise.
On our way to the "deathless," we need to regenerate these
liberated moments and bring them up over and over again. We can relish these mind states,
enjoying the knowledge that they are possible. It is a natural tendency to resurrect our
moments of freedom again and again, so that we stay on the path to liberation.
Concentration in meditation brings a quiet and joy with it which prove
with absolute certainty that they have nothing to do with outer conditions. They are
strictly factors of the mind, which are our doorway to freedom. We cannot cultivate them
successfully if we neglect them during those hours when we're not meditating. We need to
guard and protect the mind from evil thoughts at all times.
When we do experience liberated mind-moments, we must not think they
have come to us from outside. Just as we cannot blame the external trigger for what goes
wrong in the mind, so we cannot praise it for the opposite. Outside occurrences are quite
unreliable and beyond our control. To depend on anything so unreliable is foolishness. Our
practice is to generate the undefiled states in our mind, which opens the way to
successful meditation and is the pathway to liberation. When the mind is without
defilements, clear and at ease, without the convolutions of discursive thinking, simply
aware, happiness and peace arise. These moments, though short-lived, are like a light at
the end of a tunnel, which appears dark and suffocating. It seems never ending, because
for the lack of light, one cannot see its length. If we cultivate and make much of these
single moments, then there is an illumination and we can see that the tunnel does have an
end. Because of that, joy is generated in one's heart, which is an important adjunct to
practice.
The Buddha taught a balanced path, namely to see reality for what it
is, to know that //dukkha// is inescapable, but to have the counterbalance of joy from
knowing that there is a way out. If we are too imbued with sorrow and are feeling weighed
down under that, believing only that to be the path, then our actions and reactions will
have to be based on our suffering. Being oppressed with //dukkha// doesn't make for
successful meditation, nor for harmonious living. If we try to negate //dukkha//, and
suppress it, then we are not facing reality. But if we see //dukkha// as an universal
characteristic, knowing we can do something about its abandonment then we are keeping in
balance. We need equipoise in order to practice successfully.