Once, the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Early one morning, several monks adjusted their robes, took their bowls and outer robes, and went into Sāvatthī for alms. Finding it too early, they decided to visit the park of the wanderers of other persuasions. Upon arrival, they exchanged greetings and sat down. The wanderers then said, “Gotama the contemplative describes the comprehension of sensuality, forms, and feelings. We do too. What’s the difference between his teaching and ours?”
The monks, not engaging with the wanderers’ words, returned to the Blessed One after their alms round. They told him what had happened, and the Blessed One instructed them, “When asked about the difference, you should ask them, ‘What is the allure, the drawback, and the escape regarding sensuality, forms, and feelings?’ They will not be able to answer and will find themselves in difficulty because it lies outside their understanding.”
Sensuality:
- Allure: The five strands of sensuality, which include agreeable forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations, are linked to sensual desire. The pleasure and happiness derived from these sensory experiences constitute the allure of sensuality.
- Drawback: The pursuit of sensual pleasures leads to suffering, including exposure to heat, cold, insects, and other hardships. Failure to obtain these pleasures results in sorrow, while obtaining them leads to anxiety over their protection and eventual loss. Furthermore, sensuality causes conflicts and violence among people, leading to physical and emotional pain, and even death.
- Escape: The escape from sensuality lies in subduing and abandoning the desire and passion for these sensory pleasures.
Forms:
- Allure: The beauty and charm of physical forms, such as a youthful and attractive person, constitute the allure of forms. The pleasure and happiness derived from these perceptions are their allure.
- Drawback: Physical beauty is fleeting. It deteriorates with age, illness, and death. The sight of an aged, sick, or dead body reveals the impermanence and suffering associated with attachment to physical forms.
- Escape: The escape from forms is achieved by subduing and abandoning desire and passion for physical appearances.
Feelings:
- Allure: The pleasure experienced in meditative absorption, or jhāna, where the mind is free from affliction, represents the highest allure of feelings. In these states, a person experiences unafflicted, blissful feelings.
- Drawback: Feelings are impermanent and subject to change, leading to stress and suffering when they inevitably alter.
- Escape: The escape from feelings involves overcoming desire and attachment to both pleasant and unpleasant feelings.
The Blessed One explained that only those who truly understand the allure, the drawback, and the escape related to sensuality, forms, and feelings can comprehend these concepts deeply and teach them effectively. Those who lack this understanding cannot truly grasp or convey the nature of these experiences.
Gratified by the Blessed One’s words, the monks delighted in his teaching.
Link: https://wisdomtea.org/2024/08/06/the-great-mass-of-stress/
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