162: Retreat Dhamma Talk 57: Highs and Lows of Life

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SPEAKER_01 0:03

Retreat series number fifty seven sambolasambodasama.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Yeah, we now they travel a lot by planes. The key person on a flight is the captain or the pilot. These pilots they have to travel or fly the plane and all types of weather. Nice calm weather, sunny weather, rainy weather, stormy weather, flash and lightning, high wind speed, against, towards. And they have to navigate the planes under all these different conditions using their know-how, effort, and intelligence, so that we all could arrive to destination and safety. Their know-how, their effort and their intelligence. That's what took us to the safety of a destination. In the same weather, in the same manner at life, we have all sorts of weathers. We have different weather patterns of life. We just call it weather, which means there are good days and bad days, there are stressful days and easy days. Sometimes great disaster and danger falling. And sometimes it's an easy flow. And all these types of situations arise in everybody's life. And at those periods we need know-how, we need effort and we need intelligence to overcome all these different situations. So those times we are all stressed out up and down. And this stress applies to everybody. A newborn baby. Or almost dying, as far as the age concern. The rich or the poor, or the dumb or the smart, the powerful or the weak. Regardless, any type, any situation, any age, this stress applies to all of us. And we always react or act under that stressful situation. And these stress follow us like a shadow constantly in our life. In fact, every day of our life. Let's look at one way in the life that we live in. Temperature is very important, hot and cold. Hot, cold. Hot cold comes from weather. Cold weather, hot weather, change of weather from winter to spring, spring to summer, and so on. Whenever there are changes, fall time, changes in weather, we always have cold and cough and flu. That's a seasonal seasonal distress that we have based on the weather. And these cold, cough, and flu always arise every year during seasonal changes. And some of us get caught cold and cough and fever. And some nothing. The reason is some of us have a better immune system. So these cold, cough, and fever cannot touch us. And some of us have a low or weak immune system, and we got cold and cough and so on. That's a physical stress that we have every year. Physical environment and physical stress on the body. And also the same thing. Life. Life is not only the physical aspect, both physical and mental, and we also have mental stress. These mental stress, when these mental stress come, some people simply just collapse, surrender, can't do anything, falter under the influence of that stress. But some can withstand the stress quite easily. Or they can even if they do, they can overcome easily. Some don't get affected at all. And why? The reason is the mental immune system. When we have a strong mental immune system, we can ward off or overcome these mental stress. And when we have a weak mental immune system, we cannot withstand these and we collapse and we sink under these pressure. That's a life stress. So in other words, stress is everywhere, physically, mentally, and we are engaging with at all times. And in the people too, they are big and strong people, and they are weak and small people. In general, what happened? All these big and strong group of people, not all but some, they bully on the weak and small. That is the normal pattern of life. You will see bullying everywhere, especially at schools. Intimidation, bullying, and even at work places too. We can see those things in a lot subtler form. And the same thing too, distress, this stress will bully you. What does it mean by bully you is this stress can bully the people with the weak mind. They can bully the people with the weak mind. But they cannot bully the people with strong mind. So mentally too, there's always going on. That is how we look at everyday situation, the stress that every one of us is facing. But how can one be calm and composed or even free from these stress? From the stress. Okay, stress, stress comes from the in a different way, from the highs and lows of life. We have highs in our life and we have lows in our life. Both highs and lows, there's a stressful situation is created, stress or high and lows of life. But in the Buddha Dharma, we call those things with a certain word, we call it Loka Dhamma. Loka is the world dhamma. It's a phenomenon, a process that is a normal, regular process that is going on in the seas of living being. Loka Dhamma. And actually there are eight of them. We just call it Lokadham, or eight highs and lows of life. That from the Buddhist perspective. And in here, the question is how can we be calm and composed or even free from these kinds of Logatham? Highs and lows. So there are two techniques Buddha gave us. He didn't even tell us that there are a kind of highs and lows that will always rock us. He also gives the remedy to it. Always never leave us with the open-ended. The first technique is called reflection technique. In other words, thinking, thought process going on a lot more. What it is is these highs and lows come to your life. And whenever these high and low are really affecting your normal function of your daily life. Normal function. Each normal state for each one is different. So it just bounce you off from your normal flow, and that means those highs and lows are affecting you. At that moment, take those situations and conditions and reflect. Oh, this is what's happening. You look at the whole thing, the picture. This is what's happening. And then you reflect this way, or you think this way, or you put your mind, mental attitude this way. Everything comes and goes. That is the line, I like it. Everything arises and passes away. Everything arises and passes away. This shall pass. This shall pass. Whatever is happening will pass. This shall pass. You can reflect this way. And also because of the stress, you are really feeling the pressure. Okay? You are a bit distracted or you are a bit quite loose cannon. In other words, there's the pressure. The pressure is why? The pressure is because of the situation. And also this pressure shall pass. They rise, they disappear. Reflect that way. And then thirdly, this whole situation, it's happening. Okay, you can think that way, oh this person, that person, me, all these things. Personalizing. But the way one needs to look at it is not this person or that person or me. It is the situation, it is the condition that created this whole condition. So this is the process that is developing. This is nothing to do with on a personal level. And even at work, you see, oh don't take it personally, but it is just a line that people give when they want to redirect the real purpose. And here is real. This is not personal, it's a process. You reflect that way. This shall pass. This stressful state will pass. This is nothing personal, it is a process. In Buddhist word, you reflect an eacha dukkha and anatta. Impermanence, suffering, and non-self, no soul. That's a Buddhist word. But you know now what and how one needs to reflect. That's technique number one the Buddha gave us. And this will or this could relieve quite a bit of pressure off you just by having that kind of attitude. And the second technique the Buddha gave us is you practice mindfulness and side meditation. Satipattana vipassana. You practice in such a way so that you can experience an eachak. Arising and passing away. Dukkha, the constant oppression of this process of arising and passing away. And not that. There's nothing that anyone can control. Everything is happening according to the condition that is set at this moment. Uncontrollable. You practice inside mindfulness meditation in such a way that you can experience these three common characteristics of life. These three general characteristics of life. What are they? Anicha, dukkha, anatta. Impermanence, suffering, non-self, no soul. So those are the two tagnies Buddha gave us. And you can use both of them as appropriately as suitable and appropriate with the time that where you are at. And if you don't practice, what will be happening? Some people will be constantly complaining, complaining, complaining. Oh my, oh my, it's me, what's happening? The victim mentality, complaining about it, dissatisfaction. And some people are totally vulnerable to that situation. Vulnerability. That is the feeling of vulnerability is basically helplessness. In a state of fear, being afraid. That's what will happen if you don't reflect and if you don't practice under this kind of situation. So I just want to tell you that all the time in our life there is stress. In other words, there's always highs and lows in our life. In the Buddhist words, this eight Loka Dharma is always engaging. One or the other is engaging you at all times in your life. So this excuse me. What are they? Like in Pali words. Lavo, a labo, yaso, ayaso, ningan, asantan, sukan dukan. That's a pair of them. Four pairs of eight. In English, loss and gain. Loss is one thing, gain is another thing, one pair. Another one is having people around you or not having or very little people around you. That's a second pair. Third pair is praise and blame. And the fourth pair is bliss or happiness or suffering. Those are the eight pairs. Don't need to memorize these party words, but as long as you know these eight pairs, what they are true meaning, that's good. That's what the eight Loga Dharma is. And we are facing one or the other all the time. And some of us are very composed and withstand these things. And some we just collapse under this pressure. And when we get collapsed, what happens? As they don't, as they can't withstand this pressure, high pressure. Some people become addicts. That is the diversion, replacement with drugs or alcoholics. And some are always constantly angry and abusing others. Somebody abuse you, you turn around and abuse other. Like in a simple way. But there's a stress, and then you find another way of releasing the stress by abusing others, but still very hurtful and harmful. Some people going into a deep state of depression. These are the manifestation of these great stresses, great highs and lows, which are not desirable at all. So the Buddha said, Okay, these are the Buddha's words. Whatever it is, whether it is the highs or the lows, okay. You have to remember highs or the lows. One must be mindful. One must be mindful of the situation or condition in a factual way, not the way you want to see. In a factual way what is happening. So these happiness, don't think you know, they are constantly going on. Sometimes you are happy and elated. Let's say you are having a great party. 50 hundred friends throwing a big party and everybody happy and drinking and eating, and you are also very happy. And let's say there's a phone ring, long distance come in, and the message is the very one of your very beloved person, maybe parents, maybe children, someone that is very close to you. You say, Oh, passed away. Suddenly, within that split second, your happiness and joys are all gone and it goes into great sadness or grief or fear. It can shift on a dime in a nanosecond these mental states, these happiness to sadness. It's impermanent. And then you might have a great calm. So the anxiety comes in, that anxiety can replace that calm in a nanosecond. They can change at any time under a different set of conditions. Keep that in mind. So in your mind is, of course, whichever wind that is really rocking you off your normal course, whether the highs or the lows, keep that in mind. Be mindful of the fact. And be aware that it is not permanent. That's what Buddha taught us what to do under this kind of situation. So in here too, like if you look at it, you have a headache or something, severe headache, and you put some balm or vix, topical ointment on your temple just to relieve it. Yeah, it relieved to a certain point, but not totally. Oral medication is stronger than the topical medication. The same way, this reflective technique is like a topical application of an alignment. This mindfulness inside meditation is like the oral medication. Again, take care of the problem, make it disappear. So keep that in mind between these two techniques, reflection and mindfulness inside meditation. But use both techniques as appropriate, as suitable. You cannot just sit down and meditate right away and get rid of it. But at that moment, some reflection will ease the pain. So that shows us in general about what are these stresses about, highs and lows about, what is called Loka Dharma, and how to contain them, how to get rid of them or eliminate them totally. So let's see how this eight Loka Dharma, the eight highs and lows. The first one is called Lavo. Okay, the pair is called Lavo, Albo. Lavo English gain and loss. Okay, what's gain? Gain of materials. You become richer, wealthier. Gain of materials, gain of power, gain and fame, gain and status, success. That's what the gain is. And all these things gaining fame and power and popularity and status and material is called labour in your life and every other, whether the poor or the rich or the middle, we are always acquiring things. We are always depending on what we can afford or what we have access to. We are acquiring things of our own desire. We are acquiring objects of our desire. What we want, we are always doing, depending on your affordability skill. And whenever we get the desired object that we want, at that moment we become happy, we become joyful, we become satisfied. That is a part of our life. In other words, a major part of our life. We are always acquiring, acquiring, acquiring. What do we acquire? Things, objects that we like, people that we like, creating situations that we like, and we are happy. Various levels of course, depending on the level of the objects, what much you desire or how less you desire, the joys and happiness will also vary. And when we have that, the key thing is normal, okay, that's great, that's about okay. But there are times, there are moments that you really got excited and elated and you go off the handle. In other words, you become very emotional with your acquisition and success and fame. You really go off the handle. That is the danger, not simply simple, oh that's great. Or when you go off the handle, that is the time that can put you into the wrong situation. You might be reacting differently. That's the key point. And when these kind of things happen, what do you do? We have two techniques the Buddha give us. One is the reflection technique, and second is mindfulness insight. Apply them as suitable. One thing is mindfulness insight is you don't simply just use it when you have that problem. You keep that as a part of your life, a way of life. The more you can keep it as a part of you, the stronger it has effect. But only when you pick up and do it when some problem arises, it is not that effective. It is a training process. It must be a part of you. In fact, it is not even a cure, it is the prevention of problems that is more effective. Prevention of all the problems is mindfulness to sight. But at the same time, you're practicing and still you can go into deep end. When you go into deep end, then you can use as a medicine, as a cure. So it is good for both prevention and cure. But prevention is much better. So that is labour gain. And in here, along with it, I'll pick up a story, a story at the time of Buddha, so that we can have some idea about this what Labo is. So it's at the time of Buddha, when Buddha was alive, and Buddha was staying as a country called Khosambi. He was presiding there at that period. So whenever he stays, there's always quite a number of monks that follow him. Some are very close to him, some are not that, but still he always has lots of monks following him. Sometimes in thousands. Buddha stay in this forest for this three-month period, and the thousands of monks come along and stay there because they benefited a lot by being close to the Buddha, listen to the Buddha, getting first hand instruction. That's why the monks follow and live there. And in the groups of that great Sangha, thousands and thousands of monks follows. There's one monk, his name is called Devadatta. Devadatta, that's the monk's name. And in Akio Fat, he is a relative. He is the brother of Buddhas, now you can call it Iggs, his brother, Iggs' brother-in-law. But he, Devadatta, and then along with many princes, they became a bhikkhu monk. So this Devadatta is one of them. And this Devadatta is he has uh he has great jhic power because his concentration is good. Not only the jhani power, he even have an abhinyan, which means psychical power that one develops based on this jhic state, deep absorption state. See how this psychic power. But he has no Dharma. Just uh an other was very good with concentration, meditation, but he has no vipassana meditation or experience. So he was there with this monk and he was just one day thinking and reflecting, sizing the whole situation. Oh, there's the Buddha, every monk's follow, and here it is. And among thousands and thousands, it is very difficult to be stood out, and still, even though he's a bhikkhu, okay, a monk, because when the king orders all the prince and prince, they just, okay, I want five hundred princes ordained, the king order, and then five hundred princes ordain, because that's what the king is, his words is his etch and stone. So he's one of those, but it is not that he's that great. So he still thinks like a prince. He's still in the, let's call it, in a political arena, his mind is. So he thinks, oh, here is Buddha and here are the monks all around, and the great follower. That's pretty good. Just like a, you know, a kingdom, the king and his all his followers. That's what and it is hard to be noticed, get noticed. What should I do so that I would become noticed or become popular? He sized up the situation. And who should I recruit to do that? You have to have a team. Who should I recruit? And he size that up, and there's a king. Okay, the king of that kingdom is called Baim Bisara. And that king is pretty old and he has a son. His son's name is called Ajatasa. Ajatasa.

SPEAKER_01 35:23

Huh.

SPEAKER_00 35:24

This prince will become very powerful. And even now he's powerful enough. If I get him in my pocket, I think I can do a lot of stuff. That's how he thinks. I'm now talking more like modern-day lines or words. And then what he does was he thinks about this young prince. Young prince came, when young prince came to this forest with a monks, along with his father and stuff like that. And at one point, what he did was he transformed himself into a very chrismatic youth. Young, young adult. Very good looking, charismatic, and wrapped around with a big snake all over his body. And the prince saw him and suddenly got scared. What's that? Why you? And then that youth with the snake wrap around his body said, I'm Dewatata. I'm the monk Dewatata. And then the prince quickly said, Yeah, please let me see you in your original form as a monk, not like this. It's scary. So he transformed that into his normal, baked outlook. And suddenly the prince was very impressed. Wow, what a great monk. He's impressed. As he is impressed, he follows him and he came there to do a data every day with food and this and that, all the gifts and donations, and eventually bring in up to the point of food enough for 500 monks. He brings in food 500 monks. So when he brings in enough 500 monks, he cannot eat alone. So he, as people, he just, okay, other monks, come eat it, have it. This princess donating to me, so all the other monks, so they don't have to really walk hard or arms round and they get great food. And everybody who received gifts, they are always happy and grateful to the person who gives. And here is the Wadatta, that's the one who is creating the situation. So suddenly he has a lot of followers. 500, don't take exactly 500. In the Buddhist scripture, they just use quite often use 500, 500, 500. It indicates there are many. Many. So he became very popular. And there's so to speak, he has his own followers. He has his own friends, a bunch of monks. And that things happening become quite popular. So some other monks who are welcome to the Buddha and talk about the situation. The Wadatta is becoming quite popular and have a name for making a name for himself and over there. And when the Buddha heard it, and the Buddha gave a little bit of a short sermon or a speech talk to the monks. One who engages with fame, gain, popularity, and wealth. If one engages with fame and gain and popularity and wealth, eventually that person, in this case, will wane in wholesomeness. His character of being wholesome, wholesome character, or kusala. Kusala will automatically wane if one is putting so much effort in the fame and gain and popularity. It will wing in such a way, it will be like a mad dog who has no sense. The dogs, what is the highest quality of dogs? They can smell, they can sniff anything. They are very good with scent. And if the dog becomes mad, they don't have any more sense. That's the expression the Buddha gives. It will become like a mad dog who has no sense. And also use another analogy. It will be like um banana plant or bamboo plants. What does it mean by banana and bamboo plants? Whenever a banana plant grows a lot of bananas, after that it dies. And bamboo does, it grows a lot of seeds. After that, the bamboo plant dies. So that's what it is. Whenever something that becomes too much or too growing, all the fruits fall with it, the plants die. In the same manner, one who began to grow a lot of fame and gain and popularity, purposely doing, promoting, you will die under the weight of that old fame and gain. Your kusala, wholesome will wane. That's a speech that the Buddhists give. That's all. They don't tell him this or that or all this or all that. You just give them how to put your attitude toward this fame and gain. And the Vadatta, of course, become very popular. And there's a lot of stories related to it, but we will go into it. Eventually he became popular and then arrogant enough. He went with his follower to the Buddha, and then Buddha's the way he thing is more like a coup system. In the political world, or the kings and princes were. Okay, Buddha, I'm quite popular enough. I have a lot of followers. What I will do is I will take over your job. You can be the figurehead. I will manage the whole Sangha going to that point. Went to the Buddha with all his followers, and I said, I will take over your job. I will manage the whole Sangha, all the monks, and you can be a figurehead or you can retire. Whichever one it is. That's just a modern way of putting. And at that point, what happened was suddenly all his psychic power disappear. When the psychic power disappears, all his fame and gains are produced through that psychic power. Without that, suddenly all his followers are gone. The food's gone, donations gone, everything gone, because he's just have nothing special to be popular about. And eventually it is sad he falls into a crack of earth or a great narrow ravine. And then landslide, earth slides over him and he died. Not the earth actually opened the mountain soul. Fall into great ravine and the landslides and buried him and he died. That is chasing after fame and gain. When you go fame and gain, especially for the people who are on the right path of wholesomeness, your kusala. So that gives you some idea of what loba is. And another one is ah loba, basically opposite to gain. Lost. Lost or not having, same thing. Not having the fame, name, game, wealth, popularity, or you can call it falling from grace. That is aloba. And when things like that happen, what is the result? What is the effect? You go into great depression, you go crazy, you go mad because you lost all these fame, gain, and wealth. That is the stress from the lows of the eight Loka Dharma. The first one is the highs, the second one is the low. And here too, let's uh so that we care a little bit more and more about the little aspects of Buddhism will include or put in a story. Story means they actually happen. So when Buddha was, you know, every day Buddha goes on an arms round, he takes his bowl and collects food. And in here, at that time, there was a one Brahma. One Brahma. Brahmins are like a Brahmanism or Hinduism, they follow one Brahma. He's very wealthy, he owns a great big wheat field. And the Buddha goes come around and he offers, every day he offers food, put little food into the Buddha's pool and others' followers, of course. And the Buddha knows that this Brahma has parami. In other words, his practices in the past are pretty strong. In this life, if it is an appropriate condition, he could become a noble person. Buddha knew about it. So because of that, Buddha always makes a little conversation. Oh, how are you doing today? And so on and so little small chit-chit. And Brahman was happy because Buddha is quite big and popular. Oh, Buddha talks to me, so he was happy. And also his Buddha's followers, they know that the Buddha is normally Buddha doesn't really talk. Whatever he does, there's a purpose behind it. Buddha's talking to this Brahman, there must be a reason. So they also make a little chit chat, big friendly chats, small talks. So Brahman was very happy. There will be a reaping time, and he will have lots of money. And with from that lots of money, he said, okay, 10% of my income, I'm going to donate to the Buddha and all his followers, and this and that. He has a big dream about it and waiting for it, for the crop to reap, and so. But suddenly up on the high mountain, there was a great rain. Along with the great rain, there's a rivers and streams are really in a very strong flow situation. And this Brahma wheat field, wheat field is situated in a river called Asalawadi. Wadi means river. Asalawadi River. Just by the at the bank of it. And now when this big strong current comes down, it just demolished that area, eats some of the banks, and flooded the whole way. And the Brahmin is overnight to become broke. When he became broke, he was of course what? Very sad, depressed. And he's just crawling and with himself with depression. And at that time the Buddha went to him. A suitable Dhamma talk. So that he could see the condition. He will see the condition as it is. Suitable Dharma Tong and the practice. And the Brahmin practice according to that. And on the spot at this practice, after the suitable Dhamma talk, he became a noble person. The first noble person, Saltapana. So in here, through the laws too, one, if you don't handle it properly, you go into great depression. And these two techniques, reflective technique and Satipadana Vipassana technique, can take you out of that swamp. That is the first fair, labo a labo. The next one is called Yasho Ayaso, which means we have big families, we have relatives and friends and attendants and followers, teachers with the students. And in other words, we have an audience of our own thing based on a situation. And whenever we have lots of those followers and attendants, we are happy, big, happy family. And when you lose things, also you can lose things, or you don't have them, or you yearn for them when you see other people with great attendants and followers. That is the not having. That's yaso and ayasol. Lots of followers and attendants, no followers, or lots of followers and attendants. That can also give you great stress, highs and the lows. When you are a childhood, you have siblings. Some kids only one, some have siblings, two, three, some have six. The more siblings, the more you are happy the kids are, the less, less happy or boring. And also this is a childhood, and you become a teenager. When you become a teenager, do what happens? You have friends, or you have lovers, and you have followers, depending on how popular you are, or you don't have any friends, you are a loner, and everybody just scorn at you, or what a loser. See? That's the stress that you're giving of having friends or having not friends. Having siblings or not having siblings or relatives, or even admirer and followers. So even at adult time too, having a spouse, got married, or you have no married, or you're a single, oh you spincer, bachelor, married, having children, having grandparents, great-grandparents, great-grandchildren, these kind of things that is only in the in the adult level too. So in other words, at any age of the life of a person, they have their own followers and attendants. And when you have it, you are happy and excited. Sometimes you go off the handle. And when you don't have it, you go really depressed and lonely and weak. Under those situations, use the same two techniques, reflection techniques and mindfulness insight technique, to take out of it. And in here do a story, it's a Buddhist story, Badasari. Badar Sari is the name of a beautiful girl of her rich parents. But she fell in love with a servant, got married, so her parents disappeared them and she went to follow that servant and they lived very poorly. And then she got pregnant, the first pregnant. As they are only two, she decided, well, I'll go back to my parents and have my child birth over there. Probably that's a system at that time, I guess, because she doesn't have any support. So she went there, but on the way, she, the first kid, the baby was born. So I have no point going, went back to the husband and left. And then a year later or two years later, another baby pregnant. Okay. This time, let me go there to my parents to have my child back. So this time the husband will follow along the stream because there's another extra kids. So they came in by the river. Around that river, suddenly the label, the water broke, and she has to give birth to a child in a bush. Around that time, the husband went out to take some woods so that to build a fire to be warm. And at that time the person got bitten by a snake and he died. So there she is left with two kids. Shallow river. So she crossed the river, telling the older child, okay, wait on this side. I'm going to take your brother to the other side. So she carried, put it on the other river bank, that little baby, newborn baby, and she came back for the older son at the middle of the river, but she is always looking at the older and back and forth, and saw a hawk, coming down to take the little baby as a food. So she's like, Oh no gosh, and she screamed and yelled and waved her hands and stuff like that to shoot her. The hawks off. But the hawks just took the baby away. And at that moment, too, the son, the older son who was on this bed, thought that the mother is calling him. Okay, yelling, screaming, unwaving. So he thought he was calling, he just walked into the river. To make the long story short, he was swept away by the water and drowned and died. He lost two kids and a husband. She was quite distraught. But ah no, I'm going to my parents there. And finally, at least I can have a little bit of refuge. She went there and we got close to the town, and all of the people were just swarming around, going around, yelling, so what's happening? He said, Oh, there was a big hurricane that comes in and wipes out most of the, quite a bit of the town, especially the rich man. That's her parents' town that was blew off, and the parents died. And when she heard that, God, that's the end of it. The lamentation, craziness, madness set in. And she was half mad and just ran on the road around, and the clothes were torn, not proper. And at one point she happened to come to eat a group of gatherings where the Buddha was giving a Dharma talk. And she goes in and she was approaching it. The Buddha's white, it was quite soothing and calming. So approach the people said, No, no, you are not appropriate and proper, your body is exposed. It's not good. And the Buddha's nose, no, let her calm. And when she came a little forward, and then the Buddha, so to speak, calm her down, bring her to senses, bring her to senses. And even said it was at that moment she was crying. Said, My daughter, you have said shed so many tears in your past life. They are more than the water of the ocean. That much you have shed in the past life. Now it's time to stop shedding. Don't cry. And then with that she reflects. She knows a situation. At that moment the Buddha gave her appropriate Dhamma talk for her. She practiced and she became a Satapana, the first noble person. Later she joined the Bekuni's orders and she keeps practicing and eventually became a rahat. That is from the loss of attendance or followers, that kind of grief can set in. And the third pair is called Nin Dan Asanto. Ningdan Asanto. Basically praise and blame. Blame and praise. What it is is blame. Everybody blames everybody. You are if you're blame. If you're accused, if you're framed, you go under great distress. Whether it is a truth or false, doesn't matter. Blaming, accusation, framing, you go under great stress, under distress. And at that time you can one can crumble. And also the same thing priests, whether it's a priest for the truth or false priest, one can go really high off the handle. These kind of blaming and accusation, it's a normal part of life. Even the Buddha got accused. And around that time, There are many religious groups too, and other religious groups are quite envious of the Buddha's popularity. So they hired this woman, dressed up and as if she is pregnant, and then when Buddha was giving a Dhamma talk to a big audience, she went and then let her accuse Buddha, oh, you have sex with me, you are pregnant, you left me, now you're acting like a wholesome holy person, blah blah blah blah blah. Accusation. But of course, eventually the truth comes out and nothing sticks to it. If you are truly pure, whatever, they can come and attack you, but nothing will truly stick. And the point here is even Buddhas under accusation. The point is we all will have one time or the other. Somebody accuse you, somebody frame you, and somebody blame you. And those times be composed. Whether it is high or low. The highs, look at it. The easiest one is our actors and actress celebrity. They have fans. They are a certain character, they have their own personality, but the fans perceive in a different way, and they send a lot of the fan letters and emails and this and that. They put it in such a way they try to make her or him believe that what he or she is not. And eventually they believe that what they are, but they are not really that's what they are. And through that they can go on a wrong track because they couldn't handle the praise. And under those situations, one should be aware of it, reflect it, and be mindful of it. And the fourth pair is called sukhandukhan. Sukhandukhan. You can call it bliss or happiness from the whole bunch of sense pleasure. When you have this sense pleasure, you feel great, you feel good, you feel happy. Now the stress is on the happiness and bliss due to all sense pleasure. That's a sukhan. Dukhan, dukkhan is suffering. Suffering comes from many different sources. From the danger, you can suffer, you can trouble, you can have a you can have an accident and physically painful, you can suffer. Environmental condition. Basically, environmental condition changes. If there's a loss of sense pleasure, you'll be happy. That succumb. Bliss. If the conditions are really dangerous and troubling, you will suffer, suffer with pain. You suffer with physical pain, you will suffer with mental pain, from the injury, from the diseases, from death. Suffering arises. They call sukhandukha. And when these things come to, don't let it move you out. Be calm, be composed. Use of two techniques, reflection and mindfulness inside, being mindful. Through that you would be able to keep yourself calm and composed, or even totally eliminated. So these are the eight highs and lows of life. We all have it. And our job is to be calm and composed under pressure, under stress. To be able to do that, reflect this share pass. Practice mindfulness. To know exactly as it is. In fact, exactly on the facts of gain or loss. Facts of bliss or happiness or pain. Through that you would be able to stand life and take a normal course and do what is proper and good for all and as well as yourself. May all of you be able to practice these two techniques and may you be able to withstand with calm and composure towards the highs and lows. Loka Dhamma as soon as possible.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:22

Thank you very much.