173: Retreat Dhamma Talk 68: A Crazy World (Eight Forms of Self-Abuse)

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Retreat series Dhamma Talk Number Sixty Eight The way we normally w lived, always live, that condition is totally full of sense desire and mental defilements. If we keep them loose, if we keep them as it is, the normal state, we would never be able to find out the false of these mental defilements and sense desire. At least we need to contain these with the five precepts, especially sense desire that doesn't belong to us. But if the sense desire take over, small dissatisfaction can become a raging bull, and also a minor craving can become a wicked greed, and a small misunderstanding, misunderstanding can become a opposing view. These all happen because we are not mindful. Selfish people, they are obsessed with sense desire. But we can also get drunk and high with success, fame, fortune, and ego. And all the crazy and mad people live in this drunken world. The mad world, the crazy world. The Buddha laid out eight kinds of madness. Madness due to sense pleasure, due to ill will, due to wrong view, due to ignorance, and also due to unseen beings, and due to liver, gallbladder, virus, bacteria, and due to drugs and alcohol, and finally due to the loss of fame, fortune, and people. Those are the eights. Let's see how they present to us and each and every one of them. So the first one is madness with sense pleasure or madness due to sense pleasure. For those people who studies Pali what is called gamu mataka. Without mindfulness the mind will go everywhere, anywhere without any limit and border and undisciplined minds will mostly engage with akusala or unwholesomeness instead of wholesome situation. Just like a child, if you let the child do whatever he or she wants, they will most likely pick up only bad habits, not good habits. Once a person believes something this is good, from his or her perspective, that person will crave for it. Even that is in reality is wrong. But in their perception it is good. So one who is obsessed with sense pleasure does not know right from wrong. And all these conditions are called madness with sense pleasure. Okay. Selfish people avoid looking after other people's interests and welfare. And they are unable, not able to see the good points and the strengths of others. Instead, they focus on the false. Patience, forgiveness is totally alien to them. Bullying, cruelty, ruthlessness are a part of their life. All these things, anger is the driving force behind it. Dissatisfaction, aversion, hatred, ill will, revenge are constant companion. So it is important to appreciate the beauty and strength of others, and also forgive their weakness and faults. Spotlighting on the lovable nature of others will produce loving kindness in you because that's spotlighting or looking at the lovable natures of other is the proximate cause to arouse loving kindness. Selfish angry people don't know how to connect with the beauty of life. Ignoring distress of others is simply a lack of compassion. Without this loving kindness and compassion will be just like animals, not much different. And all these conditions are called madness with anger. Or madness due to wrong view. Pali word date tone matakat. Date tone matakat. So whenever we see, we face, we engage with something, we perceived a certain way. But perception of views on things and people and situation could be right and also could be wrong. So in other words, our perception could be right or could be wrong. Example, lust. Actually it is lust, L-U-S T. Lust can disguise as loving kindness. You think you are relating with loving kindness, but actually it is lust. You don't know. And also sorrow can disguise as compassion. As an example, let's say you do a mercy killing. You think that you are killing so that that person or that animal won't suffer. It's suffering long enough. I'm going to end its suffering. But have you thought about you watching that animal or person suffering every day is really getting onto you. It gives you great grief, it gives you sorrow, it gives you lamentation, it gives you pain. You are killing it so that you won't be suffering, or you are killing it so that it would cut off the suffering. Very tricky. That is how sorrow and grief can be disguised under the veil of compassion. We always think we know what is right and what is wrong. We are smart, we are sharp. But there are many circumstances, especially very subtle conditions. In the subtle condition, it is very difficult to know what is right and what is wrong. That's why you are always asking a close friend, what should I do? Because you don't know, we don't know. From the meditation point of view, we have many different levels of insight. You look at one thing and you perceive a certain way when you are at the lower level of insight or when you have no insight. And once you practice, your level of insight becomes higher and higher. At that time, you turn around and look at that same thing, your perception will be totally different. You'll find out what you believe is true at the lower level of insight. It's not correct, it is wrong. So with level of insight, your perception can change, the truth can change. So what do you think is right? You begin to understand that is not true. So every day we use, let's call it, thinking power, thought power, reflection, using reason, logic, and so on to solve most of our problem, and we always think we seem to manage it. Intellectual means, this kind of reflective power, thinking power, is always influenced by the tradition that we are brought up, the condition of the environment that we are in, the culture that we grow together, and also personal belief. They are all infused in your intellectual decision making. But we think we are doing the best, and we are right. So these kind of thinking power, thought power, decision making, some results are within the line of truth, and some are not. Let's see, if you are not observing, okay. When you want to sit, you sit. If you are not observing when you want to sit, you won't know. Intention to sit is the mind. When you want to sit, there's intention. That intention is the mind. If you are not observing, you won't know that. And also the sitting behavior, manners, and movements of the body, you won't know that is the rupa or the body. Separateness, intention is the mind, movement and behavior is the our physical body. But if we take, if we take just like that, take it this behavior ball of the body in this sitting is I am sitting. That's how we take it. When we sit, I'm sitting, he is sitting, we are sitting, they are sitting, that's how we take. As soon as we sit. Sit down. Everybody sat. We are sitting. That is how we perceive. That kind of perception is, or that is how we perceived, if we are unmindful. In other words, you took I as a doer, we as a doer, that how we perceived. So with this unmindful mind, we lived with the view of I, the view of self, the view of soul. And not only that we are living now in this life, we have been living with that view for the countless number of lives, lives in the past. In other words, that view and us are inseparable. That's why it's very important to be mindful at all movements, behaviors, and actions and intentions at every posture, standing or sitting or walking or lying down, and all four postures. It's important to be mindful. If you are observing those actions and behavior, you will know intention to sit is the cause. And the sitting movement is the effect. Cause and effect. It is simply doesn't happen. Intention is the cause, the physical sitting is the effect. But normally, on a superficial level, we for lack of a better word, you can say, I'm tired, that's why I sit. I'm tired, tired is the cause, sitting is the effect. You can view that way. But who's tired? I am tired and I sit. That view, even though there's a cause and effect, it revolves around the concept of I or self. So if we keep the unmindful mind, this unmindful mind will grab all the process that we are engaging as a person, individual, self or a soul. Person is doing, individual is doing, I am doing, we are doing, the soul is doing. That is called the view of Atta. The view of self. Soul or I. And this whole thing, this whole event, this all condition from the Buddha perspective. Buddha perspective. It is the madness with wrong view. From the Buddha perspective. If you view that way, it means that you are mad with wrong view. Some religions will explain this process as a wish or an act of a supreme being. That's a one way of approach to this thing, to this process or condition. This theoretical or philosophical understanding. It's not the true understanding of the real truth. True understanding only comes from direct experience. That what so-called I come in contact with the object at the present moment. It comes only from direct observation, not from theory, not from philosophy, but from personal direct observation and experience. While it is happening, not before, not after. While it is happening, you observe and know the intention. You are right there, so to speak, and then the body sits. Simply a dual process, intention, the mind, and the sitting, the body, mind and body, or mind and matter. And if you don't have that knowledge, you will believe in one kind of concept, effect without cause. You can believe, or you will come to believe as effect without cause. Or effect caused by supreme being. That way of viewing, that way of looking from the Buddhist point of view, specifically the Buddha, said we are mad with wrong view, dato mataka. So that's number three, madness with wrong view. Number four is madness with delusion and ignorance. In Pali, Mohon Mataka. So all these madness we have we are laying out all here, a kind of madness. All these madness, the root cause of all these madness is knowing wrongly. Knowing wrongly the true nature of mind and matter, or the root causes, in other words called delusion, which is pali word moha or ignorance, pali word away, delusion, ignorance, or simply knowing wrongly the true nature of mind and matter. That's a root cause. Not knowing the truth is like you are in a dark room where you can't see anything. You know something, there is something somehow, somewhere, but as you can't see anything, you don't know that is how Moha or delusion is. You are there but you don't know. Okay, so basically put it in a different way or proper way, not knowing the truth is like in darkness where you cannot see anything. And Buddha said the world is buried under the madness of ignorance. This madness of ignorance buried the whole world, in other words, all living beings. Only a few, a few people can discern or differentiate and know the true nature of mind and matter, or and they are causal relationship, cause and effect, workings through the law of cause and effect between mind and matter, and there are common characteristics, which is an eacha, impermanence, dukkha, suffering, and anata non-self. Three common characteristics. Only a few can discern or know or understand. But to know that truth of mind and matter, we require a correct method, and of course, a competent teacher to guide us or to teach us. And due to this ignorance, a wija, uncertainty, confusion, illusion becomes our constant companion. This condition, the Buddha called it, you are mad with delusion, Moho Mataka. That's the the fourth madness, the fourth kind of madness. The fifth one is uh madness due to invisible beings. Okay. It'll be a bit difficult for the Westerner to understand. understand or to accept it or maybe not. Madness due to invisible beings. Pali what is yakhong mataka. Yakum mataka. Dhamma, Buddha Dharma can only protect the domain where the Dharma is. It can't go and protect the domain where it is not. In other words it can protect the person who lives and breeds the Dharma and who doesn't it cannot guard or protect you that's a fact let's see there's a storm coming when the storm comes big and tall trees they take the brunt of this strong wind. They got attacked by the strong wind. The big ones are the first that's in physical nature and the physical world. So too in the living beings okay big and loud people bid and loud people always become the first to become under attack. When the attack comes those big and loud people are the first ones who will take that attacking force and these kind of people big loud egoistic selfish larger than life me these kind of people they have all sorts of enemies and when I said all sort of enemies it includes egoistic invisible beings. They are living beings that we cannot see that we cannot touch but sometimes some people can sense it and feel it they are egoistic beings also good good beings of course but we are specifically talking about egoistic invisible beings so in here is simple a magnet attracts all the ions and nails and pin attracts the magnet magnet attracts them just like that the negative mental state that you have attracts negative energy or dark forces. If you have a negative mental state if you have a negative energy it attracts negative forces dark forces and when people attract these kind of dark energy and dark force or attack of the wicked invisible powerful beings the way it shows all the signage of this is the person have a loss of normalcy and began to act out inhuman behaviors sometimes shaking trembling and sometimes you are in a vegetative mode like a vegetable or depressive mode don't move just stare into the space those are the signs some of the signs indicating that that kind of group of people are mad due to the dark energy of the invisible beings that is yakum mataka the sixth one the sixth one is I'll use the Pali word first Big Tung Mataka Big Tong Mataka it is a difficult to translate so in general you can say it is the physical infected madness or you can say madness due to dysfunction of liver madness due to dysfunction of gallbladder madness due to virus madness due to bacteria they all manifested in your physical body and in here too healthy minds create healthy body and so is unhealthy mind creates unhealthy body unhealthy mind means excessive kilisa excessive mental definements greed anger delusion excessive and when you have that excessive mental definements in your mind your body becomes unhealthy because mind and body works hand in hand cause and effect the mind cause negative mental state the body creates negative chemicals simple straightforward so it's not written in the scripture I venture to explain this way let's see one has a high blood pressure because that person is crazy or addicted to high intake of salt same thing with diabetes drink a lot of sugar take a lot of sugary drinks sugar sweets that's like diabetes in other words it is your own craving or grasping to the salt and to the sugar heart disease your artery plugged up with plagues why is that high intense intakes of fatty foods and we use the word liver dysfunction what happens is when your liver is not functioning properly it cannot process or screen out and sieve out all the toxin and when the liver cannot sieve out the toxin these toxins go into the bloodstream there is the blood become toxic and the people the person will have a symptom of being like mad or suffer that is the liver and so is called blada same thing dysfunction and there are specific names some diseases some of you might have or all of you might know Metcal disease when a person is hit with that Metcal disease is always in a hallucinated mood seeing things that is not there fearing things that is not there and so on okay we know rabies from the dog when the rabies comes in the dog becomes mad if it is bit and you can even die not only mad we know right now it's a bird's flu. That's a virus covet virus Spanish flu virus about a hundred years ago Spanish flu plagues wiped out half of the European continent population those are the viral or virus or bacterial and they are also related with the dysfunction of the organs in your body cancer cancer cell attacks these in my opinion falls under this number seven number seven is madness due to intoxicant that's straightforward pseudomataka pseudomataka intoxicant alcohol and drugs alcohol and drugs use create euphoric feeling if you take it that's what you get euphoric feeling or a high and say a few drinks you take a few drinks as soon as you take a few drinks even a very conservative conservative person will become less inhibited a few drinks make person less inhibited but if you take many drinks lots of drinks common sense becomes out of control at that time at that point one's action can produce hurt and harm to others hurt and harm to strangers to friends and even the loved ones it will produce hurt and harm abuse become a common thing in this drunken state. When you're drunk that's why a lot of family abuses related with a drunken person when they got sober or when they are not drunk at that time they might feel guilty. They might feel remorse guilt and remorse afterwards of course but even with that even though they feel guilty they can't help themselves they go back and drink again they go back and use the drugs again because now they are at the point they are at the mercy of drugs and alcohol they become the slave of drug and alcohol they feel guilty but they can't help it and also withdrawal symptoms withdrawal symptoms sometimes some people they don't have money anymore they can't get these drugs and alcohol so they go into withdrawal symptoms suffer a lot of pain you look like you are crazy you look like you are mad and these people will do anything to get this drugs and alcohol and that is madness due to drugs and alcohol or pseudomataka number eight number eight is madness due to loss of fame, fortune and loved ones Yatakung Mataka Yatakong Mataka people who as a weak immature and highly emotional mind those kind of people are easily moved when they face the eight highs and lows eight Loka Dhamma we have discussed that before when they face these eight Loka Dhamma it's they are easily moved easily swayed when they become high they become extremely euphoric fly off the handle and then when they are in the low state down state they become extremely reactive and depressive they swing you can even call it modern day word quining disease is bipolar they are pretty smart people but they have a very high period and very low periods that is the attack of Yatako Mataka bipolar okay of course these modern words are me pulling into to explain when they are high we become really euphoric when they are low they don't know how to move even physically move at all so under extreme stress of loss okay extreme stress of loss you hold on to some idea some project and you think it's going to be great and then it fails when it fails you just collapse and of course you use all sort of rationals and reasons and blaming process and under extreme stress of loss physical and mental health decline those people and if that continues for a certain period of time this extended period of pain and grief and loss depression your appetite disappear you don't sleep properly appetite and sleep drastically discline some even become suicidal a lot of suicidal thoughts comes in some acutely did it and these are all due to immature weak and fragile ego immature mind weak mind and fragile ego those people are quite egoistic but their ego is fragile that's the reason so all these conditions are called madness due to loss of fame fortune and loved ones so altogether there are eight kinds of madness Buddha laid out you can see now Buddha taught us in many ways everything is about kilisa mental defilements loba dosa and moha but he taught us in so many different ways so that we could really understand and cope each and every situation we are very very attentive and very active in taking care of our physical health headaches pills joint aches pills something happened go to the doctor go to the surgery oh you're fighting and fighting and fighting I'm a fighter very all physical diseases but we are not attentive or as attentive or even aware of our mental illness or madness we are not as attentive or not attentive or even not aware of our mental illness or madness that's why the Buddha said people are all suffering with the disease of these eight madnesses but the Buddha said it is disease of madness but also the Buddha used another word these eights are called self-abuses we are abusing ourselves it is not the foreign eight enemies attacking us we are abusing ourselves the reason is if we are mindful we have a choice if we are mindful this madness cannot attack us in other words we allowed it to come in we let it to come in we are actually abusing ourselves that's why this eight kind of madness is also called eight kind of abuse self-abuse eight kind of self-abuse so these madness are our own doing but Buddha did not only point out these eight madnesses or eight kinds of illness or disease out of compassion he also taught us how to cure them he gave us the means and way in other words give us a medicine to cure these diseases and that medicine is Satipattana Vipassana mindfulness inside meditation so why don't we let us all take a vow that we are going to cure ourselves from this a kind of madness or mental disease with mindfulness inside meditation and uproot all of them as soon as possible sad you very much