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Eight Worldly Concerns
- (Gain, loss, pleasure, pain, praise, blame, fame, defame.)
- From the poorest beggar to the richest king, we are driven by these. That is why we call them worldly concerns. The sphere of mundane life is to avoid sufferings and engage in sense pleasures. We should think beyond that.
- Eight worldly concerns has to do with self-
interest.
- To abandon them, first we need to recognize them. You need mindfulness to detect.
- See them as negative.
- ‘Arya’ means someone who does not have eight worldly concerns.
- Is mind occupied with concerns of this life? Is mind stuck on happiness of this life? This is a distraction.
- Emerge from attachment and fixation to phenomena of this life. This is Renunciation.
- Eight worldly dharmas are the practice of “I”.
- Example of pot with poison -
poison refers to eight worldly concerns. - Bodhicitta motivation cuts through worldly concerns.
- The # 1 worldly concern is oneself.
- If grasping to self is weak, eight worldly concerns will matter less.
- All appearances are composite. Objects of our attachment are made up of parts. They are subject to transformation and change. Concerns of this life are deceptive in nature. Don’t be bound by delusion. Turn away from worldly concerns. This is renunciation.
- To plant a seed, one needs to clear the land of stones and weeds. Get rid of these thoughts.
- If someone praises you, don’t generate attachment. If someone blames you, don’t generate aversion. This is samaya of speech.
- Separate mind from worldly concerns.
- Likes and dislikes are worldly concerns.
- What prevents us from practice? Attachment to this life. Worldly concerns.
- When we die we will recognize the entire life to have been like a dream. Give up concern for this life.
- If you are practicing to become beautiful, wealthy, it is not the practice of dharma. It is the practice of eight worldly dharmas.
- Sources of worldly happiness -
wealth, status, friends, companions – are deceptive in nature. Experience of this life is dream- like. Everything will just dissolve, like last night’s dream. - Treat sound as echo/mantra. Don’t be affected by what people say about you, tell you.