Desire and Bliss

The Blessed One once lived in Savatthi. He asked for the Bhikkhus

There were two types of pleasure, Bhikkhus! How was the duality? Pleasure for staying home and bliss for leaving home. In this pleasant duality, supremacy was bliss for leaving home.

There were two types of joy, Bhikkhus How was the duality? Desire and the joy of undesire. In this joyful duality, supremacy was the joy of undesire.

There were two types of pleasure, Bhikkhus. How was the duality? Pleasure to be brought back from fighting for possession and delight in spirit. In this pleasant duality, supremacy was delight in spirit.

There were two types of happiness, Bhikkhus! How was the duality? Happiness in the body and pleasure in mind. In this happy duality, supremacy was pleasure in mind.

There were two types of pleasure, Bhikkhus! How was the duality? Delight of the sage and pleasure of the philistine. In this pleasant duality, supremacy was delight of the philistine.

(DTKVN, Anguttara l, Chapter 2, Unit of Joy, VNCPHVN Published, 1996, page 150)

Comment:

Going to look for happiness is necessary and essential desires of all. It depends on each person's view that is sensitive to happiness, pleasure in various pitch and levels. Living without a particle of pleasure and happiness is similar in suffering for purnishment in the evil world, sliding into decadence. Hence, though each person has his own position and ideality but on the whole they have to exert themselves on finding the peace and happiness.

According to everybody, life happiness means having enough health, having little illness; next to be satisfied all needs of senses; more possessing of material comforts, money, feelings, fame and sleeping.........together with all beer and skittles in generally speaking. However, the matter of following to five desires in order to find and build the happiness really scanty, because it is difficult to find out but easy to lose. It is not included his exhausted health when he is in front of the happy limit or it is too expensive for him to pay in his intentions together with sorrow until the end of his life.

Contrary to the monks, they refuse joys in the world but they still aim to find bliss for entering into religion. It is different from people' happiness possessed, the monks' happiness is abandonment. The more we abandon, discard, share and live for everybody the greater happiness we receive it; that is the joy of freedom from the world. On the other hand, in the coarse grade, happiness means to be satisfied the needs of body such as eating, clothing, sleeping, ect. To go deeply insight, mental purity is a marvellous bliss. Those who experience in meditation will obtain a deep understandng about the joy in silent tranquility of a peaceful mind.

The True happiness and the stable pleasure of sages are inner joy. Bliss is raised when greed, anger, ignorance and illusion are eliminated, lust is extinguished, delusion is cleaned out; the sages abide at the joy of bliss, liberation and Nirvana.

Quảng Tánh

Translated into English by Ms. Giac Ngoc