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True Happiness 3 - The Discourse on the Three Dharma Seals
Dwelling in the Dharma, living fully in the present moment, we can let go of the flames of afflictions that arise from the five sensual pleasures and the bewildering maze of fame, gain, wealth, and sensuality. Practicing mindfulness helps us not to be burned by the “fires of affliction,” to transcend suffering right within this very body and this very insight. When we let go of craving, we turn toward the happiness that transcends the world, abiding in the wondrous, pure Dharma, directly realizing the truth and experiencing liberation for ourselves.
The wondrous Dharma of the Tathāgata is well expounded, realized here and now, transcending time, inviting each person to come and see, and to verify for themselves. In the Sāmidhi Sutta, this Dharma is summarized in six main qualities:
- Svākkhāto – well expounded
- Sandiṭṭhiko – visible here and now
- Akāliko – timeless
- Ehipassiko – inviting one to come and see
- Opanayiko – leading onwards
- Paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhīti – to be realized individually by the wise
Craving (taṇhā) is the deep root of suffering. The images the Buddha used to illustrate this include a bare bone, a piece of raw meat, a torch of straw held against the wind, a pit of glowing coals, and a venomous snake. Beings cling to perceptions (their notions of happiness) without understanding the impermanent and non-self nature of the five aggregates (name and form: feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness, and form), thus entering the path of birth and death in samsāra. When we contemplate and break through the illusions of craving, true happiness is present right here and now.
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Fame, profit, and position – the golden cage for monastics and lay practitioners