The Reality of Life: Understanding Our Defilements : หน้า 132/164

Suzanne Jeffrey The Reality of Life: We get this picture from our parents. Our birth is the most critical time, and the weakest time, of our life. Because the four elements are impure, we realize that we have many defilements that cause us to be ignorant and possess the wrong knowledge. We are thinking, speaking, acting, behaving incorrectly unless we have parents or guardians who teach us moral behavior. If we are taught properly, then we will be able to possess the Right View. Struggle for Survival: Because of the four coarse elements that we have to refuel constantly, we are always looking externally. We have to seek shelter, feed ourselves, take care of our health, and find clothing. If we are not taught properly to have high moral standards, we are likely to get into the wrong livelihood, or the wrong way of living. This is the problem of survival. Our own bad behavior creates enemies which, in turn, creates our problem of living together. We cannot hope to find peace within our society if we are always looking externally. The Real Problems: These come from the defilements that we all have within us. Governments and politicians tend to try to solve problems on the surface but the real problem is what happens within each person: anger, greed, and ignorance. The problem is that we are not enlightened, nor do we see any value in becoming enlightened. We are only looking for external satisfaction. But we will never find it unless we Meditate and change ourselves. Illustration #12 132