This Blessed Life

SR No.: 269090
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Nirmala Baid
Publisher: Nirmala Baid
Total Pages: 4
Language: English
Classification: Article & Society
File Size: 140 KB

Page 3

The first thing is to recognize it and see for what it is. Recognize the abundant nature of our life as it is now. Motto of the consumer capitalism is to buy a whole bunch of stuff and then some more. Is this an exciting way to look at the life? Are we supposed to consume as much as we can and then leave this world? Or, perhaps there is another purpose?
In Uttaradhyayan Sutra, Mahavir talks about how rare it is to obtain a human life. We make an assumption that we got this blessed life - if we squander it we will get another chance very soon. That is not the case. Jain scriptures stipulate very low odds of getting a human life. Also, out of all human lives on the Earth, what kind of human life we got? Why do we have this blessed life? It is certainly caused by our own good deeds of the past. If we mistake our fortunes for something we "own" and is ours - this is a recipe for disappointment. We know the good fortunes are here only as long as afforded by our karma.
Contemplation of Ignorance Let's get back to desire. There is positive desire - such as desire for enlightenment. Then there is desire born out of discontent that drives greed and fear. Fear and greed causes possession. But underlying the fear and greed is - ignorance - a lack of understanding of the true nature of things.
Let's consider why things happen to happen to us - both good and bad. Firstly, we may believe that things happen randomly and we are just victims or beneficiaries of our circumstances. This implies we have no control over any situation. Secondly, we may believe that things are done to us by some higher power. In this scenario, again, we do not exert any control over what is happening. According to the Jains, both of these are deluded views
Jains believe that we absolutely cause what happens to us. We believe that everything happen for a cause. This blessed life didn't just happen; we created the conditions for this life in our past by working very hard. This is the view Jains hold through the theory of Karma or causality. This causality is at the root of us getting things we possess. Jains consider two main impetuses for things to happen to us - our past deeds and our good faith efforts. In the strictest sense, this implies whatever is happening to us in present is a reflection of our past- and our future is shaped by what we do in the present. Contemplating on this worldview gives us a window into the true nature of things and a different perspective on our possessions. Would we shape a better future for ourselves by clinging to what we possess, or, by letting them go?
Security born of material things is a delusion. To remove this delusion, one takes the vow of non-possession and realizes the perfection of the soul.
- Mahavir
Contemplation of Impermanence We observe that things change constantly. Our ignorant thought is that we take things that are permanent as impermanent and take things that are impermanent as permanent. We act as if our possessions are permanent and we get disappointed when we lose what we have or when we don't get what we want.
Consider, how important is the person or object that we crave: everything will end someday - people die, things break. What are all the objects of attachment worth at the moment of truth" or death? The prosperity we have is very tenuous; it can slip at any moment. We see this in our lives all the time - happening to us and happening to others. We cannot take our possessions, prosperity and even our own life with a sense of entitlement. Take for example the recent tsunami in Japan - people lost their lives and possessions in a split moment. We need to consider our prosperity as a means to a higher end. We have an obligation, an obligation not to just consume, but to give back. In the cosmic scale of time, there