Contemplation Of Distaste For The Whole World

Written by Upasaka Colin on 10/10/2007

At the latter-end of the twentieth century astronomers and theoretical-physicists began to see that with our ability to produce anti-matter in the form of positrons in a particle accelerator, the balance between matter and anti-matter is a major factor in determining whether our universe is in a state of expansion or contraction – a state of rising or falling. Einstein’s theories of relativity had rightly suggested that our universe is currently constantly expanding. However, the realization came that this state of affairs may not be a permanent feature of our universe but just a truth about a certain point in time. The collapse of stars that astronomers observed from time to time and termed ‘dark holes’ were reassessed and it was posited that rather than being just the extinction of a far off sun, what they may be observing was the collapse of a distant universe. This presented the possibility that rather than there being just one Universe in which everything exists, there may be a multiplicity of Universes and that ours is just one of these. Some of these universes may be in a state of expansion and others in the process of collapse. This gave rise to the possibility of an infinity of universes clustering together and colliding with one another and changed our perception of space as being just one big vacuum containing an infinite number of solar and planetary systems.

What, you may be wondering, does all this 20^th and 21^st century astronomy and theoretical physics have to do with a Sutta given by the Buddha 2500 years ago? Well interestingly when the Buddha talks of the ‘whole world’ in the context of the contemplation we are about to examine, he does not talk of ‘the world’ as being just one physical, material place but talks about the consciousnesses with which human-beings experience external objects. Thus there is not just ‘one world’ but ‘worlds’ as experienced and created by each of our sense organs and consciousnesses.

To use scriptural sources to show that I am not merely ‘reading into’ or being fanciful with the original text with the benefit of hindsight from modern science, the Buddha defines what he means by ‘the world’ in the ‘Loka Sutta’ (SN 12.44). This is a Sutta that was delivered to monks when the Buddha was living at Savatthi. The Blessed One informed the monks, ‘I will teach you the origination of the world and the ending of the world. Listen and pay close attention (and) I will speak.’ What the Buddha then delivers is essentially a talk on Paticca-samuppada (Dependent Origination) - and discusses the instruments that we as human beings use to discern and to know ‘our world’. He starts with the 6 worlds of the senses as we experience them in the here and now. He does not start with some theoretical hypothesis about the origins of planet Earth and of the universe, i.e. Creationism: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void.’ (Genesis Vs.1 -2), or the ‘Big Bang’ theory. Instead he starts with where we find ourselves in the present moment, here-and-now.
Firstly, he describes the mechanisms of seeing. Depdendent on the eye and forms (i.e. objects) there arises eye-consciousness. The meeting of eye, forms and consciousness is contact. Arising out of contact ( as a requisite condition) comes feeling. From feeling comes craving. From craving comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth follows aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress and despair.
Secondly, he moves on to hearing. Dependent on the ear and sounds there arises ear-consciousness. The meeting of all 3 is contact. The Buddha then progresses through the same sequence of events as for ‘seeing’. Thirdly, he moves on to smell. Dependent on the nose and aromas there arises nose-consciousness. The meeting of all 3 is contact – then same sequence as for ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’. Forthly, he moves on to taste. Dependent on the tongue and flavours there arises tongue-consciousness. The meeting of all 3 is contact – then same sequence as for ‘seeing’,’hearing’ and ‘smell’. Fithly, he moves on to feeling (body & tactile sensations). Dependent on the body and tactile sensations there arises body consciousness. The meeting of all 3 is contact – then same sequence as for ‘seeing’,’hearing’, ‘smell’ and ‘taste’. Finally, he moves on to consciousness. Dependent on the intellect and mental qualities there arises intellect-consciousness. The meeting of all 3 is contact – then same sequence as for ‘seeing’, ‘hearing’, ‘smell’, ‘ taste’ and ‘feeling’.

The ‘End of the World’ or ‘Cessation of the World’ comes about through ‘remainderless cessation and fading away’ of craving which arises from feeling. From the ‘cessation and fading away’ of feeling comes the cessation and fading away of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming, comes the cessation of birth. From cessation of birth, cessation of aging, death and sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress and despair. ‘Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress and suffering. This is the ending of the world.’
The importance of not craving for the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations and wordly intellectual stimulation is obviously key in order to attain Nibbana or a state of non-being. In the same way these same factors are also important in determining the realm in which one will be reborn because there remains the certainty that if one does not attain Nibbana one will be reborn in either a happy or unhappy destiny. Unhappy destinies for human beings in the cosmology of Buddhism includes hell and the animal world.

The contemplation of disenchantment with the whole world arises through abandoning ‘wrong view’, for it is wrong view that causes us to act in ways which creates the kamma that leads to unhappy destinies and the craving that causes the kamma that leads to happy destinies rather than to Nibbana or non-being.
The commentary of the Girimanda Sutta from the Saratthasamuccaya translated by Bhikku Naomoli illustrates the point with the description of the plight of a cow about to be butchered:
‘Like a cow to be slaughtered, when she is in the grip of the torment due to being burnt with fire and belaboured with cudgels, and is sick with it, she starts drinking the hot water although it hurts her and brings about her ruin, so the ordinary man who has (wrong) views undertakes kamma of the various kinds beginning with killing living things. But just as that same cow, through her craving for cold water, starts drinking cold water which is entirely pleasant and eases her tortures, so the ordinary man who has craving for becoming starts kamma of the various kinds beginning with abstention from killing, which leads to a happy destiny.’
The point of this rather gruesome illustration is that all states that we are concerned with in this contemplation only arise in thoughts accompanied by greed. Greed comprises of craving an clinging. So what, then, is meant by clinging? The commentary says that 4 kinds of clinging are meant in this context:-

Clinging means, of course, to ‘grasp’ an object and the Northern Indian rural example given to illustrate this is ‘to grasp as a snake does a frog’. A slightly (but not much) less gruesome image than that of the soon-to-be-slaughtered cow. With the abandoning of clinging arises the contemplation of disenchantment of the whole world.

The commentary elucidates that mind has various ‘resorts’ where it tends to like to stay. We are familiar with the term ‘resort’ from our frequent package-holidays. However, the Northern Indian analogy is that of lions who when they have been wandering elsewhere regularly like to return to a familiar place, such as a cave to sleep. Such places are called ‘lairs’ and the ‘lair’ of the lion is the ‘resort’ of the mind. What there is in the ‘lair’ of the ordinary human mind are mental prejudices and beliefs. Two such favourites for us humans is the belief in ‘eternalism’ or that of ‘annihilation’ i.e. when we die our current personality or soul will go to a heavenly realm and live there happily ever after for eternity or when we die we will disappear into oblivion and we will not be reborn in any other realm. These tendencies (anusaya) are inherent and are always present (anu anu senti) and are deeply implanted in the mind and remain hidden but are quick to arise whenever the occasion presents.

The result of contemplating on the distastefulness of the whole world is as the Buddha states in the Girminanada Sutta: ‘Herein, Ananda, (a monk) by abandoning any concern and clinging to this world, by abandoning mental prejudices, wrong beliefs and latent tendencies concerning this world, by not grasping them, but by giving them up, becomes detached. This, Ananda, is called contemplation of distaste for the whole world.’ And what is it exactly that one becomes disenchanted with? One becomes disenchanted with the three elements: the sense desire, fine-material and immaterial elements. One has no delight, is not enchanted, not attracted nor attached. One does not hold on. One seeks only Nibbana, so one leans, tends and inclines towards Nibbana.

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