Commentaries to a Chapter of the Dhammapada
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
It is a privilege to have the chance to apply
the teachings of the Masters to each day of one’s life0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
The quotations in the following text are from
“The Dhammapada”, Theosophy Co. edition, Los
Angeles, 1955, 140 pages, chapter 15. The numbers
of aphorisms are indicated at the end of each quotation.
After discussing the reality of the great Sages of all
time, the Dhammapada examines the process of Happiness.
Having said that “he who pays homage to the Fearless
and Peaceful Ones” has a merit which cannot be measured
by any, the book makes an invitation to the student.
(CCA)
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1. Develop the Power to Heal
The Dhammapada:
“Let us, then,
free from hate, live happily among those who hate; among men who hate let us
dwell free from hate.” (197)
Commentary:
Hate and fear are often born as twin brothers.
However, hostilities cannot heal the bipolar disorder of
fear and hate, or the other diseases of the soul. Justice, goodwill and discernment do the
healing - in due time. Hard work and patience are needed.
If people around you give up reason and discernment
and adhere to unbalanced feelings, you must strengthen your own common sense
and the contact with your spiritual soul.
There is an effective way to help people who suffer
and live in desperation; - but it does not consist in becoming a sadomasochist
yourself. One must tread the path of inner contentment instead, and show the
path to the sufferers, so that they can realize that there is a gradual way out
of pain.
2. See Beyond Short Term Events
The Dhammapada:
“Let us, then,
free from the disease of longing, live happily among those who suffer that
disease; among men with disease of longing let us dwell free from that disease.” (198)
Commentary:
What’s the meaning of being compassionate? Compassion is not the same as joining
unhappiness, or partaking in the ignorance of the outward world. Solidarity is
preserving wisdom and bliss, in the first place, and then bringing them into
the world, as long as possible.
And happiness does not mean having one’s petty desires
fulfilled. It results instead from two factors:
1) Transcending personal desire; and
2) Dwelling in the universal law of equilibrium.
3. Renounce Haste
The Dhammapada:
“Let us, then,
free from anxiety, live happily among those who are careworn; among the
anxious, let us dwell free from anxiety.” (199)
Commentary:
Life organizes itself by the power of affinity. Live
peace, and peace will come to you. Renounce haste, and you will have time
enough. As we accept the peace of the soul, a feeling of contentment transforms
existence. If you ignore hatred, hatred ignores you. Act upon the principle of
universal harmony, and harmony will become available. Remember: contentment is mainly
inner, not outward. The right kind of self-sacrifice, combined with wisdom,
produces lasting happiness.
4. Transcend Personal Possessions
The Dhammapada:
“Let us, then,
live happily, we who possess nothing. Let us live like the Shining Ones
nourished on joy.” (200)
Commentary:
Life is an open process. How long can we possess the
things and circumstances we think we possess? In the long run we own nothing.
To those who are aware of this fact and don’t lie to themselves by denying it,
the Dhammapada makes an invitation to live happily. Life is a tree whose roots
are on the sky, not on Earth. True treasures belong to the soul. Material
illusions can only express our ignorance: happiness is in cherishing physical
life while transcending it.
5. Be Stronger than Circumstances
The Dhammapada:
“Victory breeds
hatred; the vanquished dwell in suffering; but the tranquil man disregarding
both victory and defeat lives happily.” (201)
Commentary:
External victory breeds hatred. The victory we should
try to obtain is an invisible success that defeats no one.
Naïve people wish to change external circumstances so
as to make them easy in the short term; and this they call “triumph”.
The Wise One knows that real victory consists in being
stronger than the uncertain tides of circumstances. Aphorism 179 says: “His
victory nought can undo. None of this world can undo that victory”.
The Sage works for humanity. He sows the best and does
not forget that the corresponding harvest will take place in due time. He is
humble in triumph and receives every defeat as a lesson in how best to prepare
the next - invisible, silent - victory.
6. Accept Internal Contentment
The Dhammapada:
“There is no
fire like lust; no ill like hatred; there is no sorrow like personal existence;
there is no peace higher than tranquility.” (202)
Commentary:
Pain is concentrated in the lower self or “personal
existence”. Bliss and contentment belong to the higher self, and to those
levels of the lower self which are in harmony with the immortal soul. There is
no [outward] peace higher than [inner] tranquility.
7. Understand the Highest Bliss
The Dhammapada:
“Hunger [desire] is the worst of diseases, personal existence [or living limited to the lower self] the worst of sufferings. To him who has known this truly, Nirvana is
the highest bliss.” (203)
“Health is the
greatest of gifts; contentment is the greatest wealth; trust is the best of
relationships; Nirvana is the highest happiness.” (204)
Commentary:
What is the actual meaning of Nirvana? The highest contentment
consists of detachment in union.
8. Live in the Realm of the Spiritual Soul
The Dhammapada:
“He who has
tasted the sweetness of solitude and the flavour of tranquility, he becomes
free from sin and fearless, and enjoys the ambrosia of the Good Law.” (205)
Commentary:
Anxiety is the door to pain and the very substance of
suffering. As the pilgrim renounces attachment, he gives up unhappiness. By
leaving lower-self issues, we start living in the realm of higher self.
9. Practice the Art of Being Invisible
The Dhammapada:
“Beneficent it
is to catch sight of the Noble Ones; to live with them is continuous happiness.
A man is happy if luckily he escapes the sight of fools.” (206)
Commentary:
Living in harmony with the Noble Ones is granted if we
live in harmony with Their Philosophy of Life. While the true sages are few, their Classical
Teachings are not so difficult to obtain. However, if we live in a
materialistic society, it may be wise to preserve a degree of invisibility.
10. Learn from the Wise Ones
The Dhammapada:
“He who
consorts with fools experiences great grief. The company of fools is like
company of enemies - productive of pain. Company of the wise is like meeting of
real kinsfolk - it brings happiness.” (207)
Commentary:
Avoiding multitudes allows us to attain a more direct
experience in wisdom and brotherhood.
Fools are not those who know less than us: foolishness
belongs to those who do not want to learn, to those who despise truth and
pretend to know all things. Every pilgrim has deep goodwill regarding those of
his brothers who may be more ignorant than he is. He tries to help them, he is
happy to see them learn.
The Dhammapada:
“Therefore,
even as the Moon follows its path among the stars, so should one follow the
wise, the discerning, the learned, the steadfast one, the dutiful, the noble.
One should follow such.” (208)
Commentary:
The practice of silently reading sacred teachings and
ancient scriptures provides us with much of the company of the immortal sages, especially
in its essential aspects.
It is a privilege to have the chance to apply the
teachings of the Masters to each day of one’s life. This can only be done with
equilibrium. One must follow the voice of his own consciousness and humbly
accept his limitations, while firmly reducing failures and expanding victory.
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An initial version
of the above text, which has no indication as to the name of the author, is
part of the July 2019 edition of “The
Aquarian Theosophist”, pages 3-6.
The article “Lasting Happiness in Eastern Wisdom” was
published as an independent item at the associated websites on 31 January 2021.
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Read more:
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Helena Blavatsky
(photo) wrote these words: “Deserve,
then desire”.
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