Instability of Samsara

[Ensapa]

One of the most intriguing stories I have ever read is this story which highlights the fickle nature of samsara and how revolting it can be and thus, how pointless it is to be attached to our families or loved ones...and also why not to harm other sentient beings. You do not know who might that be in your past life, or even this.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty, when Buddhism flourished in China, people would always invite monks to recite Sutras at weddings and funerals. Times have changed, and now monks are invited to recite Sutras only at funerals. No one asks them to recite Sutras at weddings or baby showers. Actually, this is wrong. Whether it is an occasion for rejoicing or mourning, left­home people should be asked to recite Sutras and transfer the merit, on the one hand to save the deceased, and on the other to increase the blessings of the living.

During Emperor Wu's time, there was a high monk called the Venerable Zhi. Having attained the Five Eyes and the Six Spiritual Penetrations, he could clearly discern causes and effects. One time, a rich man asked him to recite Sutras at a wedding. Upon entering the house, he sighed and said:

How strange! How very strange indeed!
The grandson marries the grandmother.
The daughter is eating her mother's flesh,
And the son is beating on a drum stretched with his father's skin.
Pigs and sheep are sitting on the couch,
And the six kinds of relatives are cooking in the pots.
People have come to offer congratulations,
But I see that it is truly suffering!

What does this mean? The grandson marries the grandmother. Would you say this is strange or not? Right before she died, the grandmother of the family had held her grandson's hand, not being able to part with him. She said, "You all have your own families, but this little grandson of mine has no one to take care of him. Ah! What is there to be done?" Then she died.

When she arrived at King Yama's court, King Yama gave her the following verdict, "Since you love your grandson so much, you might as well go back to be his wife and take care of him." And so the grandmother was reborn as her grandson's future wife. The workings of the law of cause and effect in this world can be quite frightening.

The daughter is eating her mother's flesh. Outside the house, a girl was eating a pig's foot with great relish, not realizing that the pig had been her mother in its previous life. And the son is beating on a drum stretched with his father's skin. Venera­ble Zhi then took a look at the musicians who were beating drums and blowing on their trumpets and flutes. What excitement! One man was banging away vigorously on a drum stretched with mulehide, not knowing that the mule had been his father in a previous life.

Venerable Zhi looked at the people sitting on the couch and said: Pigs and sheep are sitting on the couch. Then he looked in the pots and said: And the six kinds of relatives are cooking in the pots. All the former pigs and sheep that had been slaugh­tered before were now getting even and eating the people who had eaten them before! The six kinds of relatives who had eaten those pigs and sheep were now being chopped up and cooked in the pots to pay off their debts.

People have come to offer congratulations, / But I see that it is truly suffering! Everyone thought it was a happy occasion, but the Venerable Zhi only sighed and said, "This is really suffering!" People take suffering to be joy!

There is also a similar story found in Pabongkha Rinpoche's Liberation in the palm of your hand.

I find stories like this very powerful as it highlights specifically that happiness in samsara is actually suffering.

Besides this, does anyone want to share similar stories?

[bambi]

It is true. What we perceive as happiness is short and our attachment to it make us suffer when we die and being reborn in a situation that is scary. I also remember reading about Shariputra's explanation in the  Lamrim.

One day Shariputra went for alms, and as he was looking through the door to the family inside the house, he saw the son, his wife carrying a child on her lap, and they were eating a fish, giving bones to the dog and beating the dog. He saw all the changes in those relationships. The father of the son used to catch fish from the pond behind the house. So when the father died he was born as a fish in the water pond behind the house. The mother was attached to the house, so when she died she was reborn as the dog of the family. And the son’s enemy was attached to the son’s wife, so he was born as their child. The fish they were eating was their father. Shariputra, seeing all this, said, “Eating the father’s flesh, beating the mother, because that dog is the son’s mother. Carrying the enemy who was born to them on the lap. I laugh at the samsaric existence!”



In the history book of the thirty-three Zen masters, there is a story about one of the Zen master who went out for alms, passing by a rich man’s house. The rich man was out, but inside came running out a dog that barked at him loudly. The Zen master looked at it and reproved ,

" How dare you barking at me, because of the attachment of wealth that you came back as a dog, shame on you!" After having heard the master’s reprimand, the dog became sad and refused to eat. Lately, the rich man came back and realized that his beloved dog refused to eat, he asked his servants the reason. The servants told him that in the morning, there was a Zen master who passed by and said something to the dog and afterwards it refused to eat. The rich man was so upset that he went out to look for the Zen master. He queried , " What did you say to my dog this morning that has made him sad and refused to eat ?" The master replied ," Please do not get angry at me. The dog is your father." The rich man got even angrier and asked , " Why is that dog my father ?" The master said , " If you do not believe me, go home and see if the dog is lying under your father’s bed. Right where the dog is lying, you dig up and will find a bowl of gold. When your father passed away, he did not get a chance to tell you the secret; so he came back as your dog to guard it. Just go home and dig up then you will understand." The rich man immediately went back home, dug up under his father’s bed and found the bowl of gold. Afterwards, he ran back to the master and asked the master to help his father. The master convinced the rich man to use that gold for charity work. The rich man obeyed the master and few days later the dog died.

[dondrup]

This story (and other similar stories) about the roles we play each time we take rebirth in samsara is really the greatest joke in the entire universe! Every sentient being had been another’s father; mother, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, employer, employee, friend, enemy, stranger and etc. in countless combinations and times!  If we can remember all these past relationships that we had played, it will be really shocking! Imagine we have to go through all these roles again and again in the future lives! The problem is sentient beings forget all these relationships in samsara after their deaths and rebirths. 

All samsaric achievements are lost after death.  Every effort for samsaric achievement is wasted upon death.  Everything starts anew after rebirth.  Hence, what is the point of doing this endlessly?  Buddha says what matters is the practice of Dharma for liberation and enlightenment. Nothing else matters in samsara.  Only after we have gained liberation and enlightenment will this cyclic existence cease completely.

[Midakpa]

These reincarnation stories illustrate the uncertainty and the suffering of samsara. They show us how powerful karma is and how important it is to be mindful of our actions of body, speech and mind. The following story is called "Shariputra and the Dog".

"There's ... an incident from the Buddha's time. There were Bhikshus in the assembly who had certified to Arhatship. Some of them were old and didn't have any teeth. When they recited the Sutras, they didn't sound very eloquent. This prompted a novice to say, "When you recite the Sutras, you sound like a bunch of dogs barking." Just because of this one sentence of slander, in his next life he fell into the destiny of a dog. One of the Bhikshus he slandered was an Arhat. If he has slandered an ordinary person, he would have had bad karma, but it would not have been so bad. But because he scolded a sage, in his next life he became a dog. Because he was a dog, he had the habits of a dog, and he liked to steal food to eat. He would grab tidbits from the kitchen of his master. Once, his master saw this and cut off the dog's four legs and threw him out onto the grass. The dog was yelping in pain. Shariputra happened to walk by at that point. He spoke Dharma for the dog, telling him, "You know, the four elements are really suffering. Your body is false. Put it down; don't get angry." After Shariputra spoke Dharma, the dog didn't yelp anymore, and he died in peace, passing away peacefully. Since at the moment of his death he didn't give rise to anger, he was reborn again as a person and left the home life at seven years of age under Shariputra. Shariputra spoke the Dharma for him, at which point he certified to Arhatship.

So you see, this person was a novice, then he became a dog, and then he became a person again. When he was a dog, he still retained the good roots from his past lives, and that's why he could understand human speech. Since he died happily, in his next life he became a left-home person again. After that, he never took the full Bhikshu precepts; he wanted to stay a novice forever so he could serve his teacher Shariputra, to repay his kindness." (Master Hui Seng, Brahma Net Sutra, extracted from "Thus Have I Heard: Buddhist Parables and Stories")

[Dorje Pakmo]

This story (and other similar stories) about the roles we play each time we take rebirth in samsara is really the greatest joke in the entire universe! Every sentient being had been another’s father; mother, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, employer, employee, friend, enemy, stranger and etc. in countless combinations and times!  If we can remember all these past relationships that we had played, it will be really shocking! Imagine we have to go through all these roles again and again in the future lives! The problem is sentient beings forget all these relationships in samsara after their deaths and rebirths. 

All samsaric achievements are lost after death.  Every effort for samsaric achievement is wasted upon death.  Everything starts anew after rebirth.  Hence, what is the point of doing this endlessly?  Buddha says what matters is the practice of Dharma for liberation and enlightenment. Nothing else matters in samsara.  Only after we have gained liberation and enlightenment will this cyclic existence cease completely.

How true. But living in this world today, where happiness is gauge by materials gain, friends with power and status in society often clouds and deceives one's mind that "happiness" is achieving a certain set of things set by the norms of the society and what they show us on TV via advertisements.

We follow these rules chasing after things that we think will bring us happiness not realising the happiness that we chase after is very temporal and once achieved, we become empty and start chasing after another thing that will bring us another kind of happiness. All these false happiness cause us to lose our precious time, youth and often causing much more unhappiness because of our own deluded state of mind which seeks only things that brings us momentary pleasure.

The Buddhist teachings is for one to find a stable and permanent state of happiness. And this kind of happiness can only be found through realising the state of suffering of every beings that is bound by the law of Karma. By realising and understanding what suffering is about, only then one will truly understand what is happiness. One must experience suffering, understand the true nature of suffering then only one will resolute to find a way to stop him / herself from being subjected to this endless cycle of uncontrolled  rebirth and suffering.

I share here an article I found on the net which I find the words written are quite true.

The Pursuit of Happiness           

Our culture emphasizes happiness and pleasure; the natural tendency is to avoid suffering. Our country’s Declaration of Independence proclaims the right for the, "pursuit of happiness." Unfortunately, happiness is a transient state that cannot be reached and kept. Happiness never lasts. Happiness is related to the Middle English word "hap," the root meaning of which implies that happiness is more due to luck -- happenstance -- than effort. If lucky, we might be happy, at least, for a short time. Scott Peck has written a best selling book with the opening sentence, "Life is difficult." This statement struck a chord with the reading public. Peck acknowledges that this is not a new concept. It was expressed long ago by the Buddha with his teaching that, "All life is suffering." Jesus also knew that life was suffering and showed us this with his life as the "Suffering Servant." He provides a model of how the suffering is to be done.

Joseph Campbell offered us the encouragement to, "Follow our bliss." Superficially this statement can be seen as meaning to look for happiness. In reality, bliss means following our passion or that which enlivens life. For Campbell following one's bliss involved much more than the search for pleasure because he also taught that it is important to, "Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world." He then went on to say, " We cannot cure the world of sorrow, but we can choose to live in joy." Sorrow and joy can coexist.

The Experience of Suffering         

Robert Johnson, a Jungian oriented author, points out that the word "suffer" comes from the Latin sub plus ferre meaning "to bear or to allow." To suffer in this sense is to allow something to happen, perhaps, to allow ourselves to experience the responsibility for life choices which permits consciousness to grow. When we suffer in this sense we are opening ourselves to experience the fullness of life’s diversity as a natural process of growth. Such a "suffering" with life must occur for psychological and spiritual maturity to develop. The philosopher Alan Watts speaks to this point when he says, "Because human consciousness must involve both pleasure and pain, to strive for pleasure to the exclusion of pain is, in effect, to strive for the loss of consciousness." Life’s goal is to increase consciousness; so, the temptation to avoid life’s legitimate pain must be resisted.

http://www.lessons4living.com/happiness.htm

[Tenzin K]

Thanks for the sharing.

I found one form the 145 Stories about Karma.

Good Reward for the Filial Person

Mr. Pon-Yu was a filial son. His mother died in his childhood. His father was very stern and got angry very easily. Whenever he met his anger, he kneeled down and asked for forgiveness. He had two young brothers but his father, when he was alive, didn't arrange marriages for them. After his father died, he arranged marriages for them just as his father should have done. Because his family was poor, he diligently worked on a farm and became rich. Four coffins of his late kinsmen which were put in a wild place he properly buried with his own money and not that of his brothers. He worshipped not only God but also the Dragon King. Once he was in a boat with fifty other people in the dangerous condition of a hurricane. He prayed to the Dragon King. They all smelled a very good odor and all saw a golden light. Other vessels sank, but his ship was saved and the fifty persons in the same ship did give him thanks. He had three very good sons, all of whom became high officials of the central government.

Poem

Naturally he has very filial piety.
Four times he settled his kinsmen in cemetery.
Not only his offspring became great officials,
But also he's freed from typhoon calamity.

[DSFriend]

What I find so beneficial about Buddhist teaching is that it doesn't matter if I believe it or not. There is something I can learn from the teachings to be a better person. It doesn't matter if I can see my past or my future lives. It doesn't matter I can see the past and future lives of others.

These teachings make us more socially responsible people, to harm less, to respect all living beings, to strive for harmony.

[sonamdhargey]

What we think that can bring us happiness in worldly concerns are the main causes of suffering. It is so easy to say and talk about it but everyday we engaged , seeked and chase those so called happiness. It's a never ending cycle to have that moment of feeling of short term happiness through acquisition and grasping and having. We go in circles seeking and always end up suffering because we are chasing the wrong happiness.

[Midakpa]

The following story is the true story of a Vietnamese monk in Thailand who managed to expiate his negative karma through meditation. It happened in 1990-1991. Buahuey was a butcher who used to slaughter cows, buffaloes and pigs. One day he met a forest monk and gave some water to the monk. The monk asked him what he did for a living. Buahuey told the monk everything about himself. The monk felt sorry for him and taught him about right and wrong. Buahuey decided not to slaughter any more pigs. He quit his job and was ordained as a Buddhist monk. He practised meditation for ten years but could not expiate his karma. One day he had a nimitta (sign). It was revealed that he must go to Wat Ambhavan in Amphur Promburi to attend a vipassana meditation.
During the meditation he was told to acknowledge vedana (sensation). On the second night of the vipassana meditation, a miracle occurred. He cried like a pig, a cow and a buffalo, and charged headlong into lodging poles and trees. They sent for a doctor who diagnosed him to be fine.
The following night Buahuey showed up again, running and knocking his head against the trees again and again. He was bleeding seriously and cried like a cow and a buffalo. The Abbot advised him to acknowledge his vedana by acknowledging "feeling pain". He vomited and passed bloody stools for three days and three nights. He could not sleep. He kept on acknowledging the vedana during those three days. On the fourth day, he could sit cross-legged and meditated by means of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.
The moral of this story is that killing cows and buffaloes is bad karma and one has to pay the debt.

[biggyboy]

If only all understands the fundamental on the law of cause and effect then sufferings would not be here to stay with all beings.  It is because of our ignorance, greed, selfishness, etc..creating the vicious cycles of sufferings which many of us think is "happiness".   Along the way, even with much understanding on the teachings of karma, practising without mindfulness at all times, will still create all these harmful actions of killing others which happens to by our own ancestors or mothers.  As long as this is not eliminated nor exercise to reduce killing, sufferings still stay.  Hence, it is so obvious, that being vegetarian and to stop killing is so important.

An interesting read to share  http://www.drba.org/dharma/veggie/onstoppingkilling.asp. Do ponder on the seven points of actions whether would there be our cause for happiness be it for our ancestors or our mothers.

[buddhalovely]

Samsara is unintelligent and completely impotent. It's not a being, it's a descriptor for a phenomenon.
It's the shinmaic equivalent of quantum foam, the interaction of the emanations of the various shinma which influence Creation. When you get down to the subatomic level, what looked stable from a macro level suddenly becomes very turbulent. Samsara is that instability. The Maidens can reach down and blind-read bits of it, like braille.
There's no mind guiding it. It's just procedurally generated information naturally arising out of the rule of cool. It's a random script generator, designed by nobody, with a native bias toward dramatic events. It is, in all seriousness, a magic eight-ball with ten quintillion answer-surfaces rather than a dozen.

[vajrastorm]

Yes, samsara is unstable because it is characterized by change and impermanence. Everything in samsara is in a state of flux. Causes and conditions for suffering and happiness arise and fall away in an unending cycle, dictated by our karma and delusions. One moment , we are taken to the greatest heights of happiness and the next moment, we are plunged into the depths of misery. In one lifetime, we are born as a god to spend that life in a never-ending pursuit of sense pleasures. Then, as we leave that life, we plunge headlong into the flames of a hot hell, where our bodies are indistinguishable from the flames engulfing us! So we circle samsara tossed around in cyclic existence, until we attain a state of inner peace. When we have found this Nirvana, then will we have realized stability.

[Manjushri]

The above stories highlight something that is often said... that every sentient being was once your mother, therefore we should treat all beings as if they are our mothers. Somehow we are all interconnected, and with every reaction, we have be prepared for the action that will be coming back to us. Every thought, feeling, want, need results into something later for us to bear, therefore we have to be very careful with all that we do.

THat is what I like about Buddhism, it teaches you to be responsible for yourself, your own actions and most importantly, you reap the 'fruits' you bear. Everything in samsara comes from the "I" and is created based on the "I". That's why there's no end to it.

Samsara is unstable, because we make it that way. 

[Ensapa]

The other more important part that these stories want to talk about and highlight is that there is nothing worth clinging in Samsara. All that we love and hate will eventually either disappear or switch sides. If that is the case, then there is no real security in samsara. If there is no real security or certainty in samsara, what is the use of us being attached to it? There is nothing there for us to be attached to, but yet why are we still attached to it? Our friends, lovers, family will all one day become our enemies or even our food, and our enemies might be our family, friends and lovers. No matter how much effort we put into them, at the end of the day they will still end up betraying us as they are not permanent and they might not be who they really seem to be. So why hang on to illusions? I would not spend all my effort and time on a lover or put everything i have in my whole life just  to take care of my family or create one because I cannot help them when they die and they cannot help me when I die. I'd rather put more focus on Dharma practice instead so that I can benefit them and myself when they are gone.

With that said, it is not about dumping everyone that we have now because we dont want to be attached to them. We can enjoy their company and their love and warmth, but not crave for it everyday and do whatever it takes to get more of those feelings and abandon everything else. There has to be a balance of sorts because how can we live life distancing ourselves from others?

[hope rainbow]

And thus, the nazi who tortured jewish prisoners comes back as someone persecuted by the hand of his won children whom he taught wrongly.

The one who rapes will be raped by his illegitimate sons.

This is such a vicious farce!