The Protection of Spiritual Knowledge

[icy]

Quote by the Dalai Lama:
"When we look for the source of all the problems that confront human life we usually blame everything but the root cause: our lack of spiritual discipline and realization. Particularly in this degenerate age, the world atmosphere is so very negative and the conditions around us conducive to little but evil karma and meaningless distractions, that not to have the protection of spiritual knowledge is to leave ourselves totally defenseless against the negative mind."

[bambi]

Interesting quote. I found something in relation to this quote. Yes, when we do not have enough knowledge of the teachings, we tend to have ignorance due to our deluded mind. Because of that we have wrong perception on how things should be our way. When we learn and continue learning, our mind can absorb so much to help ourselves and protect our mind from further damage. Yes, we do have our negative karma but that doesn't mean that if one wants to change they cant. It is by applying the ways to adapt and defend our mind.
 

As to the third root of evil, delusion or ignorance we know very well how much harm may be done to others through the stupidity, thoughtlessness, prejudices, illusions and delusions of a single person.

Without wisdom and knowledge, attempts to protect oneself and others will usually fail. One will see the danger only when it is too late, one will not make provision for the future; one will not know the right and effective means of protection and help. Therefore, self-protection through wisdom and knowledge is of the greatest importance. By acquiring true wisdom and knowledge, we shall protect others from the harmful consequences of our own ignorance, prejudices, infectious fanaticism and delusions. History shows us that great and destructive mass delusions have often been kindled by a single individual or a small number of people. Self-protection through wisdom and knowledge will protect others from the pernicious effect of such influences.

We have briefly indicated how our own private life may have a strong impact on the lives of others. If we leave unresolved the actual or potential sources of social evil within ourselves, our external social activity will be either futile or markedly incomplete. Therefore, if we are moved by a spirit of social responsibility, we must not shirk the hard task of moral and spiritual self-development. Preoccupation with social activities must not be made an excuse or escape from the first duty, to tidy up one's own house first.

On the other hand, he who earnestly devotes himself to moral self-improvement and spiritual self-development will be a strong and active force for good in the world, even if he does not engage in any external social service. His silent example alone will give help and encouragement to many, by showing that the ideals of a selfless and harmless life can actually be lived and are not only topics of sermons.

[Big Uncle]

Interesting quote and I would like to delve into the reasons why our spiritual discipline and realization is so lacking. I believe the answer lies in the root cause of why we were to suffer. We all know the root cause of all suffering, technically-speaking is because of ignorance but i would like to go into the desire as a main cause, which is more relational than ignorance. After all, the Buddha did mentioned that our plane of existence is dominated by desire and he named our realm as the desire realm (Sanskrit : kamadhatu). 
I was surfing through a few articles on this matter and came across this very apt answer to why we, humans suffer, which I thought was pretty well explained without the normal Buddhist jargons...

( http://www.sklatch.net/thoughtlets/dukkha.html )
The root cause of human suffering

In the most private spaces of each person's inner conscious life, a deep dissatisfaction is lurking, a nagging sense that life is somehow out of kilter, misaligned, not quite as it should be.
No matter how rich or secure or successful a person may be, a fundamental dissatisfaction still persists. The reasons for that dissatisfaction are plain. Everything a human being hopes for is in some sense imperfect, disappointing, or hollow. In the end we all die, which is the ultimate disappointment.

At the same time, surely there are things that every person, no matter how poor or wretched, can be sincerely grateful for. Some things bring more joy than pain, even if the joy is tinged with grief, and even if those things are lost at death.

To renounce desire is not a humane response to the fundamental dissatisfaction, even if the pursuit of desire really were the cause of pain and frustration. It seems that a characteristic of all living things is that they grasp relentlessly after survival and opportunity.

Paradoxically, by facing the emptiness and by surrendering completely to its inevitability, we come to deep peace and no longer suffer.
Many human needs are rooted in biology. Those obviously shouldn't be denied or trivialized. Pain is a fact. We feel pain or grief from loss. Desire is part of what makes us vital.

In any case, disassociating from desire can never actually relieve suffering, because the presence of pain and the lack of pleasure are not what causes suffering.

First of all, pain is not necessarily a synonym for suffering. We can't deny or escape pain, but we can be free from suffering by changing how we relate to the fundamental dissatisfaction.

The fundamental dissatisfaction is an unquenchable thirst that is a side effect of human cognition itself, due to being sentient in the physical world.

We can conceive of a perfectly round circle or a perfectly straight line, but those never exist in the physical world. Nothing in the physical world ever lines up exactly with our inner concepts. How we respond to the experience of that misalignment is what matters.

The mistake that leads to suffering is the simple delusion that the fundamental dissatisfaction can be extinguished by gaining more pleasure or feeling less pain or, in other words, by getting more of what we want.

The root cause of suffering is that we unrelentingly struggle to get rid of the fundamental dissatisfaction by means of the fulfillment of our desires, and yet that dissatisfaction sticks to us as a perpetual, unanswerable craving.

It can be difficult to realize that the fundamental dissatisfaction even exists, because it is veiled by our restless struggle to get rid of it. Once we realize that it exists, we're too horrified to accept that it really is unquenchable.

Paradoxically, by facing the emptiness and by surrendering completely to its inevitability, we come to deep peace and no longer suffer.

Pain is natural and inevitable, and all animals feel it, but the condition of suffering is unnecessary.

Michael Webb, April, 2006

[Carpenter]

In this degeneration age, being ignorance from lack of Dharma teachings is one thing, but unfortunately there are even people who twisted the meaning of Dharma to suit their personal desire and attachment.

Due to lack of Dharma knowledge, we tend to have wrong perception of everything in life are permanent and unchangeable, when things in life start to change, we will suffer, suffer from fear of losing, we are having such a luxury life and we get so hung up with it.

A few example for lacking of Dharma knowledge (from my understanding), we will constantly feed our selfish ego, wrong perception of our mortality, don’t believe in Karma, no guru devotion, etc.

Feeding our ego
When our ego grows, we tend to step on top of people, we scream when we not happy, we show black face when people offended us, this is dangerous because we will end up in a situation that we cannot listen to anyone, because I’m so great.

Wrong perception of our mortality
We are living the way as we will not die, we always think that we still have tomorrow, we still have plenty of time and spending these time engaging in actions that has no benefit for our future lives.

Don’t believe in Karma
When we do not believe in Karma, we will create action that harm others and ourselves, when thing goes wrong, we will point finger to others, blame others, backstabbing, and many more. All our ugly part will be showing to others and create the cause for others to do the same to us.

No guru devotion
Very obvious, lacking of Dharma will not be able to understand what guru devotion is, lacking of guru devotion is where we will commit into more negative karma that we can only meet Dharma again after many many lifetimes later.
 

[biggyboy]

Quote by the Dalai Lama:
"When we look for the source of all the problems that confront human life we usually blame everything but the root cause: our lack of spiritual discipline and realization. Particularly in this degenerate age, the world atmosphere is so very negative and the conditions around us conducive to little but evil karma and meaningless distractions, that not to have the protection of spiritual knowledge is to leave ourselves totally defenseless against the negative mind."

Without garnering more dharma knowledge and realisations, we tend to have wrong perception of things around with our limited knowledge. Hence, we suffer in view of what is presented to us in this present age of time. There are so many distractions around and with our own neurosis we will slack and not consistently pursue what is needed to feed our mind to be steady and stable.  Hence, the protection of our mind.


“The practice of religion, spirituality or Dharma has to be a method that completely destroys all suffering, a method that brings about the complete cessation of suffering, and not just temporarily. That depends upon completely eradicating the root of all the billions of sufferings that exist—ignorance and all the other delusions that spring from the root of ignorance. True peace is received whenever we completely eradicate this root of suffering. In other words, cessation of ignorance, attachment and anger is real freedom, true peace—the peace that never changes; the peace that once received can never change, is everlasting.” (Lama Zopa Rinpoche)


“Whether our action is wholesome or unwholesome depends on whether that action or deed arises from a disciplined or undisciplined state of mind. It is felt that a disciplined mind leads to happiness and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering, and in fact it is said that bringing about discipline within one's mind is the essence of the Buddha's teaching.”
? Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness


“We need to learn how to want what we have NOT to have what we want in order to get steady and stable Happiness”
? Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness


“Blessing must arise from within your own mind. It is not something that comes from outside. When the positive qualities of your mind increase and the negativities decrease, that is what blessing means. The Tibetan word for blessing … means transforming into magnificent potential. Therefore, blessing refers to the development of virtuous qualities you did not previously have and the improvement of those good qualities you have already developed. It also means decreasing the defilements of the mind that obstruct the generation of wholesome qualities. So actual blessing is received when the minds virtuous attributes gain strength and its defective characteristics weaken or deteriorate.”
? Dalai Lama XIV

[Vajraprotector]

His Holiness also said that if we order our lives externally but ignore the inner dimension, inevitably we will find that doubt, anxiety, and other afflictions develop, and happiness eludes us. This is because unlike physical discipline, true inner discipline or spiritual discipline cannot be achieved by force but only through voluntary and deliberate effort based on understanding. It is from understanding our mind that we come to understand our emotions and their impact upon ourselves and others.

In order to avoid the negative emotions that harm ourselves and others, and block our ability to act empathetically, it is useful not only to realise afflictive emotions but to clearly see what causes them. His Holiness pointed out several factors that give rise to afflictive emotions:

a) thinking of ourselves before others

b) our tendency to project characteristics onto things and events above and beyond what actually is there (as in the example of mistaking the coiled rope for a snake)

c) our negative thoughts and emotions do not exist independently of other phenomena

d) the very objects and events we come into contact with have the potential to trigger negative thoughts and emotions. Anything can be a source of afflictive emotion — not just our adversaries but our friends and our most valued possessions, too, even our own selves.

In conclusion, the undisciplined mind is unable to tame afflictive emotions and does not properly prevent us from acting unethically. Negative emotions, unrestrained, prevent us from compassionate action. Hence, in order to have ethical behaviour, we have to develop our ability to restrain our negative emotions and cultivate skilllful emotions, such as  the six paramita.

[ratanasutra]

We need wisdom and compassion to gain enlightenment. Therefore we need to develop it. Wisdom and compassion are an antidote of the three root cause of greed/desire, hatred/anger, and ignorant/delusion.

To cut out our ignorant/delusion and greed and desire mind we must study and realize that all things in this world are impermanent so what it make us happy is not last longer then why cling to it. By looking the things at reality and understand how we are attach with it will cultivate us to gain some wisdom.

Love and compassion will help us to cut out the and hatred/anger. We should check what we are gain from anger, more friend, more happy or opposite? if they bring no benefit, why not we stop it. We should talk and act with everyone with a happy mind, and good heart with pure intention to other.

How suffer we will be depend on how we can let go and understand the reality. The knowledge will not serve any propose if we did not have a wisdom mind to apply it in our daily life.