Cattāri Brahmavihārā

In some ways I could easily say that today hasn’t gone so well. My observance hasn’t been anywhere near spotless due to familial obligations and a general lack of energy so I could decide to give myself an excuse to feel sorry and negative about myself and everything else. Still, it would be my choice to do so–it’s not as if I’m being forced to choose my reaction to the situation nor is my fate predetermined.

In that vein, I have found it particularly expedient to reflect on the preciousness of this human life which is so rare and hard to come by. Even with our own limited perception, it is obvious that the vast majority of beings in th world don’t have the ability to reflect on their actions in a way that allows for them to prctice dana, sila or samadhi and are therefore unable to practice the Dhamma in any real way. The preciousness of our human birth and, furthermore, our enounter with the Dhamma simply cannot be overestimated although I have always found the Lord Buddha‘s parable of the blind sea turtle incredibly poignant and apt. If you don’t mind I would like to include the sutta (Chiggala Sutta: The Hole) in full below:

“Monks, suppose that this great earth were totally covered with water, and a man were to toss a yoke with a single hole there. A wind from the east would push it west, a wind from the west would push it east. A wind from the north would push it south, a wind from the south would push it north. And suppose a blind sea-turtle were there. It would come to the surface once every one hundred years. Now what do you think: would that blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole?”

“It would be a sheer coincidence, lord, that the blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, would stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole.”

“It’s likewise a sheer coincidence that one obtains the human state. It’s likewise a sheer coincidence that a Tathagata, worthy & rightly self-awakened, arises in the world. It’s likewise a sheer coincidence that a doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world. Now, this human state has been obtained. A Tathagata, worthy & rightly self-awakened, has arisen in the world. A doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world.

“Therefore your duty is the contemplation, ‘This is stress… This is the origination of stress… This is the cessation of stress.’ Your duty is the contemplation, ‘This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.'”

So, you see, even in the seemingly worst of times we have an pportunity which is hard won and hard to come by and we would do well to make the most of it. Truly, in this human birth and having met the Dhamma, there is simply no reason to give in to despair. May we make islands of ourselves and realize the truth of the Dhamma in this very life!

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