Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!clyde.concordia.ca!nstn.ns.ca!news.cs.indiana.edu!att!emory!gatech!prism!mailer.cc.fsu.edu!sun13!jetson.uh.edu
From: chee1a1@jetson.uh.edu (Bandula Jayatilaka)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: Re: Desire for Enlightenment
Message-ID: <8544.27bbea59@jetson.uh.edu>
Date: 15 Feb 91 20:04:07 GMT
Sender: news@sun13.scri.fsu.edu
Organization: University of Houston
Lines: 88
Approved: mayne@nu.cs.fsu.edu

hugh@cs.adelaide.edu.au (Hugh Garsden) wrote:
 
>How can one desire to be enlightened? Presumably desire is one of the         
>things that hinders us in reaching enlightenment. If _I_ want to 
>be enlightened, isn't that an ego-desire? If so, I will never become
>enlightened, because my ego will get in the way. So how can I desire
>to be enlightened without involving my ego? Is there some other part
>of me that does the desiring, and my ego must step aside?	 

>----- 	  
>Hugh Garsden
>University of Adelaide
>hugh@cs.adelaide.edu.au

 
  The term desire is loosely used.  So we tend to use the word desire
for everything.  But if we look at this problem in perspective of motivation
it might be easier to resolve this confusion. For example, there is Maslow's
hierarchy of needs, here we can see the variey of needs of the people, hence
different motivations. 

  The motivation to kill a person for wealth is an ego_desire.  On the other
hand, helping a wounded or dying person cannot be categorized as an
ego_desire.  In the former case, there will be greed, anger, sesual desires
etc. then acts of killing, stealing, and lying etc.  In the latter case,
there would be other positive qualities such as compassion, patience,
detachment, wisdom etc.  that come into play.

  Similarly, if we consider the two actions involving mind: (i) fantasizing
 (ii) meditation for mental development we can see the different types of
 "desires".  In the first case, there will be lustful thoughts, ignorance,
 greed etc, hence driven by ego_desire.  In the latter case, the effort to
 remove the defilements from the mind, patience,detachment,  wisdom, which
 in summary is a wanting to have the positive qualities of the mind (a 
 subtle point- even this would become an ego_desire if we do this out of
 arrogance to show and tell others in order to look down upon others).
 
   I brought out these points to indicate that all "desires" are not
 ego_desires.  Some we do out of desire to fatten our ego's the others
 we do out of another need (an altruistic motive - towards detachment
 from the ego, for helping others etc.) 
 
   By looking at the human life, people start seeking true enlightenment
 by reflecting upon the unsatisfactoriness of the life.  This is not
 done out of arrogance, or out of other ego_desires such as greed, lust
 etc. I mentioned the arrogance and true enlightenement as constrasting
 words  because it might be possible for a person to attempt to find 
 enlightenment out of arrogance in the sense to do it to look down upon 
 others.  Therefore, this search will not be for true enlightenment.  On the
 other hand, such efforts would not succeed because the arrogance will
 become a hinderance in the search. 
 
>to be enlightened without involving my ego? Is there some other part
>of me that does the desiring, and my ego must step aside?

 Yes, the ego steps aside.  This happens gradually.  The beginner practices
 this setting aside of ego by practices such as, giving (dana), practice of
 virtuous observances (seela) etc.  In a smaller scale at the begining as 
 the wisdom etc. develops, setting aside ego becomes more prominent.
 

(The following terms may be confusing to non-buddhists, but for the
benefit of the buddhists I state them here)

 As stated in buddhist teachings there are specific qualities of mind
out of which a person seeks enlightenment. One is termed as Chandha in
pali - which is the wanting to do the profitable.  Then there is 
Shraddha - which is the likeness of the positive actions, qualities of
mind etc. (which is often translated as faith, but which I feel is 
an insufficient word leading to misrepresentation of this quality).
Then there is compassion or Karuna.

  Then going deeper, there are enlightenment factors, development of which
is essential in gaining enlightenment. Analysis (Dhamm vichaya), mindfullness
(Sati),concentration (samadhi),...etc. Out of this the factor arising last
is the equanimity (upekkha).  At this subtle level, the equanimity balances
the mind by removing eagerness, as well as unhappiness hence balancing
the mind properly for realisation of enlightenment.  At this subtle level
even the "desire" for enlightenment is let go of in order for the attainment.
Buddhist teachings are gradual hence this subtle final stages should not
be confused with the other essential qualities (such as chandha,shraddha,
karuna etc.) required at the early stages of the search.

Bandula Jayatilaka.

(my mention of subtle technicalities of enlightenment are brought
out here for the benefit of buddhists and not meant to imply that
I have attained enlightenment)