Inner Strength - Access to Insight

All four of these types of defilement are called the M›ras or demons ofdefilement. The mother of M›ra is ignorance. The children of M›ra are mentalfabrications; the grandchildren of M›ra are the three forms of craving; and thegreat-grandchildren of M›ra are greed, aversion, and delusion. Sometimes thesemembers of the M›ra family help us develop merit and skill. Sometimes they getup and sit on our heads, lording it over us, ordering us around. Say, for instance,that greed gets really strong. We grab hold of whatever we can get our handson, with no thought for who it belongs to, or whether taking it is right or wrong.When greed gets really strong, it can pressure us into doing evil. When angergets really strong, it puts pressure on our nerves to the point where we can handdown a death sentence and commit murder. The same is true with delusion.Each of these things is an enemy, blocking off our goodness, but each can alsobenefit us as well. If we have any discernment, greed can help us. Anger can helpus. Delusion can help us. If we have any discernment, craving can help motivateus to develop goodness. Don’t look down on it. We’ve come here to listen to asermon. Who talked us into coming? Craving, that’s who. When people ordainas monks and novices, what forces them to do it? Craving, that’s what. Weshouldn’t focus only on its bad side. As for meritorious fabrications, if we didn’thave any of them at all, we wouldn’t be able to develop any goodness. Everyonewho develops goodness in any way has to start out with the intention to do it.Ignorance is also good. When we know that we have ignorance, we hurry upand find some way to overcome it. Ignorance is what leads us astray, butultimately ignorance is what will have to lead us back. Knowledge never ledanyone to study. Ignorance is what makes people want to learn. When peoplealready know, why would they want to look further? Delusion is what makes uslook for knowledge—by joining society, by associating with people. Ourknowledge grows broader and broader from the first impulse born in ignorance.So when dealing with the demons of defilement, you have to look for boththeir good and their bad points. Only when you see both sides can you be said tobe discerning and wise. When you can take bad things and make them good,that’s when you’re really outstanding. If you take good things and make thembad, that’s no good at all. Even when you take good things and make othergood things out of them, that’s not really special. There are three levels ofgoodness: good, excellent, and outstanding. A good person does good. Anexcellent person takes something good and makes it better. That’s excellent, butnot outstanding. An outstanding person takes bad things and makes them good,takes good things and makes them excellent. So these are the three levels ofgoodness: good, excellent, and outstanding.So today I’ve talked about the demons of defilement, after the talk the otherday on the demons of the aggregates (khandha-m›ra). We should all learn tothink, to consider things, to ponder things over, so that we can find goodness onevery side, in every corner we look. This way, if we look beneath us we’ll findtreasures. If we look above us we’ll find treasures. Looking beneath us meanslooking at the things that are our enemies. We’ll be able to gain treasures fromthem: goodness on the outstanding level. When we look at the things that areour friends, we can gain excellence from them. We should try to develop all three74