Luang Por Liem: The Ways of the Peaceful - Wat Pah Nanachat

desires are centred around the Worldly Dhammas. These are the
things that concern worldly beings. They are all about worldly
materialism, the nutriment for beings of the world.
As samanas we have a close look at ourselves, trying to find
skilful means that help to relieve and eradicate these desires that
stain our minds. We try to reduce the mind states where we crave
for entertainment, amusement and diversion and start looking at
the world from a perspective that brings relief from desires. This
is how we try to see things. The question is, where exactly should
we look? In fact we can look towards both material objects, such
as the body, and towards the mind and its moods. In one of his
similes the Buddha emphasized that we should realize that how
we experience things is usually like when we are fascinated by a
fancy, dazzling royal chariot 39 . Fools get carried away with such a
thing, but, those with understanding won’t see any substance
there. We try to see things in a way where we don’t get
overpowered by craving when we interact with things.
The Buddha taught us to pay attention whenever material
possessions come to us. Even in terms of external things, such as
the clothes we wear, the food we eat, and our dwellings, the
Buddha wanted us to understand that they are merely elements
that simply follow their nature. They keep transforming in a way
that we don’t want them to. Contemplating this helps to relieve
our eagerness.
The Buddha instructed that taking delight in sensual pleasures
and the desire for more and more of these pleasures are dangers
for the Sangha.
39 Dhammapada-verse nr 171
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