Buddhist Stories: “A Certain Brahmin” & “There Is No Fire Like Lust” (Part 3 of 4) Sept. 23, 2015

So now they were unable to listen to this Dharma which Buddha was teaching. “In the round of existence without conceivable beginning, these living beings have been accustomed to listen to the speech of animals in its countless forms. Therefore, they spend their time in places where men drink and amuse themselves and therefore sing and dance. It is impossible for them to listen to the Dharma.” Ananda asked again, “But Reverend Sir,” meaning the World Honored One, the Tathagata, “For what reason is it that they are unable to listen to the Dharma?” “Ananda, they are unable to do so by reason of lust.” Lust. Desirous, physical desire. “By reason of hatred, by reason of delusion. For there is no fire like the fire of lust, consuming living beings as it does, without leaving so much as ashes behind.” What kind of fire that burns and even destroys the ashes as well. There’s no visible evidence of the burning lust. Therefore, he said even leaving no ashes behind. This is a troublesome disease that transmits from one to another person, from one generation to the next. Very difficult to escape. Therefore, people revere the monks, either during Jesus’ or Prophet’s time or Buddha’s time or now even. Even some monks still eat meat and drink wine but they forsake this sensual pleasure, and people revere them because it’s a difficult thing to do. That is why. They do something that the majority of people cannot do. They leave the family. They leave the ensnaring clutch of lust, lustful relationship behind, which is not their fault or is not your fault. It is the makeup, the foundation of physical being is like that. It’s made up like that. “To be sure, the world conflagration, which closes an epoch, burns up the world without leaving anything behind. But this is a fire which breaks out only on the appearance of the seven suns. And this fire burns only at times and at seasons. But as for the fire of lust, there is no time when the fire of lust does not burn.” It doesn’t burn here, it doesn’t burn there, but it burns within all beings inside. Therefore, there are wars, there are troubles, there’s fighting, there are murders, there are all kinds of things because of lust. Lust does not mean only sexual desire. It could also mean lust for power, for fame, for victory over others, for fortune, for controlling. All these kinds of lust are burning people, burning all beings inside out. Lust for vengeance also, revenge. Lust for greed, all kinds of lust. “Therefore I say,” the Buddha, “Therefore I say that there is no fire like the fire of lust, no grip like hatred, no snare like delusion, and no river like craving.” That’s it. End of story. Thank You to the Buddha, again. To clarify all this and to remind us to practice, to concentrate one-pointed, at least here. You should know in the night time if you really try to be awake you will hear better sound. You will see better vision.