Do defilements exist? Suppose not. Suppose the cosmology or metaphysics of enlightenment is simply fantasy. If defilements don't exist, is there some problem that has to be solved? The conventional thinking is that preaching in a way that suggests that defilements exist isn't just about the truth but also about behavior: people are supposed to live in fear of their defilements being pointed out to them, recollecting the memory of a teacher who has, at some point, explained the danger of indulging in defilements.
Would you be afraid to tell your own children that defilements are a made up story? Would you be afraid that their behavior would become spoiled? Would you be afraid of someone else learning that you told your children that defilements don't exist?
See how hard it is to uproot this idea? It's almost as if you have a grenade in your hand and the pin is defilements: get rid of the pin, and you'll blow yourself up!
So what are you going to do? It's hard to keep being good while giving up the reason to be good in the first place. Any suggestions?
Submitted January 31, 2020 at 07:20AM by dabfad https://ift.tt/2U8Lr0G
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