Whilst the mind in engaged (caught up) in Eight Worldly Dharmas it cannot be free. Why? Pre-occupation with the Eight Worldly Dharmas (or concerns), is attached to the belief in a self. There is a cost. Attachment to self in the mind (or self-clinging) is the cause of samsara (afflicted mind states). One is not planting awareness of mind, freedom from that.

In Tibetan Buddha Dharma, the Eight Worldly Dharmas (or Concerns) are four pairs of opposing experiences that drive worldly attachment and suffering: pleasure & pain, gain & loss, praise & blame, and fame & disgrace. These represent our natural cravings for pleasant experiences (gain, pleasure, praise, fame) and aversions to unpleasant ones (loss, pain, blame, disgrace), hindering spiritual progress by keeping us entangled in worldly ups and downs. 

The Four Pairs of Worldly Dharmas:

1. Gain (Rnyed pa) & Loss (Ma rnyed pa): Wanting material wealth, prosperity, or success, and fearing their opposite.
2. Pleasure (Bde ba) & Pain (Sdug bsngal): Seeking comfort, happiness, and pleasant sensations, and avoiding discomfort or suffering.
3. Praise (Bstod pa) & Blame (Smad pa): Desiring compliments, appreciation, and positive remarks, and fearing criticism or negative words.
4. Fame/Reputation (Snyan pa) & Disgrace (Mi snyan pa/Snyan pa): Craving a good name, status, or respect, and fearing a bad reputation or being looked down upon. 

Why They Matter in Tibetan Buddha Dharma:

• Cause of Suffering: Attachment to these worldly experiences creates a cycle of craving and dissatisfaction, leading to anxiety, worry, and discontentment. (The yawning hole in the belly)
• Hindrance to the Path: Focusing on these worldly concerns consumes time and energy that could be used for spiritual development, obstructing inner peace and higher realizations.
• Opportunity for Growth: Recognizing these Dharmas allows practitioners to develop equanimity, seeing these opposites as temporary and interdependent, rather than defining their self-worth or happiness. ***By understanding them, one cultivates inner stability, freeing the mind from external fluctuations. 
  
  

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Are you owned by the Eight Worldly Concerns?

As one lama said- inviting deeper enquiry (paraphrased here),

what happens if it is not (i) about what you want; but (ii) it is about what is? (All phenomena is impermanent; arises through various causes and conditions).

(before you turn away, read on a little further)

(i) The first is a self-clinging model; the latter (ii) dharma practice method that leads to a direct yogic perception of reality (non-dual awareness realisation), mind liberated from suffering, and thus can help others likewise. But when still attached to the former (i) and not truly understanding, (programmed in a consumer mentality)- perhaps it does not look so immediately appetising to the self?

But here’s the thing… it’s not meant to.

(Dharma calls upon to summon our deepest reservoirs of goodness, to move past that old familiar chestnut of self-clinging tendency; and to continue in such way… until awakening). All fears put aside- finding your inner power and strength; filling from top to toe as you go.

Dharma practice method is antidote/ medicine/ counter-action to self-clinging tendency to reification.

The latter (ii) leads to liberation, the end of suffering, true happiness, immeasurable qualities, the fulfilment of all wishes (in accordance with the dharma), limitless capacity to help others still trapped in samsara, (due to problems caused by the first one (i) & yet the former (i) is circulated as the piece de resistance). Minds turned to dharma.

So I ask you, what if you decided the latter (ii) and through committed diligent effort, step by step, moment by moment; fear began leaving you, (even the fear of death). One developed dare one say a true acceptance of it (death). (Realising it is not separate from life-and it is how we are living now that really matters, (and the awareness engaged in-in such a way fear of death has left-no room for it). Replaced by true, sincere continued efforts, to cut through the cyclic existence of samsaric conditioning, of believing in the true existence of a self. Death is a natural part of that process- when the energy for this life is up. By cultivating the relaxed attitude: “When it comes it comes” (death), one can meet it well. It’s the moments now that are crucial, and the awareness recognition that is brought to each one of those. If we are engaging in that practice, no room for worry.

If one engages in the latter (ii), and continues that way, (truly recognising that now you have come to the most precious understanding of the true nature of reality) then, as each moment passes, you are doing the most priceless practice you could be doing – liberating your mind, in order to bring benefit to self and others. Transforming, like in a transmutation process; the ice-block of self-clinging begins melting into the ocean of awareness.

Like seeds produce like seeds.
Awakening practice seeds lead on to awakening, when engaged in sincerely and continued to be cultivated as such.

Whilst beguiled by different patterns of mind, all sentient beings are connected at the level of awareness.

What about freedom from beguilement, or the attachment to mistaken perception? Liberating mind through recognition of the true nature of awareness arising from within.

(to be continued…)