衆生の楽しみの限界
The Limits of Sentient Beings' Enjoyment
2024-06-11 18:00:00
People (sentient beings) strive to maximize worldly pleasures, believing that this will bring them the highest form of enjoyment.
This is because, in practical terms, they can think of no other way to achieve the ultimate pleasure.
However, when one dedicates themselves to the practice of the Buddhist path, attains enlightenment, and reaches the imperishable Nirvana, they realize that this state surpasses any worldly pleasure and constitutes the highest form of human enjoyment.
At the same time, they come to understand that even if one were to pursue worldly pleasures to their ultimate extent, it would never result in the highest form of enjoyment. On the contrary, it ironically leads to great suffering.
For this reason, the original Buddhist scriptures of Shakyamuni contain the following principle:
290 If by giving up trivial pleasures, one can see great joy, then a wise person should abandon the trivial pleasures and seek the greater joy. (The Word of Truth/The Dhammapada, Chapter 21: Miscellaneous, translated by Hajime Nakamura, Iwanami-Bunko)
However, it is impossible for people (sentient beings) to understand the joy of Nirvana, and even imagining it is not an easy task.
For example, it is like asking someone to imagine the taste of a fruit they have never tasted before and to know that it is the best of all fruit flavors.
Indeed, it is difficult for people (sentient beings) to even faintly comprehend the joy of Nirvana, and it is said that those who resolve to practice the Buddhist path are even rarer.
"…It is extremely difficult to encounter Buddhas appearing in the world. Even if they do appear, it is rare for them to preach this teaching. Even after countless eons, it is difficult to hear this teaching. Those who listen to this teaching are also rare. For instance, it is like the Udumbara flower, which all people love and cherish, and which heavenly beings and humans treasure, blooming only once in a long time. If one hears this teaching and rejoices, even speaking a single word of it, it is as if they have already honored all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future. Such people are rarer than the Udumbara flower." (The Lotus Sutra, Expedient Means Chapter 2)
Therefore, the concept of "sacred quest" is taught. The essence of the sacred quest lies in the fact that one has sincerely and wholeheartedly resolved to practice this extremely difficult Buddhist path without any self-deception.
In short, the essence of the sacred quest lies in the firm conviction that one can achieve enlightenment oneself.
Simultaneously, it is also proof that one has discerned that worldly pleasures are actually fleeting and, moreover, detrimental.
Thus, one discovers the path to Nirvana, the ultimate state of true happiness, and begins the journey seeking the highest joy.
In this sense, a Buddhist practitioner is not merely a world-weary person nor an ascetic, but rather someone with the aspiration to live life in pursuit of profound joy.
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