We have been blessed with sufficient intelligence and discrimination to know and understand the presence of dangers and temptations in life. Sometimes, we are able to evade the dangers and be safe. Most of the times, we walk willingly into the temptations and relish them. We know those dangers and temptations are not good for us. Yet we are egoistic and selfish. We have no control over our senses and we relish the temptations of the senses. We indulge in them even though they are harmful for us. Even a child is aware that certain behavior is not safe for him and can get him into trouble. Yet at times he indulges in hitting others or seizing toys or throwing food away or snatching the food of others as it is fun and he enjoys tormenting others. He gets away with it sometimes and most of the times he is punished – by words or a slap or being kept alone in the corner. He loses friends and his mother or teacher is not happy with him. He knows what kind of trouble he can get into, yet he gives in to temptation.
Drugs, drinks, casual sex, wrong foods, pornography, mindless shopping – the list is endless. We know our weak points and we must take steps to protect ourselves from falling into the traps of desires and dangers. When we know that a particular friendship or a situation will surely lead us to our weak point and we will succumb, we should take care not to enter into such a situation. Each of us have different weaknesses. For some, drinks are a red zone and for others it can be casual sex or pornography or drugs. We must learn to identify our weak zones and plot carefully to avoid them like the wise trader in the following story:
Once there was a prosperous trader. He travelled long distances in order to sell his goods to his customers and please them. He had good relationship with his customers and they were faithful to him. As the years passed, he grew wealthier. The news of his increasing wealth reached the ears of some robbers and they plotted to attack his carts and seize the fine merchandise and whatever money he was carrying. The trader was a clever man and each time he somehow managed to escape their traps.
Once the trader was travelling on a particular route and he found that some monks were going to travel in the same direction. He invited them to accompany him and promised to take care of all their needs. No one was aware at that time that the robbers had planned to ambush the caravan and rob the trader of all his merchandise. Just as they were about to enter the forest, the trader felt uneasy and suspected something was wrong. He set up a camp at the edge of the forest for a few days and stayed there. One of his spies informed him of the robbers’ plans and he decided to cancel the trip for the safety of the monks and his merchandise. Accordingly he informed the monks and they started moving back to the village for safety.
The robbers had their own spies and the trader fed them wrong information about his destination. They lay waiting on that road for the merchant to come. But the merchant took another route and reached a safe place. He stayed in that village and did not move out for several days. When the monks came to know that the trader had made new plans, they decided to cut short their trip and return back to their monastery. When they arrived there, they told Buddha about their cancelled trip, the wealthy trader, the robbers who tried to loot him several times and how he evaded them each time. Buddha replied that the trader was a wise man and he knew the dangers of his journey by virtue of his experience. When the trader came to know of the impending attacks, he evaded them and escaped successfully.
Our life too is a journey which is filled with dangers at many points. We are all experienced enough to know where and how these dangers attack us. Like the trader we too must take evasive action and save ourselves endless miseries and sorrow. The wise do not add certain and definite discomforts to their lives. They evade and overcome such sorrows and dangers and move on in life. Let us follow and practice the teachings of the Guru and learn to evade the sorrows and temptations of life. The SitaRam Mantra and meditation will help us in this.
