Forum Post: Lessons towards a new Earth - Part 3

If it happens that his wealth is taken away in taxes, or stolen by robbers, or damaged by fire or floods, or frittered away by fraudulent enemies then that person will be sorrowful, suffering in body and mind, lamenting his loss with the realization that 'this wealth doesn't really belong to me, it is out of my hands'. O! Monks! These are the dangers of sensual indulgence - suffering that manifests itself as the result of the sense pleasures.

O! Monks! Emperors fight one another, kings fight one another, brahmins fight one another, householders fight one another, mothers fight with their children, children fight with their mothers, fathers fight with their children, children fight with their father, older siblings fight with younger siblings, big brothers fight with their little sisters, little sisters fight with their big brothers, friends fight one another - and all because of attachment to sense pleasures.

When people (of various social positions) such as emperors, fight amongst themselves, they try to hurt one another with their fists, by shoving, by punching, by stabbing, with weapons - where either of the opponents might lose their life - all these manifestations of fighting are consequences of attachment to sense pleasure.

O! Monks! Furthermore, there are those who take a sword and a shield, or bow and arrow, or a flaming torch, instruments of torture with poisoned tips, wage war on the battleground, shoot at their enemy, throw spears, stab their enemy with swords, leaving victims dead on the battlefield or leaving combatants mortally wounded. O! Monks! The waging of war, the fighting to kill or wound one another, all comes as a consequence of attachment to sense pleasure.

O! Monks! Some warriors go to the trouble to erect defences of brick and mortar to stop their enemies being able to climb over, they fill their arsenals full of weapons. However, if the enemy should penetrate their defences, they will be killed with guns, arrows, spears or swords or hanged. The attackers attempting to climb the defences might have boiling cow dung poured over their heads, or have their heads chopped off with a sword, or be mortally wounded. O! Monks! All this manifestation of suffering comes as a consequence of attachment to sense pleasure.

O! Monks! Furthermore, there are burglars who go from house to house robbing them, some force their way into a house and threaten or kill the householder, some are highway robbers, some commit adultery with the wives of other men. When any of these criminals are caught by the king, they are punished by whipping, caning etc.. O! Monks! All this manifestation of suffering comes as a consequence of attachment to sense pleasure.

O! Monks! When those who commit wrongdoings of body, speech or mind die, the body breaks up but their spirit remains and will be reborn in any of the four unfortunate (hell) realms: the hells, the realm of hungry ghosts [peta], the monstrous [asuraa] realms or as an animal. O! Monks! All this manifestation of suffering comes as a consequence of attachment to sense pleasure.

O! Monks! To restrain oneself from enjoyment of the sense pleasures, to avoid attachment to the sense pleasures - both these are refuges from sense pleasure [kaamanissara.na] or in other words 'Nirvana'." It is for this reason that the Lord Buddha should want to start his sermon by instructing the 'group of five' that indulgence of the senses is unsuitable, base, ignoble, without benefit, unsuitable for a Buddhist monk - and should be shunned, not indulged or prized.