Dear friend Saurabh@2110
Peace and love to you and all the other noble ones.
In this brother’s humble opinion: We must be very careful with this idea of we are living in a game or a virtual reality.
To use the Holy Buddha’s symbolism, this is like trying to catch a snake by just simply walking up to it and grabbing its tail. Causes harm to yourself, causes harm to the snake, and causes harm to others who love you.
Perhaps this is a more constructive or skillful way of looking at it: Let’s imagine a UFO lands in front of the white house in Washington DC. All cameras will be focused on that event, and anyone who has an internet connection will be glued to his or her screen watching it. Why? Because it’s a big thing, it must be worthy of our attention. But what is big, what is worthy? Why do we want a big thing? Why do we want something worthy of our attention? Because, it’s reducing the fire of suffering. When we focus on something intently, it is blocking the suffering of being. Consider carefully. The hardest thing for a human being to do is what? Nothing. Doing nothing is the hardest thing. Why? Because then there’s nothing blocking the suffering of being.
Now look at the big picture. We are humans. We have a better ‘being’ than 99.999% of living beings. Think about that for a moment.
You shared, ”…does this understanding becomes irreversible after stream entry? And one not so related question, is a stream entered able to bear kind of more suffering (from the viewpoint of puthujana) to avoid bigger suffering (from the viewpoint of ariya), as he has realized the lack of real essense in his own body?”
Look at the words which are said by a most venerable arahant, ”I have lived the life, done what was to be done, laid down the burden, attained my own goal, the fetters of becoming utterly destroyed, freed by perfect profound knowledge.”
You ask if a stream-enterer can bear more suffering. He does not need to be able to bear more suffering. He has realized that 99.999% of living beings are suffering more than humans but he will never become one of those beings (he cannot be born as an animal or a ghost or go to hell). He is starting to put down the incredible burden of ‘being’. He’s starting to cut the fetters of ‘becoming’. He is starting to be freed by the knowledge of suffering. To do nothing is suffering. To do something is a humiliating attempt to cover some suffering for a time. This is UNACCEPTABLE.
No state of being is acceptable. No life form is free of this humiliation. No pleasure through eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body or mind is worth it. No level of jhana (subtle forms of joy in deep meditation) is worth it.
Drop this burden. May all the beings of this universe escape.
Namo Buddhaya 🙏🏻
Oh. Thanks for responding. I appreciate the response. Being stream enterer means one starts dropping the burden. I see that. But I wonder why you say this :
No level of jhana (subtle forms of joy in deep meditation) is worth it.
I thought, if one even on the surface understands (and accepts) the 3 characteristics of existence which are anicca, dukkha and anatta, then for such a person jhanas can be very good base for penetrating insight? I have read somewhere in suttas that jhanas (higher the jhana better, 4th the best) for penetrating the insight of truth first and and all 4 through that. So why do you say jhanas are not worth it? I mean yes for someone who sees them as a form of blissful experience and craves them without understanding these 3 characteristics of existence then for him jhanas can be perfect entry point to apayas in future but for someone who knows those 3 characteristics atleast on surface and wants to penetrate and choose insight into reality as soon as possible, aren’t jhanas helpful for such person? Because that person won’t be approaching them for the sake of enjoyment and for such person jhanas wouldn’t even be goal, rather it would be just some kind of side effect of the process, isn’t it?
Also I feel when one starts to go near and near to paramattha sacca then one inevitably passes through jhanas even if they don’t know at that time it is 1st now it is 2nd like that. I think this must be true but not sure. Sir lal would know the truth maybe.
I also think jhanas are necessary till some time only just as sir lal said that one should not forcefully try to avoid sensual pleasures which might even lead to depression! I think same goes for jhanas as well but this maybe applies to anariya jhanas only and not to ariya jhanas which are the domain of anagamis/arahat I think. But I think I am wrong here. Because I don’t think anariya person like me would know these things so it is just probability.