This is the second installment (see Part 1) in a series of posts on DN 31: Sigalovada Sutta, The Buddha's Advice to Sigala the householder. Previously covered were the four impure actions and the four causes of harmful deeds.
Next the Buddha talks about the six ways of squandering wealth and this is where he starts to get more explicit about bad behavior. The sutta continues:
"And what six ways of squandering wealth are to be avoided? Young man, heedlessness caused by intoxication, roaming the streets at inappropriate times, habitual partying, compulsive gambling, bad companionship, and laziness are the six ways of squandering wealth.
Now you may notice that these things aren't really problems only for squandering wealth, as the Buddha is about to elaborate on. Again I suspect here that the Buddha is trying to frame things in a manner that will get Sigala to pay attention. After all, householders at that time were more like business owners than employees and their primary concern and occupation was the operation of their business.
So the Buddha here has mentioned six things, each of which he elaborates on starting with intoxication:
"These are the six dangers inherent in heedlessness caused by intoxication: loss of immediate wealth, increased quarreling, susceptibility to illness, disrepute, indecent exposure, and weakened insight.
You may remember from last time that consuming intoxicants was not mentioned as one of the four impure actions, whereas it is the last of the five precepts. This suggests to me that consuming intoxicants in and of itself is not necessarily an impure action, but it's the resulting state that's impure.
Also note that the Buddha here is talking about the state of intoxication and not simply "consuming intoxicants." This makes it clear that it's the state of being intoxicated that's the real problem. After all, if beer didn't get you drunk then drinking it wouldn't be any worse than drinking water or milk. This also suggests that having a single beer or glass of wine with a meal, something which is highly unlikely to cause intoxication, isn't such a big deal, though one might argue that any alcohol consumption at all is going to have some subtle effect. (I rarely drink any alcohol because even one drink causes me to feel a bit down or off, even if it doesn't get me drunk or anything.)
Also worth noting is that "intoxication" might be caused by more than just consuming intoxicants.
Furthermore, the Buddha was probably more interested in addressing gross errors here rather than nitpicking. The subtle effects of small amount of alcohol might be lost on Sigala, causing him to think that an outright prohibition on alcohol or other intoxicant consumption might be a bit dogmatic or superstitious. The Buddha does mention "weakened insight" which is somewhat subtle.
Here we also see that the Buddha gets beyond simply talking about wealth, and into the other practical problems of drunkenness such as the tendency to quarrel, health problems, and otherwise making an idiot of yourself. So clearly this is not just about wealth, but is simply being framed in householder terms. A householder's wealth is wealth, while a monk's wealth is wisdom and discernment, but Sigala is not a monk and not yet a lay follower of the Buddha.
After this, some of the things that the Buddha start to get a little less obvious as problems to some people, especially to those in modern societies:
"These are the six dangers inherent in roaming the streets at inappropriate times: oneself, one's family, and one's property are all left unguarded and unprotected; one is suspected of crimes; then rumors spread; and one is subjected to many miseries.
I wish I knew more about what kinds of things might cause one to want to "roam the streets at inappropriate times" at that time and in that culture, but my guess is that it could range from innocent activities like looking for friends to say "hi" to and socialize with to looking for prostitutes. In any case, people with a wife and kids in any society generally don't have time for this while still taking care of their familial responsibilities, and people are likely to expect the worst when someone with a family is out at the bar or goofing off at late hours all the time.
"These are the six dangers inherent in habitual partying: You constantly seek, 'Where's the dancing? Where's the singing? Where's the music? Where are the stories? Where's the applause? Where's the drumming?'
It's important to note that the translators in this case used "habitual partying" whereas Ven. Nerada uses the probably more literal "frequenting theatrical shows." I'm going to assume that the translators of the first version did their research and that what was meant here is something more like "partying" rather than simply going to to movies or something.
Because so many people now have television, radio, and audio players, this may not seem like such a big deal anymore. After all, people can just walk around with their MP3 players and not have to worry about "Where's the singing?" because the singing is with them all the time; they don't need to seek out a live band all the time to hear music. Still, being overly obsessed with entertainment means that you're not doing more constructive things (like perhaps reading this sutta), and it can become an addiction as well as a distraction. At least these days the cost isn't as high as it used to be, for those in wealthier societies anyways.
So, while watching TV or listening to music isn't so bad especially with the convenience of such things in modern society, excessive "partying" would probably tend to lead one into excessive addition to entertainment, if not drugs and alcohol.
"These are the six dangers inherent in compulsive gambling: winning breeds resentment; the loser mourns lost property; savings are lost; one's word carries no weight in a public forum; friends and colleagues display their contempt; and one is not sought after for marriage, since a gambler cannot adequately support a family.
I'm not sure how much needs to be said here. Gambling is another form of entertainment for people, but it's a bad one. It's more addictive than music and TV, and it generally requires losing more wealth. It is also what is known as a zero-sum game, meaning that if you win someone else has to lose. So even if you're good at poker and win more than you lose, you're not creating any wealth, only taking it from other people.
In contrast, if you're a craftsman who makes things, then you're taking something worth less (like a raw material) and making it into something that is worth more to people than the sum of the inputs, like a finished craft. People will pay you for your craft, you will make money, and they will get something useful as well. Generally everyone will be happy with this, whereas in gambling someone will lose whether it's you or your opponent, and nothing useful will be produced except perhaps a very expensive sense of "entertainment."
Many other religions recognize this and denounce gambling as well, so this is not particularly controversial, dogmatic, or specific to Buddhism.
"These are the six dangers inherent in bad companionship: any rogue, drunkard, addict, cheat, swindler, or thug becomes a friend and colleague.
I think the key point here is that the more you hang out with thieves or other rowdy, dishonest, harmful people, the more you will become sucked-in to their activities. This will of course lead you to into impure actions and harmful deeds.
Note that the term used here is "companionship" which means don't hang out with these kinds of people all the time. It doesn't mean never speak to them at all or be overtly hostile all the time. Another terms might be "fellowship" which suggests that you shouldn't make such people your family.
"These are the six dangers inherent in laziness: saying, 'It's too cold,' one does not work; saying, 'It's too hot,' one does not work; saying, 'It's too late,' one does not work; saying, 'It's too early,' one does not work; saying, 'I'm too hungry,' one does not work; saying, 'I'm too full,' one does not work. With an abundance of excuses for not working, new wealth does not accrue and existing wealth goes to waste."
Some people out there would like to think that Buddhism is about slacking off. After all, the world is imperfect and wealth isn't the ultimate answer to siffering, so why do anything? Why make money at all? But the fact is that people are supposed to be taking care of their responsibilities whether they are laypeople or monks. As previously noted, a householder at the time was typically responsible for a business which various employees would be depending on for their livelihood. To neglect this business would make it difficult for the less fortunate employees to continue to eat. Wealth may not be the ultimate answer but people aren't going to find the ultimate answer if they can't eat, and are in a state of deprivation. Wealth is especially important for those who have others' depending on them to pay their salaries.
The Buddha also lectured monks about laziness extensively. One major sutta on this is AN 8.80: Kusita-Arambhavatthu Sutta, The Grounds for Laziness & the Arousal of Energy. An example:
"There is the case where a monk has some work to do. The thought occurs to him: 'I will have to do this work. But when I have done this work, my body will be tired. Why don't I lie down?' So he lies down. He doesn't make an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the first grounds for laziness.
Some people think monks don't really do anything, probably because meditation doesn't look like work to most people, but they have duties such as the practice, studying, and teaching. Buddhism is not about being a lazy slacker, because Nibbana will not come if you just wait long enough and pontificate on how great it is to be lazy.
This part of the sutta finishes with another section of verse:
That is what the Buddha said.
Summing up in verse, the sublime teacher said:
"Some are drinking buddies,
Some say, 'Dear friend! Dear friend!'.
But whoever in hardship stands close by,
That one truly is a friend.
Sleeping late, adultery,
Hostility, meaninglessness,
Harmful friends, utter stinginess:
These six things destroy a person.
Bad friends, bad companions,
Bad practices — spending time in evil ways,
By these, one brings oneself to ruin,
In this world and the next.
Seduction, gambling, drinking, singing, dancing,
Sleeping by day, wandering all around untimely,
Harmful friends, utter stinginess:
These things destroy a person.
They play with dice; they drink spirits;
They consort with lovers dear to others.
Associating with low-life and not the esteemed,
They come to ruin like the waning moon.
Whoever is a drunkard, broke, and destitute,
Dragged by thirst from bar to bar,
Sinking into debt like a stone in water
Into bewilderment quickly plunges.
When sleeping late becomes a habit
And night is seen as time to rise,
For one perpetually intoxicated,
A home life cannot be maintained.
'Too cold! Too hot!
Too late!': they say.
Having wasted work time this way,
The young miss out on opportunities.
For one regarding cold and hot
As not more than blades of grass,
Doing whatever should be done,
Happiness will not be a stranger."
Again, one thing to point out here is that the Buddha is not talking about how you need to become fabulously wealthy, but for one who is lazy and constantly makes excuses, "a home life cannot be maintained."
Next in the sutta, the Buddha talks about the nature of true friends and those who are just pretending to be, and this will be the subject of the next post.
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