The Third Thought that Turns the Mind to the Dharma is disenchantment. Most people seek happiness through gain, praise, success, and pleasure while trying to avoid loss, blame, failure, and pain. Yet these conditions are always changing. Whatever is gained may be lost; whatever is praised may later be criticized; every success passes; every pleasure fades. Seeing this clearly need not lead to pessimism and despair. It can lead to wisdom, if we but look beyond temporary satisfactions and seek a deeper freedom that does not depend upon circumstances.
These conditions are inconstant, impermanent, subject to change.
- Adapted from the Lokavipatti Sutta,
translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal...
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Matthew 6:19,21
The Buddha called these eight experiences the "worldly conditions" because they dominate ordinary human concerns. Jesus likewise warns against storing up treasures that can be destroyed, stolen, or lost. Both teachings point to the same insight: when we make changing things the basis of our happiness, we place our hearts upon an unstable foundation. Disenchantment arises when we recognize the limitations of worldly attainments and cease expecting them to provide lasting fulfillment.
Desirable things don't charm the mind, undesirable ones bring no resistance.
Adapted from the Lokavipatti Sutta,
translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
I have learned to be content with whatever I have.
I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty.
In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret
of being well-fed and of going hungry,
of having plenty and of being in need.
- Philippians 4:11b-12
Reflecting on the changing nature of worldly conditions gradually weakens attachment and aversion. The wise person enjoys favorable circumstances without becoming dependent upon them and endures difficulties without despair. Paul's contentment in abundance and in need illustrates this freedom. True peace does not come from arranging circumstances according to our wishes; it comes from developing a mind that remains balanced amid change.
Adapted from the Lokavipatti Sutta,
translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
May all beings dwell in equanimity, free of attachment and aversion.
- The Fourth Immeasurable
For freedom Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
- Galatians 5:1
Attachment and aversion bind beings to the cycle of suffering. We cling to pleasant experiences, fearing their loss, and resist unpleasant experiences, longing for their end. The result is a restless mind continually pulled between hope and fear. The cultivation of equanimity loosens these bonds. In both the Buddhist path and the Christian life, genuine freedom emerges when the heart is no longer enslaved by craving, fear, resentment, or possessiveness.
Disenchantment is not rejection of the world, nor indifference to the welfare of others. It is the clear recognition that lasting happiness cannot be found in things that continually arise and pass away. This insight gives rise to a determination to seek a freedom deeper than worldly success and a peace more enduring than worldly pleasure.