Like it or not, our existence is in many ways a trap. Those who do not agree with this notion are usually ones who are carried away by momentary distractions, by apparently pleasurable sights, sounds and activities. Almost all of us, at sometime or the other believe that that there is something that is inherently stable, lastingly satisfying and ours to possess or control. The truth is, that there isn’t! We can do many things, build industrial empires, write great literature and visit distant planets but sooner or later we have to leave even the greatest accomplishment behind. Empires end, friends and enemies end and even though we know this, the longing for that permanently satisfying something never leaves us. So we continue endlessly to become and acquire, even nobly to create and build and often damage and destroy.
Contemplating this, we realize that we cannot stop acting. And that is perhaps part of the trap. We have free reign over how we act and mistakenly believe that we can act to lastingly satisfy ourselves. Many do not accept the notion that we are trapped and yet if we were to agree, wouldn’t we act to free ourselves? Isn’t it better to act on a truth rather than on ceaselessly acting on and perpetuating what might actually be misperception? If we actually saw that there is nothing permanently satisfying, we would act accordingly, prudently, wisely, instead of forever grasping at rainbows. And with just that much of a realization comes freedom. And we start creating momentum in the right direction rather than cementing the trap.
The Buddha talked of things like right action and right effort. Action that sets us free is right action. Perhaps, if we were to be careful to act only in the service of what grants freedom, we might overcome suffering. Many claim that our actions could lead to great and noble things. That is true and acting in the service of freedom does not preclude actions that eventually help us and others to acquire the means to pursue our course towards liberation. We have to earn a livelihood to clothe and feed ourselves. If we are hungry, we cannot practice the path that brings freedom. Acts of invention and creativity help one and all to be free of time consuming and wasteful distractions so that we can focus and invest in what really matters. Kind acts, acts of compassion and of help and service serve to create the right ground and mindset in which our practice can flourish. So, we can choose to act skillfully and in a direction that eventually helps us and others to acquire the conditions that might allow the consideration and practice of what sets us truly free.
With skillful action comes restraint. Knowing how not to act is perhaps more important than knowing how to. The Buddha repeatedly pointed out that acts fuelled by greed, ill-will, arrogance, covetousness, jealousy and other unwholesome states inevitably lead to suffering. In the context of unwholesome motivation and emotions, even though a certain end might seem desirable and attractive, in acting upon it, we trap ourselves in misery and pain. Everyone’s experience shows that the state of greed is suffering, the state of hate is suffering. Unwholesome mental states not only cause pain but in being driven by such emotions and states we inevitably increase our pain. We just do not clearly see this. In spending time contemplating, the insidiousness of this process becomes clear. Even the slightest attachment or aversion and we set in motion the process of creating suffering. The longing for things to be a certain way or not a certain way itself is attachment or aversion acting! It is mind boggling to think how often we do this over a lifetime. So that is a lifetime of solidifying the trap! Perhaps this is the reason why buddhist thought is so detailed when it comes to matters of conduct, behavior and practice. Craving is pervasive, and learning not to rely upon it requires tremendous vigilance. Greed is insidious as is ill-will and underlying these is craving, for things to be a certain way or not be a certain way. So when we act, we are already under the influence of this longing or craving. That is how subtle the trap is!
Perhaps in seeing how subtle the trap is, we start creating the conditions for freedom. We can of course choose not to see or agree with all this. Seeing the truth in this is wisdom, it is patience and compassion. Tempered by the sobering realization that it is our actions and our minds that trap us, we might better appreciate the value of true freedom, of true peace and contentment rather than valuing the fickle pleasures and accomplishments that we spend all our lives chasing.