ทุกข์สุขที่เกิดขึ้นในชีวิตเป็นเพียงละครชั่วคราว เกิดจากวิบากบุญบาปในกลางดวงธรรมที่คอยให้ผลตามผังสำเร็จ ผู้มีปัญญาย่อมปล่อยวางความยึดถือสิ่งที่ไม่เที่ยง และดำรงอยู่กับระบบกุศลธรรมซึ่งเป็นที่พึ่งเดียวที่แท้จริงSuffering and happiness in life are only a temporary drama, arising from the karmic fruit of merit and demerit stored within the orb of Dhamma, which bears fruit according to its completed pattern. The wise let go of clinging to what is impermanent, and abide within the wholesome system — the only true refuge.
Someone asked for an explanation of "the world's drama."
These sufferings are the world's drama — temporary, played out for a while, then the curtain falls, the actors leave the stage, the set is struck and vanishes. This is our elder teacher's counsel: the wise let go of clinging to what is impermanent; the foolish cling to what is suffering and impermanent, taking it to be theirs, to be themselves — and so they must weep and grieve.
Existence is layered, plane within plane. We are all in the human plane right now, yet each of us also carries a plane within that plane, unique to each person. As the plane is, so are the mind and its s. Suffering arises from stain — stain we created in the past, or stain that unwholesomeness is now causing to manifest.
The actor, the director, and the role we must play
Think of an actor. Before stepping onto the set, they must first read the script — what role to play: a beggar, a sick person experiencing the suffering that is their karmic result. These roles are what the great director — the three natural forces — assigns moment by moment in the present. The mental factor is the emotion that must be expressed in each moment; the mind is the stream of thought, conveyed through body and speech, sometimes happy, sometimes suffering, according to the script. The fruit of that role is the karmic result held within the orb of , where orbs of merit and demerit wait to give their result — is temporary, suffering is temporary, all according to the mechanism of . We enter each scene only briefly before the scene changes, a new role is played, and when the story ends, we leave the stage.
Within the orb of Dhamma, whichever orb — merit or demerit — is larger gives its result: a larger demerit gives its result as demerit, a larger merit gives its result as merit, manifesting as happiness or suffering according to its own mechanism. And in time it passes, like a phone battery running down with use. The merit and demerit we have created is sealed and placed on the timeline of our life, near and far, waiting for its turn to bear fruit.
How should we hold the mind, knowing everything is impermanent?
All possessions belong to the world at large; in time they must change hands. Those we love, too, must part from us in time — some live long, some short, nothing is certain. We must prepare our hearts in advance. While they are still with us, we must be a good companion to them, helping them cultivate the cause to abide within system, to learn and understand it. Once they understand, wholesomeness will guide them to draw in pure energy and reach a better state. When the time comes for each of us to close our eyes and leave this world, we need not worry — because what needed doing, we have done; what needed to be avoided, we have already guided them to avoid.
Let us know, as it truly is, that every life is under the control of the three natural forces, locked in ceaseless contention for control, moment after moment, guiding us to create causes that will bear fruit in the future — sealed as orbs of merit and demerit awaiting placement on our life's timeline. Once merit and demerit are set in place, we cannot control them; the only thing that can help is abiding within the wholesome system, because only that system can truly benefit us. No other system can help us at all — and if it is system instead, it will only pile on more hardship.