Dharma Roadside Dialogue. Eight worldly concerns: A reliable gauge of ego centered fixations

Every last Saturday of the month at 1:30 pm East coast time (EST),  7:30 pm European time (CET).

The intent of these sessions is be to facilitate a lively exchange on how to  apply in daily situations our understanding of the key points of the Buddha-Dharma.

Join us for a 90mn session of questions and answers by clicking this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88203132402

This month we will discuss:

Eight worldly concerns:

A reliable gauge of ego centered fixations

The eight worldly concerns are a set of worldly concerns that generally motivate the actions of ordinary beings.

They are:

Hope for pleasure and fear of pain,

Hope for gain and fear of loss,

Hope for praise and fear of criticism,

Hope for good reputation and fear of bad reputation.

Preoccupation with these worldly concerns is said to be an obstacle to genuine spiritual practice.

 Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche said about them:

Nagarjuna states that we have to be careful in terms of how we understand these sets of factors. We should not think the “eight worldly dharmas” means that we should not have them or that we should go out of our way not to gain anything, or not think that being praised is better than being denigrated. It means that we should not look for them too much and we should not care too much whether people are praising us or putting us down or that one wants any kind of pain. It also means that we should be able to handle losses when they occur and not be thrown into a deep state of depression or despair. As Nagarjuna states, even highly advanced spiritual people still experience all of these things. They may experience gain, praise, and all of these things. They are not shunned; it does not mean that one has to shun them. What it does mean is that one should not be obsessed about going overboard in terms of trying to have more wealth and more properties or trying to make sure that people are praising us and not denigrating us. This is another thing that a Buddhist practitioner should try to find a balance with. Being in the world, we cannot avoid them. Again, it is about attitude; it is how we handle the “eight worldly dharmas” that determines whether we are going to lead a good life or a bad one.