"The fifth cause of disease is the working of 'devils' from within that manifest in the form of mental illness.....
Devils in Buddhist mythology are personificationsof negative internal functions. They represent selfish attachments of bad influences that hinder people's pursuit of truth and that work to prevent them from cultivating a strong, positive life force. Devliish functions are aspects of our own lives that damage our health and hamper the practice of Buddhist teachings.
"Devils represent the fundmental tendency of an individual's life toward disharmony of body and mind. Unlike the other four causes of illness, this affects the relam of the mind. Its source is located not in external influences but within the individual, so that the person's life is robbed of its brilliance. The result is the emergence of life's fundamental darkness or delusion.
"From darkness and delusion arise the three poisons- greed, anger and foolishness. These poisons are understood as the source of all destructive, selfish desires or attachments, and are essentially devilish"
(Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death, pg. 67).
Daisaku Ikeda
Living Buddhism -Nov/Dec 2006
Devils in Buddhist mythology are personificationsof negative internal functions. They represent selfish attachments of bad influences that hinder people's pursuit of truth and that work to prevent them from cultivating a strong, positive life force. Devliish functions are aspects of our own lives that damage our health and hamper the practice of Buddhist teachings.
"Devils represent the fundmental tendency of an individual's life toward disharmony of body and mind. Unlike the other four causes of illness, this affects the relam of the mind. Its source is located not in external influences but within the individual, so that the person's life is robbed of its brilliance. The result is the emergence of life's fundamental darkness or delusion.
"From darkness and delusion arise the three poisons- greed, anger and foolishness. These poisons are understood as the source of all destructive, selfish desires or attachments, and are essentially devilish"
(Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death, pg. 67).
Daisaku Ikeda
Living Buddhism -Nov/Dec 2006
1 comment:
Thank you!
Post a Comment