Garden of the Senses

In Frankfurt we have so many "hidden" gardens in the city. They are in some out of the way places where people pass by without noticing them. As I was going by one of my favorite ones this morning, it is actually sunken down from street level, so many walk by without even noticing, I thought once again about what I've been reading in Handsome Nanda. The 13th Canto is "The Conquest of the Senses By Moral Self-Restraint", and it is full of wonderful words.

Ashvaghosha writes:

"In order to reach deathlessness, my friend, you, with the faculty of faith as your forerunner, should from now onwards increase the guard on your conduct. So that your physical and verbal acts become pure, they should be upright, open, regulated and without blemish---upright because of the working of your true character, open because nothing is hidden, regulated because the focus on self-government, and without blemish because they are irreproachable." 13.10-11

At the park today the "gate" reminded me of the "gateway of the senses" and the fountain with the face reminds me of how we can lose ourselves in the flooding of the senses and cannot see clearly. We follow and become completely attached to what is pleasant or push away what is unpleasant. This can be such a difficult part of training. Ashvaghosha continues with:

"Next, establishing mindfulness, hold back those naturally restless senses from sensory experience, for one's own senses, ever injurious, are more to be feared than an enemy, a fire, a snake or a thunderbolt." 13.30

These things in themselves are not inherently good or bad, it is what we do with them. He continues:

"Here in the world the senses must necessarily operate, each in its particular sphere, but htere should be no grasping at either the major attributes or the minor details of an object." 13.41

And:

"the village of the senses never has enough of sensory experience, just as the ocean, though rivers perpetually fill it, never has enough water." 13.40

Then comes the hard stuff to work on:

"Nothing should be taken away, nothing should be added; whatever the kind of object, it should be seen as it really is. If in the realm of the senses, you continuously observe what is real, then neither attraction nor aversion will leave the footprint in your mind." 13.44-45

"Just as a a fire burns when it has both fuel and air, so too does the fire of defilement arise when both sense objects and imaginings about them are present. For a man is imprisoned by unreal imaginings about a sense object, but when he sees that very sense bject as it really is, then he is freed." 13.50-51

How often do I coat what is before me with my own imaginations, my own paint of desire or aversion. It is very often throughout the day. To see things as they really are...a hard one!

"It follows sense objects are not the cause of bondage or liberation; whether attachment arises or not is due to specific imaginings. For this reason you should control your senses with the maximum of effort, for ungoverned senses make for sorrow and rebirth. (...) In every situation, therefore, be careful to place restrictions on those enemies---sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch---which produce unwholesome state. Don't be negligent about his for an instant!" 13.53-55

Good (and difficult) advice to follow!