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spaceship and go to the moon, 
thinking that we can 
escape from the prison of the 
world — but in fact, 
the moon is just a satellite of the 
earth. Even if we 
make it to the sun or the stars, we 
are still in the 
same old galaxy, the same old 
universe — and we 
are still in the most basic level of 
prison — the sensuous 
realm. No matter how far we 
travel, we cannot 
escape. What must we do to escape 
from our 
prison? The key to gaining 
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liberation of our being is 
to gain liberation of mind. Body 
has mind as its governor. 
Liberation in Buddhism entails 
permanently 
extricating one's mind out of states 
within the mundane 
[lokiya] plane and elevating one's 
mind permanently 
into the transcendental [lokuttara] 
plane. 
If one's mind is liberated into the 
transcendental 
plane it will have access to 
happiness which is 
qualitavely different from the 
worldly state. 
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The people of old had a metaphor 
for the degree 
of happiness attained in each of the 
levels of mind. 
In the four different levels, the 
level of happiness is 
not the same. In higher levels there 
is more happiness 
and this is why we have to make 
the effort to 
improve our level of mind. 
I. The happiness of the sensual 
sphere (the happiness 
of having a family and of sense 
pleasure) is 
like the happiness of a newborn 
child playing 
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with mud or dung. 
Blessing Thirty-Two: Practising 
the Brahma-Faring 363 
2. The happiness of the form 
sphere (the happiness 
of attaining the form absorptions) 
is the satisfaction 
of someone who fulfills himself by 
performing 
his work well. 
3. The happiness of the formless 
sphere (the happiness 
of the formless absorptions) is like 
the satisfaction 
of seeing the success of others who 
you 
have raised up, such as the 
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happiness of raising 
one's children into responsible 
members of society, 
when you once again have the 
freedom to 
live your own life again. 
4. The happiness of the 
transcendental (the happiness 
of removing all defilements) is 
happiness 
beyond comparison. 
Furthermore, the states of mind on 
the transcendental 
level will be beyond the touch of 
the worldly 
vicissitudes (see Blessing 
Thirty-Five) — the reason 
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for this difference is the radically 
reduced number 
of defilements inthe mind. 
If we can permanently raise our 
mind to the highest 
level, then when dying from the 
human realm 
we will gain entry to a purer 
existence, or better 
still, will not be reborn any more. 
C.1 Relinquishing as a relay 
We have to throw off the 
temptations of sensuality, 
and the temptations of satisfaction 
with the form 
or formless absorptions. You have 
to sever the attachments 
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sequentially. This point is difficult 
to understand 
— it has been very widely 
misunderstood 
even amongst monks. You don't 
give up everything 
all at once. According to the 
RathavinEta Sutta 
(M.i.145ff.), the process is a relay. 
For the mind it is 
the same, in order for the mind to 
escape a lower 
level, we need to build up a higher 
state of mind 
ready and waiting to receive the 
outgoing mind. If 
you plan to remove sensual interest 
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from the mind 
and you just try to sever the ties 
without anything 
in the way of replacement you will 
never succeed. 
The mind needs something as the 
object of its attention. 
If you have no new (better) object 
of interest 
as a replacement, the mind will 
never give up 
its old ways. This is why you have 
to train yourself 
in meditation to the degree that 
you attain the first 
absorptions of the mind (brightness 
within) before 
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you can hope to sever the ties of 
sensual temptation. 
Your mind has to be completely 
absorbed in 
the happiness of meditation 
attainment before it 
will be able to give up the 
happiness derived from 
sensual fulfillment. 
If you have sweet dreams of 
graduating and finding 
a cute husband or wife to marry, 
and having a 
cute little house and one or two 
cute little children 
of your own, and someone comes 
along and says 
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— give up all interest in sensual 
pleasure — it'll be 
good for you — you would 
probably think that killing 
yourself might be a more viable 
possibility. If 
you really want to give up sweet 
dreams of sensual 
fulfillment, you have to meditate 
until brightness 
arises within, there is a possibility 
of finding alternative 
forms of fulfillment. Without an 
alternative 
you cannot force people to give up 
sensuality. Thus, 
anyone who decides to give up 
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sensual attachment 
without doing meditation to build 
up a better alternative 
for themselves is doomed to 
failure. 
D. PRACTISING THE 
BRAHMA-FARING IN 
EVERYDAY LIFE 
D.1 Attitude to Sensuality 
How can it be that a person already 
had a spouse 
or a partner or a boyfriend or a 
girlfriend or children 
and the Buddha still insisted that 
sensual fulfilment 
is a mistake? The Buddha gave 
many reasons, 
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but in these pages, just ten of his 
metaphors 
will suffice, to make the point. If 
you cannot completely 
sever the ties, you can prevent 
yourself from 
increasing them. However, if you 
can release yourself 
fromall the ties of sensuality it is 
the best of all. 
Someone wishing to extricate 
themselves from sensuality 
should remind themselves 
regularly of the 
following metaphors: 
I. Sensuality is like a hungry dog 
chewing a dry 
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3. Sensuality is like carrying a 
torch of fire while 
364 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
walking into the wind. (As it burns 
down, the 
fire comes closer and closer to 
burning your 
hand and in the end you have to 
throw it away. 
In the same way however much 
you may love 
your spouse, both of you get older 
year by year 
and in the end one of you has to be 
the first to 
the deathbed); 
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4. Sensuality is like a pool of 
burning fuel (Everyone 
knows if they fall in the pool they 
will never 
get out alive, but they cannot help 
being attracted 
to walk along the edge of the pool 
until 
they eventually fall in — even 
though they 
know the saying `wherever there is 
love there 
will be tears') 
5. Sensuality is like a dream (You 
dream of happiness, 
but before long you have to wake 
up to 
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the real world. Try asking a 
married couple what 
the happiest day of their marriage 
was. They 
will always reply that it was the 
first and since 
that day the causes of suffering 
have been increasing 
day by day. When you were single 
you 
could please yourself, but since 
you got married 
that has had to change. In the old 
days we 
thought it was hard work to look 
after our parents, 
now you have to look after your 
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partners' 
parents too — and perhaps their 
extended family 
too and any children inherited 
from previous 
marriages! You end up saying to 
yourself, 
"If only I had known I would 
never have got 
married!" but you will be saying 
that to the end 
of your days.) 
6. Sensuality is like borrowed 
jewelry (When you 
wear it, it looks good and everyone 
admires you, 
but as soon as you meet the lender, 
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they will ask 
for that jewellry back. Before 
marriage we take 
special care to choose the best of 
beauty or handsomeness 
in our partner. People will admire 
you 
when you first marry saying `What 
a lovely couple!' 
but that beauty and handsomeness 
will 
gradually be `returned to its 
lender' with the 
passing years leaving only 
wrinkles in its place. 
Even the most handsome filmstar 
ends up with 
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a bald head. The best of beauty 
wears off after 
five or ten years. Supposing you 
are twenty-five 
when you marry. From the age of 
thirty-five to 
the end of your days, you have to 
live with someone 
to whom you are no longer 
physically attracted) 
7. Sensuality is like a fruit tree in 
the forest (The 
fruit of a tree in the forest is public 
domain. The 
fruit it bears is there to be taken by 
anyone who 
has the time to pick it. If you are 
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good at climbing 
the tree or knocking off the fruit or 
even at 
cutting down the tree, the fruit is 
yours. The 
climber half way up the tree will 
be hurt when 
the tree cutters come along 
but 
there is nothing 
in the way of compensation 
because none 
of them own the tree for 
themselves. In the same 
way, you cannot become the 
exclusive owner 
of the life of another person. If 
anyone else puts 
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