Fire is hot and we soon let go of it. Then why does everybody aavoid the extinction of the aggregates? It is as though we constantly look for fire to seize hold of. If we let go of the fire and it dies away, then where can the heat come from ? It is the nature of fire to be not, but if we do not touch it, we do not get burnt.
Where there are the five aggregates, there is suffering; but as with fire, if we let go of them so that they die away, then where can the suffering arise?
It is the nature of the five aggregates to give rise to suffering, so we ought to look on them as though they were the five aggregates of a stranger, not as our own; or as those of a relative of ours. Thus, when we see that they are sick, or they die we just have kindly feelings (Metta) or compassion (Karuna) for them. Or, if there is someone who does harm to us and has hatred for us, we may think, “serves him right, let him die”, then we can be happy. If we realise that our aggregates lead us into suffering and evil, and we still want to hold on to them, then it is the same as wanting suffering, it is like wanting snake poison.
If we realise that the five aggregates are like a man who does harm to us and has hatred for us, leading us only into suffering and evil; if the five aggregates are hungry or thirsty, old, sick, or when they die, we then think, “it serves them right”. If we realise that the loss of the aggregates is not ourselves, that they are not under our control and we cannot command them, and that when they grow old, fall sick and die, we realise that it is not we who die, then the situation alters and one becomes detached from the aggregates. They may be old and almost finished. or still young and pleasing, but when they want to do something, they do it on their own; we do not tell them to do it. Or, we may think of them when they die, as one would say, an Indian or a European dies, in a detached way ; but not, “we die” If we think in this way, then we become neither glad nor sorry, and we root out our tendency of Grasping.
If we hate death, we must root out and get rid of our tendency of grasping; this is the right way for anyone who loathes death. If one hates death, and yet follows those ways leading to death, then one will come to death. We should under stand that we grow old, fall sick and die. If we cannot get rid or grasping, where can we get free from suffering? We hate suffering and death, but do not let go of them. It is like being afraid of a large crocodile which lives in a swamp.
If we grasped at self and there was a self, then it would be right to grasp at it; and if when someone dies, we weep and moan, if this would bring them back to life, then it would be worthwhile weeping and moning.
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