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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 23

from remembering what we’ve done in the past, what
others have done to us in the past, and what we’ve
heard.

What are newspapers and magazines about? About
romance, unrequited love, tragedy, scandal, corruption,
brutality, rape and murder. Violence in all its forms
are popular subjects for selling newspapers and
magazines. Try to sell a magazine about a Buddhist
monk meditating! Nothing to write about. Some of
You find people who spend their time sleeping for hours
the things that go through our minds might be pretty
every day, or getting drunk, taking drugs, knocking
spicy at times, but as the years go by, these fade out.
themselves out with sleeping pills and tranquilisers, just
There is nothing much really, nothing entertaining,
so as not to have to put forth any energy, not to have to
nothing that would sell a newspaper. But bad Buddhist
be stimulated or sensitive at all.
monks, corrupt Buddhist monks—they make the news.
Kindness, goodness, the positive side of life somehow
If we just react to life and don’t understand it, if we
isn’t as exciting as corruption, scandal, and violence.
think life should be otherwise, then we suffer. We
These things are very stimulating. When they make
take it all very personally—life is terrible! We find it
movies, it has to be about violent war or sex. Things
depressing. We feel contempt for ourselves, and have
that completely absorb and hold our attention are
anger and bitterness towards others. And all this is a
often equated with things like sex, violence, danger,
totally negative creation of the mind; it is a projection
adventure, all this. The tendency then is to constantly
onto the world of an ignorant human being.
seek that which excites the senses.
The above article is from a talk given in Australia in
Our life can be just a series of experiences on the
March 1987.] EH
sensory plane. That can be a lot of fun for a while,
especially when we are young. But as we get older,
even that becomes boring. Nothing is more boring than
continuous excitement. One gets weary of being excited
and stimulated. So there is a desire to not be stimulated.