Knowing and Seeing Nirvana

X. Knowledge and Vision of Release

Wow, look at all those fish and gravel!

§ 75. "It is just as if there were a pool of water in a mountain glen — clear, limpid, and unsullied — where a person with good eyesight standing on the bank could see shells, gravel, and pebbles as well as shoals of fish swimming about and resting.

"It might occur to that person, 'This pool of water is clear, limpid, and unsullied. Here are these shells, gravel, and pebbles as well as shoals of fish swimming about and resting.'

"In the same way — with mind stilled [calmed and concentrated], purified, and bright, unblemished, free of defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability — the meditator directs and inclines it to the knowledge of the ending of the mental defilements (asavas).

There is much to know and see with clarity

"One discerns as it is, 'This is suffering (dukkha)... This is the origination of suffering... This is the cessation of suffering... This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering... 

"These are mental defilements... This is the origination of the defilements... This is the cessation of the defilements... This is the way leading to the cessation of the defilements.'

"One's heart, thus knowing and seeing, is released from the defilement of sensuality, the defilement of becoming, the defilement of ignorance. With liberation, there is the knowledge, 'Liberated.' One discerns that, 'Rebirth is ended, the high life has been fulfilled, the task is done. There is nothing further for this world'" (DN 2).

What is there to know and see?

Enlightenment=awakening (bodhi)

§ 76. "Vision arose, clear-seeing arose, wisdom arose, knowledge arose, illumination (enlightenment) arose within me with regard to things never heard before:

"'This is the noble [enlightened] truth of suffering [understanding what is and is not disappointment]... This noble truth of suffering is to be comprehended... This noble truth of suffering has been comprehended...

"This is the noble truth of the origination of suffering... This noble truth of the origination of suffering is to be abandoned... This noble truth of the origination of suffering has been abandoned...

"This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering... This noble truth of the cessation of suffering is to be realized... This noble truth of the cessation of suffering has been realized...

"This is the noble truth of the path of practice leading to the cessation of suffering... This noble truth of the path of practice leading to the cessation of suffering is to be developed... This noble truth of the path of practice leading to the cessation of suffering has been developed.'

"Meditators, as long as my knowing and seeing (knowledge and vision) — with its three rounds and 12 permutations concerning these Four Noble Truths as they actually are — was not pure, I did not claim to have directly awakened (become enlightened) to the unexcelled right awakening...

"But as soon as my knowing and seeing — with its three rounds and 12 permutations concerning these Four Noble Truths as they actually are — was truly pure, only then did I claim to have directly awakened to the unexcelled right awakening...

"Knowing and seeing arose in me: 'Unshakable is my liberation. This is my last rebirth. There is now no more further becoming'" (SN 56.11).

What does one see when awakening?

§ 77. "What a Wayfarer [Tathagata, successful practitioner, arahant] sees is this: 'Such is form, such its origin, such its disappearance; such is feeling, such its origin, such its disappearance; such is perception...such are mental formations (fabrications)...such is consciousness, such its origin, such its disappearance.' [These are the Five Aggregates clung to as self.]

"Because of this, I say, a Wayfarer — with the ending, fading out, cessation, letting go, and relinquishment of all speculation and thinking, all I-making and mine-making and obsessions with conceit [the habit of seeing everything in terms of an I or self or soul] — is, through lack of clinging (that sustains it), liberated."

"But, Master Gotama [the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama], the meditator whose mind/heart is thus liberated, where does that person reappear [where is that being reborn]?"

"'The designation 'reappear,' Vaccha, does not apply."

"In that case, Master Gotama, that person does not reappear."

"The designation 'does not reappear,' Vaccha, does not apply."

"In that case, Master Gotama, that person both does and does not reappear."

"Vaccha... [that designation] does not apply."

"In that case, Master Gotama, that person 'neither does nor does not reappear."

"Vaccha... [that designation] does not apply."

"How is it, Master Gotama, when Master Gotama is asked if the meditator reappears [is reborn]... does not reappear... both does and does not reappear... neither does nor does not reappear [which exhausts the four logical possibilities], he says, 'that designation does not apply' in each case?

"At this point, Master Gotama, I am befuddled. At this point, I am confused. The small amount of clarity coming to me from your earlier conversation is now obscured."

"Of course you are befuddled, Vaccha, of course you are confused. Deep, Vaccha, is this dhamma [reality, teaching, ultimate truth], hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise.

"For those holding other views [other doctrines or dhammas], other practices, other goals that would satisfy them, other aims, other teachers, it is difficult to know [and see]. That being the case, I will now put some questions to you. Answer as you see fit.

"What do you think, Vaccha, if a fire were burning in front of you, would you know, 'This fire is burning in front of me'?"

"Yes..."

"And, Vaccha, suppose someone were to ask you, 'This fire burning in front of you, dependent on what is it burning?' Thus asked, how would you reply?"

"...I would reply, 'This fire burning in front of me is burning dependent on grass and timber as its fuel (sustenance).'"

"If the fire burning in front of you were to go out, would you know, 'This fire burning in front of me has gone out'?"

"Yes..."

"And, Vaccha, suppose someone were to ask you, 'This fire that has gone out in front of you, in which direction has it gone? East? West? North? South?' Thus asked, how would you reply?"

"That does not apply, Master Gotama. Any fire burning dependent on fuel fed by grass and timber, being unnourished — from having consumed that fuel and not being offered any other — is classified simply as 'out' [extinguished, unbound, no longer clinging to fuel]."

"Just so, Vaccha, any physical form by which one describing the Wayfarer would describe him, that the Wayfarer has abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump [that does not grow back once it is cut down], deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future rearising.

"Freed from the classification of form, Vaccha, the Wayfarer is deep, boundless (unbound), hard to fathom, like the sea. 'Reappears [is reborn]' does not apply. 'Does not reappear' does not apply. 'Both does and does not reappear' does not apply. 'Neither reappears nor does not reappear' does not apply.

Wow, who knew there was so much to see!

"Any feeling... Any perception... Any mental formation (fabrication)... "Any consciousness by which one describing the Wayfarer would describe him, that the Wayfarer has abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future rearising.

"Freed from the classification of consciousness, Vaccha, the Tathagata is deep, boundless, hard to fathom, like the sea [of space]" (MN 72).

• Ven. Thanissaro (American Geoffrey DeGraff) Noble Conversation: A Study Guide altered (restored to customary rather than idiosyncratic translation of terms where possible) and edited by Wisdom Quarterly 

(British Monk) Who needs more than the sutras?

Panning for GOLD in creek bed (SUTRA)

Gold nuggets become bars, bars become coins and jewelry, which convert into cash

Metal detector signal under this boulder — we had to know what it was...praying

(How to Find Gold | Prospector Nic) May 26, 2025: Deep in a remote Aussie creek, Down Under, we locked onto a massive signal under the biggest boulder we’ve ever worked. The metal detector absolutely screamed — and we had to know what was down there. We spent four hours digging, shifting heavy rock, soaked in sweat and bush grit…and when we finally got to the target — it wasn’t what we expected. But GOLD has a funny way of testing one's patience. This hunt proves it: If you don’t quit, the gold eventually shows itself.

Tons of lost U.S. gold

How many tons of gold did Europeans extract?

SUTRA: Gold Prospectors

Translated by Dhr. Seven based on Ven. Sujata translation (AN 3.101)

“Raw [unprocessed native] gold has coarse impurities: soil, sand, gravel. A prospector or an apprentice gold panner pours it into another pan, where they wash, rinse, and clean it.

When those coarse impurities have been eliminated, there are middling impurities in the raw gold: dirt and grit.

The prospector washes it again. When those have been eliminated, there are fine impurities in the raw gold: fine black grime. The prospector washes it again. When that has been eliminated, only golden flecks remain.

A goldsmith or apprentice places the raw gold in a crucible where they heat, melt, then smelt it. Still the raw gold is not settled as the dross is not totally gone. The gold is not pliable, workable, or radiant, but rather is brittle and not yet ready to be worked.

The goldsmith keeps on heating, melting, and smelting it until the raw gold becomes pliable, workable, and radiant, no longer brittle but ready to be worked.

Then the goldsmith can successfully create any kind of ornament, bet it a bracelet, earring, necklace, or a golden garland.

(EGS PRO) This is what REAL gold rocks actually look like

In the same way, a monastic (wandering ascetic) committed to higher mind has coarse impurities (corruptions): unskillful bodily, verbal, and mental conduct. A sincere, capable monastic [in training] gives these up, gets rid of, lets go of, and eliminates them.

When they have been let go of and eliminated, there are middling impurities: thoughts of sensuality, malice, and cruelty. A sincere and capable monastic gives these up, lets go of, gets rid of, and eliminates them.

When they have been given up and eliminated, there are fine impurities: thoughts of family, country, and status. A sincere and capable monastic lets go of, gives these up, gets rid of, and eliminates them. When they have been given up and eliminated, only thoughts about the Teaching (Dharma) are left.

I'm not quite an adept yet. I still have to let go.

That absorption (immersion) is not yet peaceful or sublime, not yet tranquil or unified, but is held in place by forceful suppression [of the mental defilements].

However, there comes a time when mind is stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes absorbed (immersed) in samādhi. That absorption is peaceful and sublime, tranquil and unified, not held in place by forceful suppression.

A monastic (a skillful trainee) extends the mind to realize by insight each and every thing that can be realized by insight; they are capable of realizing those things because each and every one is within range. More

How to get rich quick

With impurities eliminated, I could make $300K!

SUTRA: To the People of Venaga

(AN 3.63, Venāga Sutta) Translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi, edited by Dhr. Seven

...Then the Brahmin householders of Venāgapura approached the Blessed One [the Buddha].

Some paid homage and sat down respectfully to one side; some exchanged greetings with him and, when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, sat down to one side; some reverentially saluted him and sat down to one side; some pronounced their name and clan and sat down to one side; some kept silent and sat down to one side.

The Brahmin Vacchagotta of Venāgapura then said to the Blessed One:

“It is astounding and amazing, Master Gotama [the Buddha], how Master Gotama’s faculties are tranquil and the color of his skin is pure and bright. Just as a yellow jujube fruit in the autumn is pure and bright, so Master Gotama’s faculties are tranquil and the color of his skin is pure and bright.

“Just as a palm fruit that has just been removed from its stalk is pure and bright, so Master Gotama’s faculties are tranquil and the color of his skin is pure and bright.

What is more valuable, gold or self-mastery?

“Just as an ornament of finest gold, well prepared by a skilled goldsmith and very skillfully wrought in the furnace, placed on red brocade, shines and beams and radiates, so Master Gotama’s faculties are tranquil and the color of his skin is pure and bright.”

High and luxurious beds

What's wrong with worldly luxury bedding?

[How are his beds? They must be very nice.] “Whatever high and luxurious kinds of bedding there are — sofa, divan, long-haired coverlet, coverlet of diverse colors, white, woolen with floral designs, quilt of cotton wool, woolen coverlet ornamented with animal figures, woolen coverlet with double borders, woolen coverlet with a single border, silken sheet studded with gems, sheet made with silk threads and studded with gems, dancer’s rug, elephant rug, horse rug, chariot rug, rug of antelope hide, spread made of the hide of the kadali-deer, bed with a canopy above and red bolsters at both ends — Master Gotama surely gains them at will without trouble or difficulty.”

“Brahmin, those high and luxurious kinds of bedding are rarely obtained by those who have gone forth [into the left-home life of a wandering ascetic or shramana], and if they are obtained, they are impermissible.

“But, Brahmin, there are three kinds of high and luxurious beds that at present I gain at will, without trouble or difficulty. What are these three?

“They are the celestial high and luxurious bed, the divine high and luxurious bed, and the noble high and luxurious bed. These are the three kinds of high and luxurious beds that at present I gain at will, without trouble or difficulty.”

More: AN 3.63: Venāgapura Sutta translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi (suttacentral.net)

Gear Used: Minelab GPX 6000 + Nugget Finder 12x7" Canon R7 DJI Mini 4 Pro GoPro Hero 11 DJI Osmo Action 5. Follow Prospector Nic: Website: howtofindgold.com.au Facebook: nicolas.odgers. Instagram: prospectornic1. TikTok: prospectornic. 📌 Want more Aussie gold adventures? Make sure to subscribe, hit the bell, and drop a comment — Nic reads them all. Cheers, legends! #goldprospecting #metal detecting #australiangold #gpx6000 #bedrockgold #prospectornic #goldnuggets #outbackadventures

Nicolas Odgers, How to Find Gold | Prospector Nic, May 26, 2025; Bhikkhu Bodhi, Bhikkhu Sujato (suttacentral.net); Dhr. Seven (trans), Amber Larson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

When Siddhartha was tempted by Mara

The Buddha versus Mara: The Buddhist "Satan" and his three tempting daughters

You can have whatever you desire

(Buddha's Wisdom) April 26, 2025: 🔍 BUDDHISM'S "DEVIL" AND HIS THREE SEDUCTIVE DAUGHTERS. Did you know Buddhism has its own version of the Devil, a Satan figure?

TIMESTAMPS:

• 00:00 Buddhism's version of the Devil
• 02:01 Meet Mara, Buddhism's ultimate villain
• 06:44 The first daughter Tanhā (Craving)
• 11:08 The second daughter Arati (Boredom/Discontent)
• 15:30 The third daughter Rāga (Passion/Lust)
• 20:02 How the Buddha defeated Mara and his daughters
• 24:40 The daughters among us - modern applications

Mara, the Buddhist devil or chief demon, commands three daughters, who each specialize in a different type of temptation. Their tactics haven't changed in 2,600 years. They're still working on us today -- even through our smartphones.

Christian Sabrina Carpenter is sexy wholesome?

DISCOVER:

• The shocking parallels between Mara and Satan in religious mythology
• How the Buddha's legendary showdown with Mara's daughters reveals timeless psychological insights
• Why Mara's three daughters represent the most dangerous mind-traps humans fall into
• The surprising connection between ancient Buddhist warnings and modern digital addiction
• How the "I see you, Mara" technique can free us from these temptations today
• Ready to break free from the cycles keeping us stuck?

SOURCES:

• The Dhammapada, Sutta Nipata, Majjhima Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya, Ādittapariyāya Sutta ("The Fire Sermon"), Satipatthana Sutta ("Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness")

Subscribe to Buddha's Wisdom for more ancient insights to transform modern life.  Join community: Instagram: buddhaswizdom. Facebook: buddhaswizdom. Support the channel: buymeacoffee.com/buddhaswisdom

#buddhism #mara #buddhistdevil #temptation #mindfulness #enlightenment #buddha #spiritualgrowth #mentalfreedom #craving #passion #boredom #buddhistmythology #ancientwisdom

• Matt, Buddha's Wisdom, April 26, 2025; Elizabeth Hurley, Brendan Frasier, remake of Bedazzled (2000); Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ajahn Mun's nirvana: Forest Tradition

Devas like this devi interact with sensitive humans?

Ãcariya Mun: The Buddhist master who took the gods to school

Maybe Kali's just time, destruction

(American Esoteric) Feb. 19, 2025: [The Theravada Thai Forest Tradition of Isan (Northeast Thailand) has produced numerous enlightened practitioners. How is that possible? All the Zen folks, at least the fans of Joko Beck, say such a thing isn't possible nowadays, now, in the Kali Yuga, the dark decadent age of Hindu cosmology. (Kali is a goddess who kicks arse and is here to kick a lot of arse). It would be silly to think of achieving anything in Zen, which would be so un-Taoist. Of course, the historical Buddha didn't say such things. In fact, it is considered wrong view to believe no one attains nirvana anymore, no one is enlightened, there is no other world, or there's nothing to be done here in this world during this life.

What's a deva or "shining one"?

There is much to be done for the sake of calm and insight, much to practice. But if we let ourselves believe, "Ah, what's the use?" or "There's no one who gets anywhere anyway," we miss the mark and miss the boat. Did Ajahn Mun take such an attitude? It is exactly because there were meditators a few decades back who took the historical Buddha's Teaching seriously and put those teachings into practice that there came to be a Thai Forest Tradition harkening back to the Buddha's time and how things were done back then. Because those teachers attained something, there students were able to. This included Western students like Brit Ajahn Brahm and Americans Ajahn Sumedho, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and others.]

TIMESTAMPS

• 

  What do the devas have to do with anything?

  00:00-3:31 The dhutanga (sane ascetic) practices
• 3:32-7:09 Early psychic phenomena
• 7:10-8:43 Embracing fear
• 8:44-11:45 The deva of Sarika Cave
• 11:46-16:07 Remote viewing
• 16:08-20:36 Discipline and progress
• 20:37-22:27 Realms and devas
• 22:28-26:29 Miracles and powers
• 26:30-29:19 Life-death-rebirth
• 29:20-31:00 The hypercritical naga
• 31:01-34:28 The spiritual warrior

SOURCE

• Venerable Ãcariya Mun Bhuridatta Thera, A Spiritual Biography by Ãcariya Maha Boowa Nanasampanno (2004)

Patreon: americanesoteric, Venmo: venmo.com/u/Collin-Conkwright, Instagram: american.esoteric

• Collin Conkwright, American Esoteric, Feb. 19, 2025; Sayalay Aloka and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ten Mental Defilements and Four Floods

Learn to surf, to "go with the flow," before the waves, before the flood (Sandra Dee/WQ).

Holy cow, the waves are coming to drown us in a flood of force we can't resist.

.

Fat Happy Budai loves to play through danger.

A "flood" (ogha) or taint (asava, lit. "influx") is another kind of defilement, of which there are four.

They are also referred to as "cankers, corruptions, or intoxicating biases" in Buddhism.

A list of four floods (as in DN 16, Pts.M., Vibhanga) exists, namely, the flood of:

1. sense-desire (kāmāsava)
2. [craving for eternal] existence (bhavāsava)
3. [wrong] views (ditthāsava)
4. ignorance (avijjāsava).

If waves are rolling in on us, what should we do? Run from the world or learn to surf?

.

Hey, I gotta get back to intensive surf training.

A list of three, omitting the "flood of views," is possibly older and is more frequent in the basket of discourses (Sutta Pitaka, e.g. in MN 2, MN 9, DN 33; A.III.59, 67; A.VI.63.

In the Vibhanga (Section 17, the Khuddakavatthu Vibhanga) both the threefold and fourfold division are mentioned. In addition to taints (asava), the fourfold division also occurs under the name of "floods" (ogha) and "yokes" (yoga).

Japanese Buddhists warned of tsunamis to come

Through the path of stream-entry -- the first stage of enlightenment (or initial phase of awakening) -- the flood of views is overcome.

Through the path of non-returning -- the third stage of enlightenment -- the third stage enlightenment -- flood of sense-desire (craving for sensual pleasures) is overcome.

Through the path of arhatship, the floods of craving for eternal existence and ignorance are overcome.

Cow-a-Bunga, I got this covered!

The "All the Taints Discourse" (Sabbasava Sutta, MN 2) shows how to overcome the floods, namely, through:

• insight,
• sense-control,
• avoidance,
• wise use of the necessities of life,
• and so on.

For a commentarial exposition, see Atthasālini (Tr. I, p. 63f: II, pp. 475ff).

Who's afraid of a flood, a tainted heart/mind?

Another name for a fully enlightened person or Buddhist arhat is khīnāsava, "one whose floods are overcome," "one whose taints are destroyed," or "one who is canker-free." This is a fully awakened individual.

The state of the arahat (Pali arahant) is frequently called āsavakkhaya, "the destruction of the taints."

Sutras concluding with the attainment of full enlightenment by the listeners often end with the words: "During this utterance, the hearts [minds] of the [hearers] were freed from the floods through clinging no more" (anupādāya āsavehi cittāni vimuccimsū'ti).

What are the Ten Defilements (kilesa)?

The great Theravada commentator Buddhaghosa compiles The Path of Purification.

.

"Defilements" (kilesa) are heart/mind-defiling, unwholesome qualities. According to The Path of Purification (Vis.M. XXII, 49, 65):

"There are ten defilements, thus called because they are themselves defiled, and because they defile the mental factors associated with them. They are:

• (1) greed (lobha),
• (2) hatred (dosa),
• (3) delusion (moha),
• (4) conceit (māna, the habit of self-reference),
• (5) speculative views (ditthi),
• (6) skeptical doubt (vicikicchā),
• (7) mental torpor (thīna),
• (8) restlessness (uddhacca);
• (9) shamelessness (ahirika),
• (10) lack of moral dread (anottappa)."

For 1-3, see "roots" (mūla); 4, see māna; 5, see ditthi; 6-8, see "Five Hindrances" (nīvarana); 9 and 10, see ahirika-anottappa.

The ten are explained in Dhs. 1229f and enumerated in Vibh. XII. No classification of these Ten Defilements is found in the sutras (Sutta Pitaka), though the term occurs quite often in them. For the related term, "impurities" (upakkilesa) different lists are given (Appendix).

• Ven. Nyanaponika, Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, entry: āsava and kilesa (palikanon.com); edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Beauty and the Defilements (video)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Fitness/Fecundity (Khan Academy); Tasya Teles

Hollywood starlet Veronica Lake, 1941. Who knew there were beauties back then?

Tasya Teles (@tasyateles) • Instagram photos and videos of my hot friends and life

.

Biological Reviews (Wiley Library)

What is "beauty" and why is it alluring? The most convincing explanation so far comes from biology that it is those features that convey, at a primal and subconscious level, fertility and health, fecundity and robust future offspring.

Why is beauty beautiful? That is to say, Why does it draw us, pull us, attract us, move us to action, arouse us, permeate us? The defilements (generally manifestations of desire, aversion/fear, and ignorance) are listed as taints (asavas, cankers, corruptions, intoxicating biases) and defilements (kilesas, mind-defiling unwholesome qualities).

• Attractiveness and animal sexual behavior
• Another interesting way that fecundity is selected for has to do with mate selection. Now, when looking for a female mate, many males associate an attractive woman with words like "curvy." And a curvy female would be one that has a healthy and robust body that was fit for bearing children. And this ability to easily bear children is a direct indicator of [our idea of beauty, of what's attractive, because of] high fecundity. More

Due to past skillful karma, I'm beautiful today.

As taints they are also translated as "influxes" or "outflows," as if the world permeates a thatched roof like rain or flows out from us inopportunely.

We are either provoked from within (as mind manifests) or without (as stimuli enter our perception). There is the canker of:

• sense-desire (kāmāsava)
• craving (eternal) existence (bhavāsava)
• holding (wrong) views (ditthāsava)
• ignorance (avijjāsava)

Devas are far more beautiful than humans

Greed (lobha, lust) expresses itself as sensual desire or worldly craving and, by extension, craving for more and more stimulation life after life, so craving for eternal existence follows. We want more in this world and worlds to come, inferior and superior.

We simultaneously have a fear and have an aversion (dosa, hate) to loss and death. It's two sides of the same coin. And it is all supported by ignorance (moha, delusion), by not understanding, not knowing, not being seeing things as they really are. Ignorance is big and holding wrong views about reality is an expression of it.

The defilements

The Buddha went further to list the kilesas or kleshas (Sanskrit) as ten manifestations:

• (1) greed (lobha),
• (2) hatred (dosa),
• (3) delusion (moha),
• (4) conceit (māna),
• (5) speculative views (ditthi),
• (6) skeptical doubt (vicikicchā),
• (7) mental torpor (thīna),
• (8) restlessness (uddhacca),
• (9) shamelessness (ahirika),
• (10) lack of moral dread (anottappa).

I stink sometimes. What of it? I'm only human!

We view things as "beautiful" on a subconscious level, as instinctive, really looking for markers of healthy and fertility. On a conscious level, we can become aware of what's real. Then it will not seem beautiful. Even actress/artist Tasya Teles will seem immediately offensive and foul (asubha) if we simply pay attention for 24 hours.

• Buddhist reflections on the repulsiveness of the body

In that time everything -- in spite of her health and youth and radiance -- will leak and ooze from her: mucus, pore grease, feces, the stench of bacteria on teeth, tongue, and patches of the body, sloughed off skin cells, hairs, sweat, urine, eye crud, gas, and so on. How beautiful will it seem then? Less so but still compelling. If we give it more time, the real nature of the body will reveal itself, as she crumbles, wrinkles, fades, goes bald, discolors, bloats up, shrivels, and so on.

What drew us will disappoint. The danger in attachment will eventually reveal itself. But until then, we carry on oblivious to the harm, to the bad karma, to the danger.