The enlightened one, perfected in wisdom, feels the sensations of hunger, but does not crave food.
He nevertheless eats for sustenance.
He does not lust after food.
If he does not get food, it will not make him unhappy or agitated.
Feeling hunger is different from craving for food.
His perfection in wisdom leads him to be able to see through his experiences and not become overwhelmed by them.
Something about that last line makes it easier for me to deal with the 'enlightenment' I feel that ayahuasca has given me a glimpse of. Or maybe even given me the keys for.
After all, dukka – that suffering feeling that comes from craving what we want, a different situation – it feels fucking horrible...
It's horrible to think about just how painful that suffering gets and how unnecessary and self-inflicted it all is (that is – self-inflicted in the case of wanting things to be different. Not like if you get raped as a kid – that isn't self-inflicted.)
So whilst 'enlightenment' uncovers a sense of insecurity, messes with the feeling of sanity, breaks down the borders between things, reveals the world as illusion...
It also provides the key to getting past difficult situations. The death of loved ones. Heinous crimes.
Maybe I could even find peace or joy in the process of being stabbed or shot. (Or at least immediately after?)
God I hope that in that experience adrenaline would kick in and I wouldn't feel shit.
There's also that little idea about other realms...
When you mention desire, yes – the human realm is “Desire driven”. In the Buddhism universe, there are realms different to the human realm and not driven by desire. If you have reached a certain stage of enlightenment, even not fully enlightened, you may/may not reincarnate into a realm/world that is not driven by desire. So, ending the desire in the human realm is possible. Otherwise, the idea about other realms would be impossible which contradicts to pretty much all of the concepts of Buddhism universe.
which is also somewhat relieving...
Jesus. I wish I could just be happy all the time.
My ancestors suffered a lot to bring about a better world. Now that world is collapsing, it seems like – irreversibly on a path to degenerate and self-destruct – and I can't even enjoy the end of the empire.