Thursday, August 11, 2011

IS IT WRONG TO BE AMBITIOUS ?


IS IT WRONG TO BE AMBITIOUS ? 
By
Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda  
It is difficult to find human beings who are free from selfish motives. That is the reason 
why there is conflict and discrimination among human beings. Buddhism teaches us to 
reduce our cravings or ambition. As we are attached  to  the  world,  we  want  to  know 
whether it is wrong to entertain some ambitions. Is it wrong to become successful in a 
worldly  sense?  The  ideas  that people develop in their minds to become successful 
doctors, lawyers, engineers, professors, teachers or businessmen are ambitions. Some 
Buddhists have asked, 'If Buddhism advocates renunciation, then should Buddhists turn 
their backs on material success?' Nobody in this world can say that such ambitions are 
wrong or contrary to Buddhism. 

Advice for Laymen

Buddhism  is misinterpreted and misunderstood by many people. The Buddha clearly 
recognized two classes of people: those who had renounced the world and those who 
chose to follow the life of householders. Certain precepts and observances  that  the 
Buddha prescribed are specifically meant for those who have renounced the worldly life. 
Some  people  have  mixed  these with the precepts meant for householders. For those 
who have renounced the worldly life, there is one way to develop selfless ambition. For 
those  who are still attached to the world as householders, there is another way. For 
instance, during the Buddha's time, many rich people  who  enjoyed  their  mundane 
pleasures approached the Buddha, and told Him that it was difficult for them to renounce 
the world. They had worldly commitments, family obligations and many other duties to 
fulfil. So they requested the Buddha to lay down a suitable religious way of life for them 
to practise. The Buddha did not ridicule them; for He knew that not everyone was ready 
to give up worldly pleasures. 

Knowing the complex situation of the household  life,  the  Buddha  spoke  of  total 
renunciation for the life of a monk or nun as the only way for a religious life. He gave 
householders suitable guidelines to lead a religious life  while  tending  to  their  normal 
occupations. The Teacher who had renounced  absolutely  everything  for  His  own 
Enlightment knew the nature of worldly attachment. Renunciation must only be 
undertaken when realisation appears in the mind. Otherwise, there will be feelings  of 
dissapointment or frustration. Those who make a premature renunciation may return to 
the lay life. So we have to wait until such realisation appears in our mind. 

The Buddha's Advice for Householders

The first happiness atthi-sukha  is to enjoy the economic security of wealth acquired by 
just and righteous means; the second bhoga-sukha is spending that wealth liberally on 
oneself,  one's family, friends and relatives, and on meritorious deeds; the third  ananasukha is to be free from debts; the fourth happiness anavajja-sukha is to live a faultless 
and  pure  and  blameless  life  committing  no evil in thought, word or deed. When you 
come to know that you have earned something  honestly, the  happiness that  you  gain 
through  your accumulated wealth develops confidence in the household life. Some 
people  who  go on earning and accumulating wealth neither experience happiness nor 
1 use  wealth  in  a  proper  way.  According to the Buddha, we can experience worldly 
happiness by using what we have earned in a reasonable way, following basic religious 
principles. It is not correct to say that Buddhists should  not  experience  worldly 
happiness. Certain harmless cultural  amusements and entertainments relax the mind 
and help reduce tension. Human emotions can be satisfied without disturbing the peace 
and happiness of others. Many cultural performances in Asia actually developed through 
the influence of Buddhism. 

Mental Development

When  people  reach a certain level of spiritual development and see the real nature of 
worldly life, they will give up even such entertainments. They realise that ultimately, life 
is nothing but a dream and that worldly pleasures are  of  a  fleeting  nature.  The  three 
characteristics of  every existing component thing:  Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta - 
impermanance, unsatisfactoriness and insubstantiality -  can be understood clearly 
through  insight.  By  insight  we  mean  a realisation of the ultimate truth which appears 
when a person has trained his mind to see the real nature of existence. 
Some people say the Buddhism is responsible for certain countries being undeveloped 
and backward. They also say that Buddhism always draws  attention  to  suffering  and 
insists that people give up the worldly life to sit in a forest to meditate. It is for this reason 
that Westerners in the past have treated Buddhism as a 'pessimistic religion'. It is true 
that  Buddhism  emphasizes  the  unsatisfactoriness  of  life. But this does not make it 
pessimistic. In the same way, we cannot call a doctor who tells a patient that he is dying 
of cancer 'pessimistic'. A religion is pessimistic if it simply says life is miserable. But in 
Buddhism, clear teachings are offered on how to become happy and contented. 

Middle Path

The Buddha was the most active and energetic religious teacher. He advised people to 
use their skills and knowledge in their daily life. A Buddhist should not lead a lazy and 
easy life and blame it on Buddhism for any of his/her failures. A good Buddhist has the 
quality of  VIRIYA - energy. Buddhists must strive for perfection. They must not  delay 
doing  something  by  finding  excuses  like it is too hot or it is too cold. The Buddha's 
advice to lay people was not to go to either extremes of sensual pleasure or self torture 
to practise a religion. Everyone must try to lead a happy, harmless and  peaceful  life. 
Buddhism is known as the Middle Path. 

It is true, however, that the household life can easily influence you to  violate  some 
religious  principles  when temptation, needs and irritation are aroused. You may come 
across certain difficulties in your daily life as householders. You find it difficult to maintain 
absolute honesty, kindness and tolerance. It is also true that few can become perfect 
religious persons in the household life. Your responsibilities, obligations and duties can 
disturb  your  mind. They provoke you to  do certain things which go against  your 
conscience. If you try to be a religious fanatic as a lay person, your attitude  may  not 
appeal to your family members, friends and others. If you follow Buddhist rules which are 
meant specifically for monks who lead a monastic life, your associates may  feel 
embarassed; and they may regard you as a nuisance or an eccentric. Therefore, try to 
lead a sensible life by observing reasonable religious principles. This is how you avoid 
2 becoming a religious fanatic. If you go to  extremes, not only will people laugh at  you, 
they will also get a wrong idea of what Buddhism teaches. If you are not fanatical, you 
can live and work even with other religionists. The Buddha has pointed out that you must 
know your limit in everything. Try to practise  religious  principles  which  are  universally 
accepted. As lay Buddhists, your duty is to lead a normal religious life while fulfilling your 
family obligations. If you neglect your responsibilities towards your family,  you  may 
experience problems. Others may think you as a useless person. 

You  must  know  how  to  adjust  your  way  of life to the country and society you live in 
without  going  against the important cultural and traditional practices of the majority, if 
they are harmless. You should also co-operate with others without behaving as if your 
religion is the only one that has the right to exist. Buddhism is a religion of freedom. It 
respects  the  freedom  of other religions. Your common sense and understanding are 
important in practising a religion. 

Nature of Ambition

Every  person  entertains  some  kind  of  ambition. When we refer to the Buddha, He too 
had an ambition that was implanted in His mind long ago. He continued to develop that 
ambition,  life  after  life,  until  He  achieved what He wanted. But this ambition is best 
described as an aspiration. When we read the Buddha’s discourses, we can understand 
how He had worked to reach the goal He aspired  to.  He  has  revealed  this  to  us  by 
referring to previous birth stories. He also explained the nature of the great virtues and 
discipline that He had to cultivate to achieve His aspiration. 
When  we  compare  our  ambition  with  the Buddha’s aspiration we can see a vast 
difference. This is because our ambition is primarily based on desire and anxiety bound 
to worldly pleasure. On the other hand, the Buddha’s aspiration was to free Himself from 
selfishness in order to  serve  others. We  develop our ambition by disturbing anothers’ 
happiness. That is how we create problems and misery in this world. We are willing to do 
any kind of evil or wicked deed for our own pleasure. From the Buddhist point of view, 
this kind of selfish ambition is not justifiable. 

What  we  should constantly strive to do is to develop the higher kind of ambition by 
working very hard to obtain freedom, happiness and liberation from our existing worldly 
problems. This ambition is harmless and reasonable. However, this is not the final goal: 
we must not be satisfied with these temporary  mundane  ambitions.  Our  ultimate  goal 
should be freedom from suffering – Nirvana, where all ambition cease and the reality of 
existence seen. 

Rendering Service to Others

While working for our own happiness, freedom and salvation, we have to  render some 
service for the benefit and happiness of others.  The  Buddha  adopted  this  type  of 
aspiration with deep conviction and boundless compassion. Whilst working for His own 
salvation, He served others in every possible way. He continued His service to humanity 
by sacrificing His sensual pleasures, by cultivating all the good qualities and virtues and 
by eradicating evil thoughts to maintain purity in the mind. This is the way He developed 
His selfless ambition to gain His enlightenment. 

3 He never cultivated it for His own benefit but for the welfare and liberation of every living 
being. He developed boundless compassion and wisdom and expressed them by word 
and deed. But our ambitions, which are selfish in nature, can create  much  misery. 
Therefore, we have to learn how to direct our ambitions in such a way as to relieve the 
suffering of others. Such ambitions are wholesome because they contribute to the 
greater good of mankind. 

Can we live without Craving?

Many people are bothered by this question: if  eradication  of craving is essential to 
achieve final liberation, how can we live without craving? It is true that certain 
necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, transport and medicine are indispensable for 
our living. At the same time, we have to have income to support our families to fulfil our 
duties. Attachment to one’s husband or wife and children is natural. We should  not 
regard such attachment as irreligious craving. The Buddha did say that craving for 
existence creates problems, but He did not say that we must torture ourselves and those 
around us whilst striving to give up craving. In Buddhism, craving itself is not a ‘sin’ but it 
creates mental impurities or unskillful  action arising from ignorance which delays our 
spiritual progress. In Buddhism, we develop spirituality in stages. At first we serve those 
we love in our own family circles. But we must learn  to  work  for  the  benefit  of  all 
humanity.  In  this  way we can refine our human nature to experience the divine 
nature.The Buddha wanted only to point out the danger of selfish  desires.  People 
develop these selfish desires for worldly gain which motivate evil deeds. Our striving for 
necessities could be decent if we do not develop an undue craving which harms others. 
Buddhism as well as other religions point out the danger of selfishness. 

Eradicating Craving

If selfish desire is harmful, how can we eradicate it? When we have difficulty eradicating 
craving for own property, we should understand what feelings others have for their own. 
That is why we  observe the  precept  not to take things which belong to others, to stop 
craving for others’ possessions. When we stop this selfish desire, we allow others to live 
without any fear about their property. When we become aware of this selfish craving, we 
should take steps to train our mind to regard all our necessities as impermanent and as 
mere aids to fulfil our duties. For example, if we have a large amount of money,  we 
should take it as an opportunity to help our fellow beings. Those who do not have money 
can give their moral support and co-operation for the welfare of others. At this stage, we 
have to think that we are only custodians of the property which we claim as ours. 
If we are unduly attached to material things, we will experience various problems. Fear, 
insecurity and suspicion will disturb our peace of mind. That is the price we have to pay 
for  clinging  to  property. Because of this clinging, some people have become insane 
when they lost their property through natural disaster or theft. Buddhism teaches us not 
to be so unreasonably attached to material things. After all, we cannot take them away 
with us when we die. 

If  we  really  want  to  experience peace, the only thing that we can do is to reduce our 
responsibilities.  Try  to  hand  over  our  possessions to others who are entitled to them; 
alternatively,  donate them to  charitable  or  religious organisations. If we do so, we free 
4 our minds from greed. If we want to develop spiritually, we must be prepared to sacrifice 
our property for the welfare of others. By this we mean those suffering from poverty and 
sickness  and  other  calamities.  However,  this distaste for owing material wealth must 
come  naturally  – from true understanding. As we progress spiritually, ignorance gives 
way  to understanding. Then we will freely give up material possessions. This 
‘renunciation’  brings  great happiness, because it is accompanied by the wisdom of 
seeing things as they really are. 

Contentment

Those  who  have  not  learnt how to maintain contentment while leading a worldly life 
never  get satisfaction. They develop jealousy, suspicion and fear. They experience 
worry and insecurity. That is why the Buddha says  ‘  Santutthi Paramam Dhanam ‘ – 
contentmentis the highest wealth. Poor people think rich people are very  happy  and 
lucky. They do not know the fear and restlessness that disturb the minds of the wealthy. 
Many wealthy people experience sleeplessness. A poor man does not experience such 
problems although he has to face other difficulties. The poor and the  rich  can  only  be 
happy if they feel contented and do not crave for the property of others. In this sense at 
least, we can say that the poor and the rich are equal. 

One day, the Buddha had to sleep in a forest without ant shelter during the winter. The 
next morning when He came out from the forest, He met a prince. The prince asked the 
Buddha where He was  coming from. The Buddha said He was coming from the forest 
where He had spent the night. When the prince asked whether He had slept happily and 
peacefully, the Enlightened One said  He is one who sleeps peacefully and happily not 
only one night but every night. Why did He say that? It was because His mind had no 
worries or disturbances. His mind was always pure. He was free from family problems or 
property  problems.  Therefore,  He  could sleep peacefully. Our minds are not free from 
problems. That is why we are not happy and find it difficult to sleep peacefully. 
Attachments give temporary pleasures but ultimately, they disturb our peace of mind. 

Emotional Satisfaction

The Buddha did not encourage householders to detach themselves from everything at 
once. Although He pointed out how attachments can create disappointments. He knew 
that  the life of those whose minds are still defiled, can become very miserable or dull 
without attachments. This does not mean the Buddha encouraged attachments. He was 
saying that while we allow ourselves to be attached at a  lower  stage  of  our  spiritual 
development, we must discard them at the later stages. When we develop attachments, 
we have to think about worries and disturbances as natural occurrences. We must strive 
to  be  free  from attachments and be like the  lotus which rises clear from the muddy 
water. The pleasurable feeling that people get through the five senses to satisfy craving 
is  emotional  satisfaction.  People  regard this as happiness. Although people lay great 
emphasis on this type of satisfaction, they must be shown that nearly all human 
problems, corruptions and immoral practices are traceable to this desire for  sensual 
pleasures. True happiness is gained when the mind experiences peace and tranquility. It 
is  impossible  to  experience  this happiness as long as fear, suspicion, and excitement 
disturb the mind. The ambitions that we develop can  create  dissapointment  and 
frustration if they are of a selfish nature. 

5 Religious knowledge is important to maintain a  healthy  mental  attitude  to  face 
unfavourable worldly conditions. When changes and separation take place we  must 
adjust  our  way  of life. It is meaningless to say Buddhism prohibits people from having 
craving and attachment. Emotional attachments to property, people or ideas carry no 
formal punishment tags. All that Buddhism  does  is to explain the repercussions that 
occur when one becomes a slave to craving and attachment. This is just like a parent 
advising a child not to play with fire. 

People cannot experience worldly pleasures and attachments without paying the price in 
worry and misery. They must be prepared to accept the consequences if they really want 
to  enjoy the worldly life. Those who are unaware of the consequences will be deeply 
disappointed. Changed circumstances due to old age and sickness could cancel  out 
these  pleasures.  People  who are not ready to face these problems commit suicide or 
end  up  in mental institutions. So do not label Buddhism a pessimistic religion simply 
because it points out these realities of life! All the Buddha’s Teachings show us how to 
lead meaningful and happy lives by understanding our human nature. Buddhism is the 
most optimistic of all religions. 

Craving for our Physical Body

We  have  already  discussed  why we need to reduce our craving and how to do it. We 
also explained the nature of craving for the property of others as well as our own. If we 
remove these two types of craving, we will still have craving for our physical body. This 
craving for self-preservation is intense. Most people are not willing to sacrifice anything 
from  their  body  for  the welfare of others. In their ignorance, they even protect their 
physical bodies at the cost of the lives of others. But when people come to  know the 
unreal and the impermanent nature of the physical body, they will even go  so far as to 
donate organs from their physical body, By  doing so, they  will reduce their strong 
attachment towards the body. 

A person who can understand the uncertainty or the impermanence of life would be quite 
willing to sacrifice even his/her life to save the life of another. To such a person, morality 
and virtues would be more important than life. This is the way wise people reduce their 
craving step by step. The main purpose of  eradicating craving is to be free from all 
existing physical and mental suffering. 

The Buddha reduced His craving gradually life after life. By cultivating virtues to uproot 
mental defilements, by sacrificing His worldly pleasures and even giving His own life on 
numerous occasions. He achieved His goal of Enlightenment to  save  others  from 
suffering. Great people are willing to sacrifice their lives to relieve others from suffering. 
To them life is nothing if it is not used to help human beings. Jesus Christ, Socrates, 
Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King sacrificed their lives for the sake of others. But 
their names can never die. The whole world remembers and respects them. Others who 
have developed selfishness and violated the peace and happiness of mankind are never 
respected. They are remembered after death only with horror and loathing. Just consider 
how Stalin and Hitler are regarded today. Real human  values  lie  in  our  virtues  and 
principles for the betterment of mankind. 

Craving for Existence through Rebirth

Although we have reduced attachment to the  physical body, we are still not free from 
craving for  existence through  rebirth.  Some  people develop a selfish desire to have a 
pleasurable permanent existence in heaven or paradise. Some others crave to be born 
in very rich families to have pleasant worldly life. All these  ambitions  develop  craving. 
This is alright as a temporary measure, but one day we have to get rid of craving too. 
Otherwise, we will never gain permanent peace, liberation or salvation. 
Today, the whole world has become a battlefield because of selfish desires.  Why  do 
people  want  to  harm  and swindle others? Why do they want to indulge in immoral 
activities and illegal practices? It is due to their selfish craving for pleasure. Such actions 
bring stress to their lives and create suffering. 

The belief in immortality is like a candy given to a child to make him forget his toothache. 
Many people would not be able to accept the awesomeness of life unless they are told 
there is a pleasurable immortal existence after death. They are fooled into accepting the 
unsatisfactoriness of the present existence by hoping for an eternal existence in  some 
paradise after death. That is what Karl Marx attacked when he said that ‘Religion is the 
opium of the people.’

Naturally,  foolish  people cling to this comforting thought and never try to question the 
validity  of  the  belief.  They do not know the real nature of existence. Sometimes, 
Buddhists  who do not understand the Dhamma fall easy prey to those who talk about 
eternal  happiness  in  a  heaven. When some people tell them of such a place, they 
succumb to the craving for a fantasy of an eternal life. They must understand that even 
life in those heavens is not permanent. Only Nirvana is permanent. It is the state where 
all desires have been completely and permanently eradicated -  with no more death or 
rebirth. 

Many people are not ready to accept truth. If the truth is not pleasant to their ears, they 
refuse to listen. Truth is not pleasant to one who is a slave to sensual pleasures. Truth is 
natural and unbiased. We will not have disappointment when we  realise the  universal 
characteristics  of  nature.  Truth does not bend to our selfish needs. We have to 
understand truth. 

The rounds of rebirth in accordance with karma we create prolong our attachments and 
craving. Every birth implies decay, sickness and death. This is the unsatisfactory nature 
of existence and rebirth in any part of the universe. The longer we remain in this cycle of 
birth  and death, the longer will be our suffering. We can never completely satisfy our 
craving. Satisfying our desire is a losing battle. As soon as we satisfy one desire, we get 
tired of it and seek fresh ways to satisfy another desire much like  drug  addiction. The 
Buddha rejected belief in a immortal life because He knew the real nature of existence. 
He wanted us to understand the uncertainty of the wheel of existence. 
Existence (by birth) is the main cause of all our problems an unhappiness. Simply by 
entertaining some vague beliefs in an after-life, we will not get what we want. They are 
figments of the imagination. Universal nature is unchangeable. It does not operate in our 
favour simply by our wishing it so. We are subject to laws of the universe. Our ignorance 
of this unbiased law is no excuse for our mistakes. An innocent child may die because of 
ignorance  of  the  danger  of  a  ‘live’  electric wire. We cannot argue that he must live 
7 because  he  was  innocent.  The  cause  of his death is ignorance. The cause of our 
suffering is also ignorance. Only knowledge and wisdom can save us. 
The universal law does not operate on hatred, kindness, retribution,  revenge or anger. 
Our duty is to live in accordance with this law if we want to avoid suffering. We cannot 
change this universal law by worshipping or praying to anyone. This is what the Buddha 
taught. If we do good, we will get good results; if we doe evil, we will be hounded by evil 
results. 

Craving for Non-Existence

Besides craving for material comfort and a happy after-life, people ask how this ambition 
‘not to exist’ can become a craving. The answer lies in frustration or unfulfilled desires. 
Because of this craving, they try suicide. They believe that there will not be another life 
hereafter.  So  long  as  mental defilements are active, no one can stop ‘becoming’ or 
rebirth. If we are not happy with this life, mental purification is the only solution to stop 
rebirth. Buddhism teaches that we should not confuse  ourselves  by  worrying  about 
existence or non-existence. We should completely calm our minds by always living in the 
present  moment.  And  in  each moment, we must be free from hatred, greed and 
delusion. This is the secret of real happiness. When the mind is free from all our worldly 
ambitions, selfish desire or craving, we  will be free from all our physical and mental 
problems. Ambitions must be diverted to serve others as  well  as  ourselves.  Such 
ambitions would mean true liberation from worldly conditions. 

Let us remember that Buddhism is not against people having a pleasant life during their 
existence on this earth. The Buddha preached the middle path. He advocates a gentle 
and rational way of life which neither punishes by deprivation nor panders by excess. 
Buddhism teaches us to be moderate in the enjoyment of sensual pleasures.  It 
encourages the  gradual  and consistent development of the spiritual life which leads to 
the destruction of all craving, the root cause of unsatisfactoriness. Buddhists are  not 
expected to become saints overnight. Rather they are shown how to gradually gain final 
release from the pain of continuous rebirth. The way to  do  this  is  to  practise  Morality 
Sila, Concentration Samadhi and Wisdom Panna. Even the Fully Enlightened One took 
innumerable lifetimes to attain his final goal. Buddhism is a practical religion. It should be 
practised in a gentle and rational way. 

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