Like and dislike, gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disgrace: these are the eight mundane concerns which condition our existence. -Dalai Lama
Training the Mind: Verse 8
May all this remain undefiled
By the stains of the eight mundane concerns;
And may I, recognizing all things as illusion,
Devoid of clinging, be released from bondage.
The Dalai Lama writes in Training the Mind Verse 8, “The eight mundane concerns are attitudes that tend to dominate our lives generally. They are: becoming elated when someone praises you, becoming depressed when someone insults or belittles you, feeling happy when you experience success, being depressed when you experience failure, being joyful when you acquire wealth, feeling dispirited when you become poor, being pleased when you have fame, and feeling depressed when you lack recognition.”
Our reactions should be quite the opposite. The LoJong teachings offer:
May I be gladdened when someone belittles me, and may I not take pleasure when someone praises me. If I do take pleasure in praise then it immediately increases my arrogance, pride, and conceit; whereas if I take pleasure in criticism, then at least it will open my eyes to my own shortcomings.
In Buddhism With an Attitude, B. Alan Wallace writes, the eight mundane concerns are “eight orientations toward the pursuit of happiness based on unexamined assumptions. Fixation on these concerns subverts our best efforts, leading either to counterfeit success or true frustration…If you aspire to material wealth, you may not get it, but if you do, there is no guarantee you will be happy. If you aspire to pleasure, once a stimulus is over, so is satisfaction. There is no lasting happiness in scurrying after praise. The fatal shortcoming of the eight mundane concerns is that they are counterfeit Dharma, misguided ways of seeking happiness, and by habitually mistaking mundane concerns for genuine Dharma, our efforts to achieve genuine happiness are continually undermined.”
How very true…..
Today I saw what I used to call a “stupid near-accident”, and remembered a reaction that I might have once-upon-a-time had: “Look at that! That idiot in that car almost hit that woman! She’s lucky to be alive!”
Or
“Look at that woman, she opened her car door while another car was driving by. What a fool!”
The ideas that encompass “Emptiness” helped me have a far different reaction, one that brought me peace, not upset. My mind thought: “Those things I might have once thought or said, would have also left me flustered, proud or indignant. But with reflection today instead I asked myself: What did I really see? I saw a car door open. I saw another car stop. I saw a woman smile an appology.
I felt a simple, calm content.