We have specific ways to reflect on the eight worldly dhammas so we can strengthen our awareness of the importance of recognizing these in our life.
It is important to recognize them in the smaller instances so that we do get ready for the bigger ones.
Just as I introduced the Five Hindrances on the second night and asked you to start noting those hindrances, it is also very helpful for those who are more practiced to become aware of the eight worldly dhammas. In order to do this we have to know what they are: praise and blame, pleasure and pain, gain and lose, fame and obscurity. So first of all, it is actually memorizing the list so we can learn how to recognize them in the small experiences in our life. Thus rather than noting the hindrances, we can note, "Ahh, this is a reaction to loss, this is a reaction to blame." We can look a little bit deeper when the Five Hindrances are present. "Ok, which worldly Dhamma am I reacting to, is it loss, is it blame, is it obscurity, is it pain?" This way we start to recognize them in the small events first and start to see how they influence us. They are deeply behind our idea of ourselves, our ego, and how we relate to the world.
I believe strengthening equanimity in relationship to the eight worldly dhammas depends a great deal on whether we have a strong sense of principles and direction in our life. It is very difficult to not to be swayed by these eight worldly dhammas unless we have a clear direction in our life. For example, most people are very influenced by praise and blame. They wish to be loved and approved of, and do not want to be blamed. So when we come upon praise and blame in our life we have to be able to investigate them in wise ways. If we investigate into the intentions that were behind the actions for which we are receiving blame or disapproval, and if we see that they are good and wise, then we will be able to deal with blame more equanimously.
As well, praise is very dangerous, especially if we do unskillful actions because some people may praise us for doing the wrong thing. So we have to learn how to look into our intention and understand whether it is in line with the Noble Eightfold Path. To be able to see for ourselves whether this person's praise is merited or not.
As far as loss, we have to have a good practice in investigating and reflecting on impermanence, because loss is a manifestation of impermanence. If we understand that loss will come to us sooner or later, it is just a matter of time, then we will have more equanimity when it comes. When we gain things, also understanding the impermanence of them is very helpful.
Pleasure and pain, that is a difficult pair. It is so fundamental to our life and what we seek, pleasure, and what we don't want, pain. But if we learn how to reflect more on Dukkha, we also understand that we can't have pleasure without pain in this life. They are two sides of the same coin. Especially with the body, it can be a walking magnet for it. If we understand the inevitability of the breakdown of the body then we learn to deal with pain more easily. So working with the unpleasant physical sensations in your formal meditation when you don't have big pain is very helpful for learning how to be more equanimous with pain when it comes.
Fame and obscurity is the big one. It is all bound up with who we are. Again, having a strong direction in our practice and strong confidence in our direction will help us to understand the emptiness and dangers of fame, and the benefits of obscurity. So rather than pushing obscurity away when it comes, we are able to reflect on the benefits of solitude. Then, when we don't get the fame or attention we would like, we'll have a certain amount of satisfaction anyway because our focus will be to use the solitude, and lack of responsibility to others, in order to strengthen our inward direction. Then the satisfaction will come from developing the mind rather than getting people's attention. And noticing how we reach for the attention in our life will encourage us to be more self sufficient so we can be more equanimous when bigger events of obscurity come.
With fame, it's good to observe ourselves to see if we get carried away with attention when we have it. If we are very attached to fame, it is helpful to reflect on the Dukkha that comes from fame. We are not only going to get praise, we are also going to get blame. And we are going to get the responsibilities of fame, so it's not always pleasure. If we look at the people in the world who have fame, do they always have happiness? Not necessarily. This might help when we are in situations where we do get a lot of fame, along with the responsibilities and/or blame that come with fame. Our previous reflection has cautioned us to not expect fame in itself to be only pleasure.
I could go on for hours about the eight worldly dhammas but that's enough for now. It's a very important practice.