1. Spiritual Liberation By Temple Master Henry Chu

2. Introduction In this 4 th of July holiday, we are celebrating the political freedom that we enjoy as citizens of this great nation However, it is also the time to reflect upon the spiritual freedom that we have yet to attain This Dharma talk will focus on the spiritual bondages that most people have and ways to overcome these bondages

3. Spiritual Bondage Buddha has very little good things to say about this world—he calls this world the “suffering sea” He stated that there are 8 sufferings that people of this world will always experience: – Birth--Old age – Sickness--Death – Hateful gathering--Beloved separation – Unattained desires--Overwhelming senses

4. Spiritual Bondage Suffering of Birth: – The physical suffering of the infant and the mother during the birth process – The infant’s experience is extremely traumatic as he or she is thrust from an environment of warmth and comfort to a world of varying temperature and air pressure – The infant must cry so the lung can be filled with air, otherwise the infant will die

5. Spiritual Bondages The Suffering of Old Age: – The pain and suffering as a person reaches old age and the deterioration of his or her health – As a person reaches old age, the physical condition deteriorates and the joints and muscles began to wither and causing discomfort and pain – The person may also experience neglect by other family members and endure a lonely and emotionally painful experience

6. Spiritual Bondages The Suffering of Sickness – No matter how well one takes care of one self there will always be a time of sickness – There are often pain and suffering associated with a particular sickness and the duration of sickness varies depending on the disease – Sometimes the disease is so severe that the outcome of the disease may cause permanent handicap and the person suffers indefinitely

7. Spiritual Bondages The Suffering of Death: – The pain and suffering associated with the death experience and the suffering of the people left behind – Some people may experience a traumatic death and the death experience may be quite painful – Other people’s experience of death may be quite frightful as a person is slipping into the unknown (the fear right before death may be unbearable)

8. Spiritual Bondages The Suffering of Hateful Gathering – The terrible experience of having to be with someone who you absolute do not get along – There may be constant antagonism from this person and the experience may escalates to actual confrontation or physical violence – Furthermore, the antagonistic person seems to be everywhere that you are at and you are unable to evade the conflict

9. Spiritual Bondages The Suffering of Beloved Separation – This is the suffering of separation from a person one loves but is unable to be with physically – The longing to be with this other person and the emotional worries about the wellbeing of the person who is far away – We see a lot of this type of sufferings during the time of war

10. Spiritual Bondages The Suffering of Unattained Desires – This is the suffering associates with having a desire or a wish but is unable to attain the desired outcome – Human desires are vastly different but some common ones are personal romantic desires, academic goals and professional success, etc. – The scale of suffering varies from person to person and may range from mild depression to actually committing suicide

11. Spiritual Bondages The Suffering of Overwhelming Senses – This is the suffering when either of the five senses has a desire so strong that it dominated the person entirely – We see this a lot with addicts who are addicted to a range of substance or behaviors (drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, etc.) – The suffering may be overwhelming to a point of destroying everything that the person has achieved in life (profession, family, etc.)

12. Spiritual Liberation With all these sufferings in life, it’s time to look into the overcoming of these sufferings and attain true spiritual liberation Spiritual liberation involves the release of the bondages we have place on ourselves and the transcending of our spirits above the binding elements of life It involves a diligent practice and a focus on the goal of spiritual enlightenment

13. Spiritual Liberation There are two aspects to spiritual liberation and they involves the internal and external cultivations The internal cultivation involves the cleansing of the spirit so it will no longer contain elements that puts on bondages The external cultivation involves the constant gathering of merits so all of our past karmic debts can be paid off and excess merits become the foundation of our divinity (divine rank)

14. Spiritual Liberation Internal Cultivation: – The first phase involves the release of desires (fame, wealth, material possessions, etc.) – The second phase involves the release of physical needs (sex, food, sleep) – The third phase involves the release of the ego (the sense of a separate self from God) – When the ego is sufficiently release, the enlightenment experience will occur

15. Spiritual Liberation The External Cultivation: – The first phase involves the donation of wealth and materials to help people in need – The second phase involves teaching others to the way of a righteous life – The third phase involves the assistance of a divine mission – When one has truly mater all three phases, then he or she will be ready to be a Master

16. Conclusion On this holiday of July 4 th, we are truly grateful to be born in a space and time of freedom We must also contemplate our true freedom (our spiritual freedom) and see the path ahead When we finally reach our goal of spiritual liberation, the freedom obtained will be the true and ultimate freedom of eternal existence

17. Question