Contemplation of Fundamental Ignorance | There Is No Suffering

Fundamental ignorance is just a name for the source of afflictions. If we had no afflictions, it is meaningless to speak of fundamental ignorance. It is like untying the knot on a balloon to discover what is inside, and discovering that it is air, just like what is outside. There is nothing special about it. There is only attachment to what is good, bad, yours, or mine. Attachment is an expression of fundamental ignorance. One can say that attachment is the balloon. If you puncture the balloon , the air is still there. All that is gone is the balloon’ s functioning as attachment. Hence, because of attachment, fundamental ignorance appears to be always present. Otherwise, there is no such thing.

Fundamental ignorance has also been described as the seed of afflictions. A tiny seed can become grass, trees, shrubs, weeds, or a giant tree. However, there is no guarantee that a seed by itself will grow into a plant; it needs the right combination of air, sunlight, water, soil, and temperature. The seed of fundamental ignorance is the potential to create future karma through actions of body, speech, and mind; it is also the residue of karma created in this and past lives. Indeed, it is none other than our misconception of a self, the ‘I’ that governs our experiences. However, this seed will grow and ripen only under the right conditions, which consist of our attachments.

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