Liberation as a Whimsy of a Conditioned Being

Sometimes there arises the question as to if liberation is necessary or desirable. This happens when one dreams in deep sleep, where one finds oneself to be in a wish fulfilling world, where the situation is at one’s creative command. But if liberation is a whimsy, then what is the use of gurus? Why bother even talk about superior beings?

This brings to mind a story from the life of Gautam Buddha, where two of his prominent disciples were tracked to their desire in a former life, eons and eons ago. The question is: Can liberation appear in one’s mind because of influences of others or because all by itself, one’s mind can compose the desire?

In the book, Great Disciples of the Buddha (Thera and Hecker), it is explained that eons ago, Sariputta and Moggallana met a previous Buddha named Anomadassi who checked the future potential of this world, to see if Sariputta and Moggallana could become two chief disciples of a future buddha. He saw the probability and consented them to be the two primary disciples for Gautam Buddha, some one hundred thousand eons hence, an incalculable age.

Those who persons, Sariputta and Moggallana could have attained arhatship perfection from Anomadassi Buddha but they stalled themselves because somehow they were distracted by the desire to be prominent disciples. In other words, instead of being liberated during the time of Anomadassi when they would be liberated but would be unknown, they wanted to be liberated when they were known as primary disciples of a buddha, any buddha. That little adjustment of desire caused that they would take birth for one hundred thousand eons before they could be liberated.

What a wonderful power is desire. How does one know if one will be influenced by someone to desire liberation. Desire can enter the psyche and make one serve it to fruition at great expense, even for a length of vast time, for eons, where one has to wait until conditions perfectly match the wishes.

To become liberated and not be known is much easier than to become liberated and be known as a prominent disciple of an extraordinary spiritual master.