I find the metaphors in Buddhism to be very helpful because they facilitate moving towards a deeper understanding of concepts, beyond that which we acquire through rational thought. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the image of “the flood“, such as when Buddha mentions “crossing the flood”. I think we get “lost” in the flood because of ignorance, greed, and aversion.
The pathway by which we get “lost in the flood” may relate to the three defilements (attraction/aversion/ignorance) like this: Through ignorance, we give unwise attention to things that may pull us in. For example, we may decide to visit a casino, just for the fun of it. Once there, we are drawn to something pleasant and shiny like people laughing at a gambling table, so we join them. We may win, then we may lose, and that begins the cycle of attraction/aversion. Our desire for pleasure causes us to try again at the same thing in the hope of being successful after we were just unsuccessful in order to feel the rush of pleasure, that dopamine hit. This is the attraction/aversion cycle, also referred to as the hedonic treadmill. We continue in this cycle and get “swept away in the flood”. This happens in smaller ways in our lives too, such as when we scroll through social media. We’re looking for likes from our friends, which validate us. For this reason, as the Buddha pointed out, avoiding unwise attention is one of the most effective ways to keep ourselves mentally healthy since it can be harder to break the cycle once we are trapped in it. Unwise curiosity and seeking novelty can be a problem; don’t let curiosity nudge you towards walking into the casino.
One could say that the entire Buddhist cannon is about this process. However, are there any suttas that you could recommend that are particularly relevant to this concept of “lost in the flood”? I often reflect on the passage in the Attadanda Sutta:
“I call greed a ‘great flood’; hunger, a swift current.
Preoccupations are ripples; sensuality, a bog hard to cross over.
Not deviating from truth, a sage stands on high ground: a brahman.” Attadanda Sutta: The Rod Embraced
