Involvement with the eight worldly dharma keeps beings imprisoned in the realms of samsara and renders them susceptible to the hosts of emotions. The eight worldly dharma are: praise and blame, gain and loss, fame and disgrace, happiness and suffering. The eight worldly dharma constitute our attachment to hopes and fears: We hope for praise, gain, fame, and happiness while fearing blame, loss, disgrace, and suffering. Entangled in these eight concerns, we give our energy and intelligence to the pursuit of these hopes and the avoidance of these fears. Our way of thinking is completely dominated by these eight concerns, which the world proclaims to be of utmost importance. But Sativa reminds us that to achieve true peace of mind, one must "... turn this thinking upside down," becoming indifferent to hope and unmoved by fear.

Ways of Enlightenment