Raga--Expectation

Reading from Wednedsay, March 12, 2014 yoga class

Klesha--Raga (attachment)   Trigger-Expectation

Attachment to pleasure--why wouldn't we want to have pleasure?  It's not that we should AVOID pleasure.  The obstacle arises when we become attached to our ideas of pleasure or to our expectations of the way happiness, joy or pleasure will arrive.  So the trigger of expectation is usually, if not always, about the small everyday things in our lives.  Running after things in expectation of happiness or pleasure, etc.  Habits of the mind.  That is why the kleshas are referred to as the 5 universal obstacles.

Here's another perspective on the kleshas, from one of my favorites, Pema Chodron.

"Though the teachings point us in the direction of diminishing our klesha activity, calling ourselves bad because we have strong, conflicting emotions is not helpful--that just causes negativity and suffering to escalate.  What helps is to train again and again in not acting out our kleshas with speech and actions, AND also in NOT repressing them or getting caught in guilt--to find the middle way between telling people off verbally or mentally, and biting your tongue and calling yourself a bad person.  The middle ground is challenging and it is hard to know how to do.  We rountinely think we have to go to one extreme of the other--either acting out or repressing--unaware of that middle ground.  The open space of the middle ground is where wisdom lies, where compassion lies and where lots of discoveries are to be made.  One of the discoveries:  progress isn't what we think it is!!!  It is a gradual learning processing.