Decoding Life Through the Four Drink Menus: Lessons from the Mahādhammasamādāna Sutta to Transcend the Trap of False Happiness
[Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammāsambuddhassa] (3 times) (Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-Awakened One.)
Wise listeners, all of you who are seeking the true meaning of life.
As we live in this fast-paced world, filled with temptations, overwhelming information, and endless choices, has there ever been a moment when you stopped short and seriously asked yourself…
“Why is it… that everyone desires happiness and despises suffering, constantly running to grasp what we think will fulfill our lives, yet the more we run, true happiness seems further away, while suffering, anxiety, and physical and mental discomfort advance upon us relentlessly?”
This is not a new question. It is an age-old question that humanity has asked throughout history. And it is a question for which the Buddha, the supreme sage, discovered a clear and illuminating answer in the “Mahādhammasamādāna Sutta” (The Greater Discourse on Taking on Practices).
The Buddha did not answer with complex, incomprehensible theories. Instead, He pointed directly to the root of the problem: The reason we still cycle in suffering despite desiring happiness is because we “lack the skill to choose” and “lack the wisdom to distinguish.”
We do not know what is “real,” what is “fake,” what is “beneficial,” and what is “grossly detrimental,” hidden in the guise of happiness.
To clearly illustrate the dynamics of deciding on a life path—or “taking on practices” (dhammasamādāna)—the Buddha, the supreme communicator, used a powerful analogy, comparing our life choices to “four types of drinks,” each yielding vastly different tastes and results.
I invite you all to imagine along and overlay these four drinks onto the life paths we are currently living.
Cup 1: The Drink of Bitterness and Poison (Painful Now, Painful Later)
Wise listeners, imagine a drink. Merely seeing its murky color and smelling its foul, nauseating odor tells you immediately its taste must be bitter and wretched. Furthermore, within that bitterness, a deadly poison is mixed.
This reflects the life path of an individual trapped in suffering due to their own actions—one who commits misconduct, violates morality, whether through harming living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, or lying.
What is notable is that for this group, even while committing the offense, their minds are not happy at all. They are filled with paranoia, anxiety, burning heat, fear of being caught, fear of their misdeeds being exposed. It is like someone forced to drink poison that is both bitter and foul. This is suffering in the present.
And once forced down, that poison inevitably works its effect, resulting in excruciating torment, death, or near-death experiences. This is suffering in the future, awaiting in the form of severe karmic results in the lower realms.
This is the most disastrous investment, losing from the very thought of doing it until the final result.
Cup 2: The Sugar-Coated Poison Drink (Pleasant Now, Painful Later)
This cup is the most terrifying! And it is the cup that multitudes in the modern world are infatuated with and scrambling to drink.
Imagine an ornately crafted bronze vessel containing a drink with beautiful color, enticing aroma, and a sweet, luscious taste inviting one to drink. But unbeknownst to the drinker, a “deadly poison” is seamlessly mixed into that sweetness.
This is the analogy of those who indulge in worldly pleasures, who commit immorality, corruption, and deceit, but do so with fun, enjoyment, and intoxication. They think they are smart, think they are clever for grabbing benefits without regard for righteousness.
While drinking, they may feel happy, refreshed, like being in heaven. This is happiness in the present, which is merely an illusion.
But the moment the poison enters the system, death or excruciating suffering is the inevitable result that cannot be avoided. This is suffering in the future, waiting silently.
This is Mara’s most subtle trap, using superficial happiness to blind us from seeing the impending catastrophe behind it.
Cup 3: The Excellent Bitter Medicine (Painful Now, Pleasant Later)
This cup is the drink for the courageous, the path of the fighter who desires freedom from suffering.
Imagine an ancient medicinal herb (in the Sutta, analogous to medicine mixed with stale urine—an old-time remedy) with a pungent smell, bitter taste, and disagreeable texture, not pleasant in the least.
This is the analogy of those who persevere in doing good, keeping precepts, and practicing mental development, going against the grain of their own defilements. Having to force the mind not to follow desires, battling laziness and drowsiness—sometimes it is difficult, frustrating, even to the point of tears. This is suffering in the present, like the difficulty of swallowing bitter medicine.
Yet… once that medicine is forced down, it acts to cure chronic, long-standing diseases. It restores the body to health and longevity. This is happiness in the future, sustainable well-being.
This is an investment requiring immense patience and effort, but the returns are vastly worthwhile, beyond estimation.
Cup 4: The Divine Nectar (Pleasant Now, Pleasant Later)
And this is the ideal cup, the most desirable drink. It is the path of those with well-accumulated merit.
Imagine a super-special divine drink prepared from four exquisite ingredients: curds, honey, rock sugar, and ghee (analogous to serenity, insight, right view, and pure morality).
This drink not only has a fragrant, sweet, delicious taste that is refreshing and easy to drink, providing immediate refreshment upon consumption—this is happiness in the present.
But it also possesses highly superior nutritional value, nourishing the body to become strong, with radiant complexion, leading to longevity, and guiding one to happy heavenly realms, ultimately to Nibbana. This is happiness in the future, which is even greater.
This is the lifestyle of those for whom doing good has become second nature. They find happiness in giving charity, keeping precepts, and practicing meditation. It is a life that is joyful in both this world and the next.
Conclusion: The Call to Practice
Wise listeners, having heard the analogy of these four drinks, I believe you can now see a clearer reflection of your own lives and the lives of those around you.
The crucial question the Buddha left for us to ponder is: Why do so many humans still choose to drink the “Sugar-Coated Poison” (Cup 2), knowing the destination is ruin?
He revealed that it is because most beings are still under the “power of ignorance” (avijjā)—not knowing things as they truly are, blinded by greed, hatred, and delusion. They see only immediate happiness and cannot see through to the long-term consequences.
In contrast, the “wise one” uses wise reflection, seeing the hidden dangers in false happiness, and possesses the courage to abandon Cup 1 and Cup 2.
They have the perseverance to drink Cup 3 (the bitter medicine), no matter how difficult, to elevate their minds, until they can eventually develop themselves to access Cup 4 (the divine nectar).
Conclusion
Wise listeners…
Our life, each day, is a constant series of choices about which drink to put to our lips.
Every time we think, every time we speak, every time we act, we are choosing… We are choosing to drink “poison” because we succumb to the power of defilements, or we are choosing to drink “medicine” because we trust in the Buddha’s enlightenment.
Do not be heedless in life. Do not get lost in the fleeting happiness the world offers, for the price to be paid in the future is far too high to bear.
Dare to go against your own inclinations. Dare to swim against the current of defilements. Be patient with the difficulties of creating goodness, for that is the bitter medicine that will cure the malignant disease in our hearts.
Whenever you can live your life in the correct way—possessing right view and finding happiness in doing good (Cup 4)—at that moment, the Buddha compared your life thus:
“Just as in the last month of the rains, at autumn time, the sun, mounting the firmament, drives away all thick darkness from the heavens, and shines and beams and radiates…”
May you all be wise ones, choosing to drink only the superb nectar of Dhamma, for the brightness of your lives in both this world and the next, until reaching the end of suffering—Nibbana.
May you be well.
