Every day we are bombarded by television and radio commercials, magazine and newspaper ads, and outdoor signs and billboards. These ads condition us to desire things. What Pavlov discovered, the Buddha knew 2500 years ago: we are affected by all we see and do. Conditioning makes us slaves. "I will teach you dharma (truth)," said the Buddha, "if this is, that comes to be." Conditioned are consciousness, feeling, craving, grasping, etc., the 12 Fold Link of Causation.
The goal of Buddhism, however, is liberation; freedom from conditioning. This liberation from conditioning comes when we see that our every conditioned act is rooted in selfish desire. Abandoning selfishness, we are freed from conditioning.
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This is so true. There is a reason why millions of dollars are spent every year for advertising. Conditioning works! It may seam impossible to break from it. I am grateful for the dharma and my young son (who directly started my journey into Buddhism).
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