One day, a man came to see The Buddha and complained that he's angry with a friend, and asked The Buddha what he should do.
The Buddha asked the man, "You angry with your friend?"
"Yes!" said the man, his face flushed red with anger.
"How does it feel being angry with someone?" asked The Buddha again.
"Oh it hurts ........ very deeply inside," said the man, putting his palm on his chest. "It's so painful, it's suffering!"
"Suffering, you say? Hmm ........ that reminds me. Do you remember what I said as The First Noble Truth?" The Buddha continued.
"Yes! There is suffering," answered the man, not understanding where this is leading and how it can help him.
"Ah ......." said The Enlightened One smiling. "So why are you suffering?"
"Because I want my friend to listen to me and do as I say but he's not! It's so infuriating!" said the man, still upset and getting very impatient.
"Do you also remember The Second Noble Truth which I taught?" asked The Buddha kindly and patiently.
"The cause of suffering," came the exasperated reply. ("Why is The Great Teacher asking me all these?! It has got no relevance," thought the man.)
"And what is the cause of suffering ........ ?"
"Craving." ("Oh ........" thought the man.)
"Good!" said The Buddha. "And what did I say as The Third Truth?"
"There's a way out of suffering," said the man, his face breaking into a smile. He's finally on with The Buddha now.
"And what is the way?"
"Contentment, Acceptance, Letting Go, Stop," replied the man with a sigh.
Suddenly, everything seems so clear to him now.
"Good!" said The Buddha. "Now that you have this view / understanding, what is The 4th Noble Truth?"
"The way to end suffering is through The Noble Eightfold Path : Right View / Understanding, Right Thoughts, Speech, Actions ........."
"So now you know what you should do?" asked The Buddha one last time.
"Yes!" said the man, amazed and in awe at the brilliance of The Great Master's Teachings, and he left the place happy, satisfied and very content.
The man understand The Four Noble Truths and knows what he should do.
Do you?
.
.
.
"You think you know.
You assume you know.
But, do you?".
.
Of the few who understood, how many see?
Of the few who saw, how many realise?
Of the few who realised, how many will be Awaken?"
.
.
.
"Rely on The Dhamma, not on the people;
Rely on Wisdom, not accumulation of knowledge.
Rely on The Meaning of the words, not the words.
Rely on The Complete meaning, not the partial meaning."
- The Buddha
.
.
.
.
"Knowledge is Not realisation :
You can have all the knowledge
But if you do not practise,
You're just like a spoon - Not tasting the flavour of soup."
.
.
.
.
"If one doesn't understand through practice, one wouldn't understand Buddhism.
Even if one learns (and memorise) the whole Tipitaka (the voluminous recorded teachings of The Buddha), one still will not know."
- Ajahn Chah
.
.
"Though much he recites the Sacred Texts, but acts not accordingly,
That heedless man is like a cowherd who counts others' kine.
He has no share in the fruits of the Holy Life."
- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 19
.
.
.
"If the Dhamma isn't brought into the heart, it's not truly known.
It's not actually seen."
- Ajahn Chah
.
.
.
.
"Reality is not the same as the theory we study."
.
.
He has to battle in a style that goes beyond theory."
- Ajahn Chah
.
.
.
.
"The defilements don't lie in the body.
They lie in the heart (mind)."
- Venerable Ajahn Mun
