The New Generation Monks

The New Generation Monks


I've always enjoyed Ajahn Mun's Teachings. I always find it highly inspiring and motivating. It cuts through the core and really peppers you up - that is if you can take the spice of it.

Truly an Arahant - a pure, worthy and Fully Awakened/Enlightened One.

A Proud and Noble disciple of The Buddha - The Perfectly Enlightened One.

Below is one of those Teachings which I find/feel is most relevant in this time and age.

As such, I'm reproducing it here to share with all.

Hopefully it can inspire those of you who are to be inspired, and give you the additional punch to walk in the footsteps of The Buddha - The Greatest Man/Being Alive, The Supreme Teacher, The Supreme One.

Enjoy!



"If you want The Truth, but refuse to investigate it because you are afraid of pain, how will you ever discover where the Truth lies?

The Lord Buddha succeeded in realizing the Truth by thoroughly investigating everything, NOT by whining about everything like this useless monk now disgracing himself.

Where did the Buddha ever state that reaching a true understanding requires moaning and groaning?

I didn't study many books, so perhaps I missed it.

Where in the suttas does it refer to moaning and groaning?

If any of you who are well versed in the scriptures comes across a passage where it states that the Buddha extolled the merits of moaning and groaning, please point it out to me.

Then I won't have to teach monks to trouble themselves about investigating pain and putting up with difficulties.

You can all just moan and groan until the Truth arises to fill the whole universe.

We can then witness the appearance of wise, sagacious individuals who have succeeded in reaching magga and phala by the power of their loud moans and groans.

They will be in a position to question the legitimacy, and the current relevance, of the Dhamma that Lord Buddha proclaimed over 2,500 years ago.

"The Dhamma of these latter-day sages will be a new, modern Dhamma whose attainment requires no troublesome investigations.

All that's required to attain magga and phala is a chorus of moaning and groaning, a method suited to an age when people prefer to seek righteous results from unrighteous causes – a pernicious attitude consuming the whole world today.

Before long there won't be enough room on the planet to hold all these modern-day sages.

I myself have an old-fashioned mentality.

I trust what the Lord Buddha taught and dare not take any shortcuts.

I am afraid that, as soon as I put a foot forward, I would fall flat on my face – and die there in disgrace.

That would be immensely heartbreaking for me.” - Venerable Ajahn Mun

( The Spiritual Biography of the Venerable Phra Acharn Mun Bhuridatta Thera, page 347 - 348, written by Venerable Ajahn Maha Boowa Nanasampanno )

- http://www.forestdhammabooks.com/book/1/BioMun/6.pdf




"And how is striving fruitful, how is exertion fruitful?

There is the case where a monk, when not loaded down, does not load himself down with pain, nor does he reject pleasure that accords with the Dhamma, although he is not fixated/infatuated with that pleasure.

He discerns that 'When I live according to my pleasure, unskillful mental qualities increase in me & skillful qualities decline.

When I exert myself with stress & pain, though, unskillful qualities decline in me & skillful qualities increase.

Why don't I exert myself with stress & pain?'

So he exerts himself with stress & pain, and while he is exerting himself with stress & pain, unskillful qualities decline in him, & skillful qualities increase.

Then at a later time he would no longer exert himself with stress & pain.

Why is that?

Because he has attained the goal for which he was exerting himself with stress & pain.

That is why, at a later time, he would no longer exert himself with stress & pain."

- The Buddha, MN 101: Devadaha Sutta — To Devadaha - The Buddha, Majjhima Nikaya 101




"For a disciple who has conviction in the Master's message & lives to penetrate it, it is a principle that,

'The Blessed One is the Master, I am a disciple.

He is the one who knows, NOT I.'

For a disciple who has conviction in the Master's message & lives to penetrate it,

The Master's message is healing & nourishing.

For a disciple who has conviction in the Master's message & lives to penetrate it, it is a principle that,

'Gladly would I let the flesh & blood in my body dry up, leaving just the skin, tendons, & bones,

BUT if I have NOT attained what can be reached through human firmness, human persistence, human striving,

There will be NO relaxing my persistence.

'For a disciple who has Conviction in the Master's message & lives to penetrate it,

One of two fruits can be expected :

Either gnosis here & now,

Or — if there be any remnant of clinging/sustenance — Non-Return.

— The Buddha, Majjhima Nikaya 70




"Though much he recites the sacred text,

But acts NOT accordingly.

That heedless man is like a cowherd that counts others' kine.

He has NO share in the fruits of The Holy life."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 20




"Many men who wears the yellow robe up to their neck

But has an evil disposition and is unrestrained in thought, word and deed

Ends up in a woeful state on account of their evil deed."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 307



** Read

1) "The Future - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2008/11/future.html

2) "Why Can't They" - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2009/07/why-cant-they.html

3) "You Say Monkey Or Not Lah?!" - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2010/01/you-say-monkey-or-not-lah.html

How Do You Know

How Do You Know


One day, a lady attended a class by Maitreya.

Unknown to the student, she was speaking to the Future Buddha.

"I almost couldn't make it for class today ........."

"Oh! Why?" asked Maitreya.

"My sister asked me to go for chanting ........."

"Chanting? What's the occasion ?"

"7th Month ........."

"7th Month? What chanting is that?"

"You know there's this Earth Buddha that's in-charge of Hell?'

"Di zang wang pusa ........."

"Yes."

"But what for? When there isn't one?"

"You can't say that ........."

"Why not? When it's True."

"You have a religion?"

Maitreya nodded her head.

"What's your religion?"

"Buddhist."

"Then you should know."

"Of course I know. That's why I say there isn't one."

"How do you know there isn't one?"

"You go meditate and you'll know for yourself."

"You mean I meditate I'll know?'

"Yes."

"But you must be very high level then you'll know ........."

"How much do you know about Buddhism/Buddha's Teachings?"

"Not much ........."

"Let me ask you : If i say salt is sweet, would you believe me?"

"Of course not."

"Why not?"

"Cos it's not true!"

"Likewise, when something is true, I'll say it's true;

When something is false, I'll say it's false.

If there's a dizangwangpusa, I'll say there's a dizangwangpusa.

But if there isn't one, I'll say there isn't."

"You can't say that. They say that dizangwangpusa is here to help until Maitreya, the Future Buddha comes along/appear, then he'll go ......... it's written in the sutras, the temples are teaching it."

"Of course dizangwangpusa has to go when Maitreya comes along - cos Maitreya will debunk the myths and fallacies that such a being, and many others as well, exist."

"How do you know?"

"Because I AM Maitreya."




"Being open does not mean accepting others' beliefs/teachings -

Being open means accepting what you thought/accepted/believed to be the truth,

Is ACTUALLY UN-true."




"Let go of your past beliefs and practices and follow in my footsteps, my way - should you want to gain Nibbana -

For this is the only way - There's NO other way."

- The Buddha, Majjhima Nikaya 122





"Several passages [§87] emphasize that the experience of stream-entry reinforces one's conviction that the True Dhamma is fully expressed only in the Buddha's teachings.

This point will come as a surprise to many people who are aware of Buddhism's long history of tolerance toward other religions, and who assume that the enlightened attitude toward alternative teachings is to endorse the statement that many roads lead to the top of the mountain.

This assumption, though, is based on a confusion between "tolerance" and "endorsement."


As we have already noted, from the streamwinner's point of view the Noble Eightfold Path is the ideal expression of the way to Awakening.

To endorse any other path to the same goal would be to concede that the noble eightfold path either lacks something essential or contains something superfluous.


The Buddha is quoted as saying that any other supposed path to Awakening would by definition be WRONG: Wrong view, Wrong resolve, Wrong speech, etc.

To try to get results from such a path, he says, would be like trying to squeeze sesame oil out of gravel or to churn butter out of water [MN 126].

He did not deny that other teachings, advocating virtue and concentration, can lead one to states of great peace or to rebirth in the higher heavens, BUT if one views those attainments as equivalent to nibbana, ONE IS SUFFERING FROM WRONG VIEW.

To hold to that wrong view puts the total release to be found with nibbana beyond reach.

This unwillingness to endorse other paths, however, does not necessarily lead to intolerance.

Buddhism's basic premise is the principle of Kamma, that happiness and suffering are the results of one's own past and present actions.

The noble eightfold path grows out of this principle as the most skillful mode of action for escaping from the cycle of kammic retribution and attaining the Deathless.

Other paths are either INCOMPLETE expressions of the noble eightfold path or are based on other principles.

For example, they may state that there is a being who can sidestep the law of kamma and provide for one's happiness without one's having to master the skills of the noble eightfold path,

Or that certain ritual actions or words can provide a similar shortcut to happiness.

People who follow either of these two latter beliefs could well feel threatened by outsiders who do not share their beliefs, for the outsiders are in effect denying the existence of a shortcut on which the insiders are placing their hopes. This explains why such people have often been intolerant of outside views.

But because the principle of kamma is a teaching of full personal responsibility, No one who believes in kamma will feel threatened by people who teach shortcuts around kamma.

Buddhists who have yet to attain stream-entry may waver in their conviction — as the path can seem long and arduous, and the results slow in coming — and this is one reason why they are encouraged NOT to associate with anyone who rejects the principle of kamma.

But those who have had their first taste of Awakening can in no way be persuaded to doubt the principle, for they have seen that the Deathless can be touched only through a process that requires the utmost skill in mindfulness and discernment applied to the processes of one's own mind.

Their attitude toward other teachings is that of a skilled artisan toward those with lesser skills, or of a woman who has learned how to extract sesame oil from sesame seeds toward those who are still trying to extract it from gravel:

She will want to teach them the right way if they are willing to listen,

But if they are unwilling, she will tolerate their ignorance and hope that someday they will be ready to learn.

- http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/wings/part3.html#part3-a

- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Wings to Awakening




"Deep, Vaccha, is this phenomenon,

Hard to see, Hard to realise, Tranquil, Refined, Beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced (only) by the Wise.

For those with other views, other practices, other satisfactions, other aims, other teachers.

It is difficult to know."

- The Buddha, Majjhima Nikaya 72




"It is useless pretending to forget the power of KAMMA,

Or pretending that one is superior to The Buddha.

One who does so is sure to be cornered by his own foolish pretensions and assumptions."

- Venerable Ajahn Mun




**Note : Pureland/Amitabha etc teachings came much later - in and from China - AFTER 6/7th century - under the mahayana discipline.

The Buddha did NOT teach them.

The Four Noble Truths Revealed/Explained

The Four Noble Truths Revealed/Explained


Now this, monks, is The Noble Truth of Stress:

Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair are stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful, separation from the loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted is stressful.

In short, the five aggregates for sustenance are stressful.

And this, monks, is The Noble Truth of the Origination of Stress:

The craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion and delight, relishing now here and now there — i.e., craving for sensual pleasure, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming.

And this, monks, is The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Stress:

The remainderless fading and cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release and letting go of that very craving.

And this, monks, is The Noble Truth of the Way Leading to the Cessation of Stress:

Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path — Right view, Right intention, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, Right concentration. — S LVI.11

The Blessed One said,

"Now what, monks, is The Noble Eightfold Path?

Right view, Right resolve, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, Right concentration.

"And what, monks, is Right View?

Knowledge with regard to stress, knowledge with regard to the origination of stress, knowledge with regard to the stopping of stress, knowledge with regard to the way of practice leading to the stopping of stress:

This, monks, is called Right View.

"And what is Right Resolve?

Being resolved on renunciation, on freedom from ill will, on harmlessness:

This is called Right Resolve.

"And what is Right Speech?

Abstaining from lying, abstaining from divisive speech, abstaining from abusive speech, abstaining from idle chatter:

This, monks, is called Right Speech.

"And what, monks, is Right Action?

Abstaining from taking life, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from unchastity:

This, monks, is called Right Action.

"And what, monks, is Right Livelihood?

There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones, having abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going with right livelihood:

This, monks, is called Right Livelihood.

"And what, monks, is Right Effort?

(i) There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen.

(ii) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the abandonment of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen.

(iii) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen.

(iv) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen:

This, monks, is called Right Effort.

"And what, monks, is Right Mindfulness?

(i) There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world.

(ii) He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world.

(iii) He remains focused on the mind in & of itself — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world.

(iv) He remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world.

This, monks, is called Right Mindfulness.

"And what, monks, is Right Concentration?

(i) There is the case where a monk — quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful (mental) qualities — enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation.

(ii) With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance.

(iii) With the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.'

(iv) With the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain.

This, monks, is called Right Concentration."

That is what the Blessed One said.

Gratified, the monks delighted at his words. — S XLV.8

"Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before:


'This is the noble truth of stress'...

'This noble truth of stress is to be comprehended'...

'This noble truth of stress has been comprehended.'


'This is the noble truth of the origination of stress'...

'This noble truth of the origination of stress is to be abandoned' ...

'This noble truth of the origination of stress has been abandoned.'


'This is the noble truth of the cessation of stress'...

'This noble truth of the cessation of stress is to be directly experienced'...

'This noble truth of the cessation of stress has been directly experienced.'


'This is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress'...

'This noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress is to be developed'...

'This noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress has been developed.'



"And, monks, as long as this — my three-round, twelve-permutation knowledge & vision concerning these Four Noble Truths as they have come to be was — NOT pure, I did not claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its deities, Maras, & Brahmas, with its contemplatives & priests, its royalty & commonfolk.


BUT as soon as this — my three-round, twelve-permutation knowledge & vision concerning these four noble truths as they have come to be — was TRULY pure, then I did claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its deities, Maras & Brahmas, with its contemplatives & priests, its royalty & commonfolk.


Knowledge & vision arose in me: 'Unprovoked is my release. This is the last birth. There is now no further becoming.'"

- http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html

- The Buddha, Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion

The Root of the Problem

The Root of the Problem

One day, a disciple of The Buddha went to see Him and complained,

"Teacher! I have a stomachache."

The Buddha looked gently at the disciple and said,

"What do you expect? When you have a stomach, of course you get a stomachache. But that's not the root of the problem. The root of the problem is the body. Because of the body, you have a stomach, so you get stomachache.

But that's still not the actual root of the problem.

The actual root of problem is because you ARE born,

That's why you have a stomachache."



"From birth as a requisite condition,

Then ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress and despair come into play.

Such is the ORIGINATION of this entire mass of suffering."

- The Buddha, Anguttara Nikaya X.92




"There is no fire like lust/greed,

No evil like anger and hatred;

There is no ill like the burden of the 5 aggregates of existence,

AND, there is no bliss like the Perfect Peace of Nibbana."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 202




"Just as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops & crash thunder on the upper mountains:

The water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the mountain clefts & rifts & gullies.

When the mountain clefts & rifts & gullies are full, they fill the little ponds.

When the little ponds are full, they fill the big lakes... the little rivers... the big rivers.

When the big rivers are full, they fill the great ocean.


In the same way:

Fabrications have ignorance as their prerequisite,

Consciousness has fabrications as its prerequisite,

Name-&-form has consciousness as their prerequisite,

The six sense media have name-&-form as their prerequisite,

Contact has the six sense media as its prerequisite,

Feeling has contact as its prerequisite,

Craving has feeling as its prerequisite,

Clinging has craving as its prerequisite,

Becoming has clinging as its prerequisite,

Birth has becoming as its prerequisite,

Stress & suffering have birth as their prerequisite,

Conviction has stress & suffering as its prerequisite,

Joy has conviction as its prerequisite,

Rapture has joy as its prerequisite,

Serenity has rapture as its prerequisite,

Pleasure has serenity as its prerequisite,

Concentration has pleasure as its prerequisite,

Knowledge & vision of things as they actually are present has concentration as its prerequisite,

Disenchantment has knowledge & vision of things as they actually are present as its prerequisite,

Dispassion has disenchantment as its prerequisite,

Release has dispassion as its prerequisite,

Knowledge of ending has release as its prerequisite. — SN 12.23

- The Buddha, Samyutta Nikaya 12.23

The Only Thing

The Only Thing


Many people say meditation is difficult, hard to do.

That's not true!

Actually, meditation is very simple, easy - as ABC.

Piece of cake.

Really.

Do you watch TV? Go to the movies? Surf the net?

If you do, then you'll have no problem meditating.

Cos that's what meditation is - Watching.

Just as The Buddha says :

"The only thing you should guard in this world, is guard your own mind.

The only thing you should tame in this world, is tame your own mind.

The only thing you should control in this world, is control you own mind.

And, the only thing you should watch in this world, is WATCH your OWN mind."

So, watch your mind - day and night.



"Faring Far, wandering alone, bodiless, lying in a cave, is the mind.

Those who subdue it are freed from the bonds of Mara."

- The Buddha (Dhammapada v.37)




"Examine your own heart;

Study/watch your own mind."




"What is bhavana but watching your thoughts and moods."

- Venerable Ajahn Mun




"If you can only control your mind,

You will have NOTHING more to control.

So GUARD your mind."

- The Buddha




"The mind is difficult to control,

Swiftly and lightly it moves and lands wherever it pleases.

It is good to tame the mind,

For a well-tamed mind brings Happiness."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 35




"The mind is very difficult to perceive,

Very delicate and subtle.

It moves and lands wherever it pleases.

The wise one should guard his mind,

For a guarded mind brings Happiness."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 36




"Right and wrong both exist within yourself.

Why don't you take an interest in looking there?

If you want to know how good other people are,

First you MUST thoroughly examine yourself; ........."

- Venerable Ajahn Mun





Teaching by The Buddha to His son, Rahula : Mirror


"What do you think, Rahula: What is a mirror for?"

"For reflection, sir."

"In the same way, Rahula, bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions are to be done with repeated reflection.

"Whenever you want to do a bodily action, verbal action, & mental action, you should reflect on it:

'This bodily/verbal/mental action I want to do — would it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Would it be an unskillful bodily action, with painful consequences, painful results?'

If, on reflection, you know that it would lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it would be an unskillful bodily/verbal/mental action with painful consequences, painful results,

Then any bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions of that sort is absolutely UNFIT for you to do.


But if on reflection you know that it would NOT cause affliction... it would be a skillful bodily/verbal/mental action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then any bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions of that sort is fit for you to do.



"While you are doing a bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, you should reflect on it:

'This bodily/verbal/mental action I am doing — is it leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful bodily/verbal/mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?'

If, on reflection, you know that it is leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both...

You should give it up.

But if on reflection you know that it is NOT... you may continue with it.



"Having done a bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, you should reflect on it:

'This bodily/verbal/mental action I have done — did it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Was it an unskillful bodily/verbal/mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?'

If, on reflection, you know that it led to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it was an unskillful bodily/verbal/mental action with painful consequences, painful results,

Then you should feel distressed, ashamed, & disgusted with it.

You should confess it, reveal it, lay it open to the Teacher or to a knowledgeable companion in the holy life.

Feeling distressed, ashamed, & disgusted with it, having confessed it... you should exercise restraint in the future.


But if on reflection you know that it did NOT lead to affliction... it was a skillful bodily action, verbal action, & mental action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results,

Then you should stay mentally refreshed & joyful, training day & night in skillful mental qualities.


"Rahula, all those brahmans & contemplatives in the course of the past who purified their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, did it through repeated reflection on their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions in just this way.


"All those brahmans & contemplatives in the course of the future who will purify their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, will do it through repeated reflection on their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions in just this way.


"All those brahmans & contemplatives at present who purify their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, do it through repeated reflection on their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions in just this way.


"Thus, Rahula, you should train yourself:

'I will purify my bodily actions through repeated reflection.

I will purify my verbal actions through repeated reflection.

I will purify my mental actions through repeated reflection.'

That's how you should train yourself."

That is what the Blessed One said.

Gratified, Ven. Rahula delighted in the Blessed One's words.

MN 61: Ambalatthika-rahulovada Sutta — Advice to Rahula at Mango Stone

Pain

Pain


I have been exerting myself for about 2 weeks, and the body is really in pain from the exertion.

During meditation/exertion one morning, I recall a student who before or during every class, would complain about having pain.

New pain every week :

If not head pain, will be back pain, knee pain, chest pain, arm pain, hip pain etc etc .........

Sometimes 2 or 3 pains at the same time.

The class would always laugh and tease her about it.

Thinking about it during the meditation/exertion,

I suddenly realised she's so right!

It's exactly what The Buddha said -

"The body is great pain. Many pains."

She's experiencing/feeling a Truth which she did not realised,

And which we all missed and can't see

And that is,

The Body is Pain.




'This body was many pains, many drawbacks.

In this body many kinds of disease arise, such as:

Seeing-diseases, hearing-diseases, nose-diseases, tongue-diseases, body-diseases, head-diseases, ear-diseases, mouth-diseases, teeth-diseases, cough, asthma, catarrh, fever, aging, stomach-ache, fainting, dysentery, grippe, cholera, leprosy, boils, ringworm, tuberculosis, epilepsy, skin-disease, itch, scab, psoriasis, scabies, jaundice, diabetes, hemorrhoids, fistulas, ulcers; diseases arising from bile, from phlegm, from the wind-property, from combinations of bodily humors, from changes in the weather, from uneven care of the body, from attacks, from the result of kamma; cold, heat, hunger, thirst, defecation, urination.'. — AN 10.60

- The Buddha, Anguttara Nikaya 10:60




"Behold this beautiful body -

A painted image

A mass of heaped up sores,

Infirm, full of hankering -

Of which nothing is lasting, permanent or stable.

Fully worn out is this body,

A nest of diseases, and fragile.

This foul mass breaks up;

Truly, life ends in DEATH."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 147, 148
.
.
.
.

"The First Noble Truth - There is Suffering."

- The Buddha

Wah, So Dark ah .........

Wah! So Dark ah .......

I was at a fast food restaurant enjoying my meal when suddenly a lady's voice rang out :

"Wah! So dark ah?! Why you wear so dark? So dark until cannot see you."

She was talking to a guy at the next table about his outfit - black shirt and pants.

Interestingly, the lady, and the group of lady friends who were with her, were also dressed in black, and other dark colours from head to toe.

That's when The Buddha's words rang in my mind :

"Easily seen are others' faults; Hard to see are our own."

The lady is wearing black from head to toe, yet she can't see;

Instead, she said that of her guy friend.

Well, I suppose it must be very dark on her side, too, since she can't see, doesn't realise that she, and her group of lady friends are wearing black/dark colours.

It must be because darkness is 'in', such that everyone can't see.




"When this world is ever ablaze,

Why the laughter?

Why the jubilation?

Shrouded in Darkness,

Will you not seek The Light?"

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 146




"This world is blind;

Here there are few who clearly (truly) see.

Like few birds escape from a net,

Only few go to blissful state."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 174




"Come, look at this world,

Resembling an ornamented royal chariot;

Herein fools are sunk,

But for the wise, there is NO attachment."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 171




"The extent of how many wicked people there are corresponds to the numbers of 'disturbers of society'.

The more there are, the more hellish the world becomes.

It is then dark both in the night and daytime, and in a constant state of agitation.

There is no need to go and search after Hell for it is being constructed right there in the Hearts of people,

And then scattered and extended everywhere,

Turning everything into fire."

- Venerable Ajahn Maha Boowa Nanasampanno