..續本文上一頁selves from suffering, but we haven”t. If we just cling to happiness, we will suffer again. That”s the way it is, people think contrarily.

　　116

　　People have suffering in one place, so they go somewhere else. When suffering arises there, they run off again. They think they”re running away from suffering, but they”re not. Suffering goes with them. They carry suffering around without knowing it. If we don”t know suffering, then we can”t know the cause of suffering. If we don”t know the cause of suffering, then we can”t know the cessation of suffering. There”s no way we can escape it.

　　117

　　Students today have much more knowledge than students of previous times. They have all the things they need; everything is more convenient. But they also have a lot more suffering and confusion than before. Why is this

　　118

　　Do not be a bodhisatta; do not be an arahant; do not be anything at all. If you are a bodhisatta, you will suffer; if you are an arahant, you will suffer; if you are anything at all, you will suffer.

　　119

　　Love and hate are both suffering because of desire. Wanting is suffering; wanting not to have is suffering. Even if you get what you want, it”s still suffering because once you have it, you then live in the fear of losing it. How are you going to live happily with fear

　　120

　　When you”re angry, does it feel good or bad

　　 If it feels so bad, then why don”t you throw it away

　　 Why bother to keep it

　　 How can you say that you are wise and intelligent if you hold on to such things

　　 Some days the mind can even cause the whole family to quarrel or cause you to cry all night. And, yet, we still continue to get angry and suffer. If you see the suffering of anger, then just throw it away. If you don”t throw it away, it”ll go on causing suffering indefinitely, with no chance of respite. The world of unsatisfactory existence is like this. If we know the way it is, we can solve the problem. 121

　　A woman wanted to know how to deal with anger. I asked her when anger arose whose anger it was. She said it was hers. Well, if it really was her anger, then she should be able to tell it to go away, shouldn”t she

　　 But it really isn”t hers to command. Holding on to anger, as a personal possession will cause suffering. If anger really belonged to us, it would have to obey us. If it doesn”t obey us, that means that it”s only a deception. Don”t fall for it. Whether the mind is happy or sad, don”t fall for it. It”s all a deception.

　　122

　　If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

　　123

　　The Buddha is always here teaching. See for yourself. Here is happiness and there is unhappiness. There is pleasure and there is pain. And they”re always here. When you understand the nature of pleasure and pain, there you see the Buddha, there you see the Dhamma. The Buddha is not apart from them.

　　124

　　Contemplating them together, we see that happiness and suffering are equal, just as hot and cold are. The heat from a fire can burn us to death, while the coldness from ice can freeze us to death. Neither is greater. It”s the same with happiness and suffering. In the world, everyone desires happiness and no one desires suffering. Nibbana has no desire. There is only tranquility.

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　　Teacher

　　125

　　You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can”t solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth - inside, not outside. Knowing yourself is most important.

　　126

　　One of my teachers ate very fast. He made noises as he ate. Yet he told us to eat slowly and mindfully. I used to watch him and get very upset. I suffered, but he didn”t! I watched the outside. Later I learned that some people drive very fast but carefully; others drive sl…

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