..续本文上一页s with you later on.

　　Now I”m just letting you know about these things...the suffering that arises from within, that arises within our own bodies. There”s nothing within the body you can depend on. It”s not too bad when you”re still young, but as you get older things begin to break down. Everything begins to fall apart. Conditions go their natural way. Whether we laugh or cry over them they just go on their way. It makes no difference how we live or die, makes no difference to them. And there”s no knowledge or science which can prevent this natural course of things. You may get a dentist to look at your teeth, but even if he can fix them they still eventually go their natural way. Eventually even the dentist has the same trouble. Everything falls apart in the end.

　　These are things which we should contemplate while we still have some vigor, we should practice while we”re young. If you want to make merit then hurry up and do so, don”t just leave it up to the oldies. Most people just wait until they get old before they will go to a monastery and try to practice Dhamma. Women and men say the same thing..."Wait till I get old first." I don”t know why they say that, does an old person have much vigor

　　 Let them try racing with a young person and see what the difference is. Why do they leave it till they get old

　　 Just like they”re never going to die. When they get to fifty or sixty years old or more..."Hey, Grandma! Let”s go to the monastery!" "You go ahead, my ears aren”t so good any more." You see what I mean

　　 When her ears were good what was she listening to

　　 "Beats me!" ... just dallying with the berries. Finally when her ears are gone she goes to the temple. It”s hopeless. She listens to the sermon but she hasn”t got a clue what they”re saying. People wait till they”re all used up before they”ll think of practicing the Dhamma.

　　Today”s talk may be useful for those of you who can understand it. These are things which you should begin to observe, they are our inheritance. They will gradually get heavier and heavier, a burden for each of us to bear. In the past my legs were strong, I could run. Now just walking around they feel heavy. Before, my legs carried me. Now, I have to carry them. When I was a child I”d see old people getting up from their seat..."Oh!" Getting up they groan, "Oh!" There”s always this "Oh!" But they don”t know what it is that makes them groan like that.

　　Even when it gets to this extent people don”t see the bane of the body. You never know when you”re going to be parted from it. what”s causing all the pain is simply conditions going about their natural way. People call it arthritis, rheumatism, gout and so on, the doctor prescribes medicines, but it never completely heals. In the end it falls apart, even the doctor! This is conditions faring along their natural course. This is their way, their nature.

　　Now take a look at this. If you see it in advance you”ll be better off, like seeing a poisonous snake on the path ahead of you. If you see it there you can get out of its way and not get bitten. If you don”t see it you may keep on walking and step on it. And then it bites.

　　If suffering arises people don”t know what to do. Where to go to treat it

　　 They want to avoid suffering, they want to be free of it but they don”t know how to treat it when it arises. And they live on like this until they get old...and sick...and die...

　　In olden times it was said that if someone was mortally ill one of the next of kin should whisper "Bud-dho, Bud-dho" in their ear. What are they going to do with Buddho

　　 what good is Buddho going to be for them when they”re almost on the funeral pyre

　　 Why didn”t they learn Buddho when they were young and healthy

　　 Now with the breaths coming fitfully you go up and say, "Mother...Buddho, B…

《Why Are We Here

　　》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…