..续本文上一页eedle pierces the skin there is some pain which is only natural. When the needle is withdrawn that pain disappears. This is like the ordinary kind of suffering, it”s no problem, everybody experiences it. The extraordinary suffering is the suffering that arises from what we call upadana, grasping onto things. This is like having an injection with a syringe filled with poison. This is no longer an ordinary kind of pain, it is the pain which ends in death. This is similar to the suffering which arises from grasping.

　　Wrong view, not knowing the impermanent nature of all conditioned things, is another kind of problem. Conditioned things are the realm of samsara. [9] Not wanting things to change -- if we think like this we must suffer. When we think that the body is ourselves or belonging to us, we are afraid when we see it change. Consider the breath: once it comes in it must go out, having gone out it must come in again. This is its nature, this is how we manage to live. Things don”t function in that way. This is how conditions are but we don”t realize it.

　　Suppose we lost something. if we thought that object was really ours, we would brood over it. If we couldn”t see it as a conditioned thing faring according to the laws of nature we would experience suffering. But if you breathe in, can you live

　　 Conditioned things must naturally change in this way. To see this is to see the Dhamma, to see aniccam, change. We live dependent on this change. When we know how things are then we can let go of them.

　　The practice of Dhamma is to develop an understanding of the way of things so that suffering doesn”t arise. If we think wrongly we are at odds with the world, at odds with the Dhamma and with the truth. Suppose you were sick and had to go into hospital. Most people think, "Please don”t let me die, I want to get better." This is wrong thinking, it will lead to suffering. You have to think to yourself, "If I recover I recover, if I die I die." this is right thinking, because you can”t ultimately control conditions. If you think like this, whether you die or recover, you can”t go wrong, you don”t have to worry. Wanting to get better at all costs and afraid of the thought of dying...this is the mind which doesn”t understand conditions. You should think, "If I get better that”s fine, if I don”t get better that”s fine." This way we can”t go wrong, we don”t have to be afraid or cry, because we have tuned ourselves in to the way things are.

　　The Buddha saw clearly. His teaching is always relevant, never out-dated. It never changes. In the present day it”s still the way they are, they haven”t changed. By taking this teaching to heart we can gain the reward of peace and well-being.

　　In the teachings there is the reflection of "not-self": "this is to listen to this kind of teaching because they are attached to the idea of self. This is the cause of suffering. You should take note of this.

　　Today a woman asked about how to deal with anger. I told her that the next time she gets angry, to wind up her alarm clock and put it in front of her. Then to give herself two hours for the anger to go away. If it was really her anger she could probably tell it to go away like this: "In two hours be gone!" But it isn”t really ours to command. Sometimes in two hours it”s still not gone, at other times in one hour it”s gone already. Holding onto anger as a personal possession will cause suffering. If it really belonged to us it would have to obey us. If it doesn”t obey us that means it”s only a deception. Don”t fall for it. Whether the mind is happy or sad, don”t fall for it. Whether the mind loves or hates, don”t fall for it, it”s all a deception.

　　Have any of you ever been angry

　　 When you are angry does it feel good or bad

　　 If it feels bad then why don”t you …

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