..续本文上一页n or the perfect teacher. The Buddha taught us to look at the Dhamma, the truth, and not to look at other people. 105
Anyone can build a house of wood and bricks, but the Buddha taught us that sort of home is not our real home. It”s a home in the world and it follows the ways of the world. Our real home is inner peace.
106
The forest is peaceful, why aren”t you
You hold on to things causing your confusion. Let nature teach you. Hear the bird”s song then let go. If you know nature, you”ll know Dhamma. If you know Dhamma, you”ll know nature.
107
Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache. You won”t be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.
108
Virtue, concentration, and wisdom together make up the Path. But this Path is not yet the true teaching, not what the teacher actually wanted, but merely the Path that will take you there. For example, say you traveled the road from Bangkok to Wat Pah Pong; the road was necessary for your journey, but you were seeking Wat Pah Pong, the monastery, not the road. In the same way, we can say that virtue, concentration, and wisdom are outside the truth of the Buddha but are the road that leads to truth. When you have developed these three factors, the result is the most wonderful peace.
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Suffering
109
There are two kinds of suffering: the suffering, which leads to more suffering, and the suffering, which leads to the end of suffering. The first is the pain of grasping after fleeting pleasures and aversion for the unpleasant, the continued struggle of most people day after day. The second is the suffering, which comes when you allow yourself to feel fully the constant change of experience - pleasure, pain, joy, and anger - without fear or withdrawal. The suffering of our experience leads to inner fearlessness and peace.
110
We want to take the easy way, but if there”s no suffering, there”s no wisdom. To be ripe for wisdom, you must really break down and cry in your practice at least three times.
111
We don”t become monks or nuns to eat well, sleep well, and be very comfortable, but to know suffering:
1. how to accept it…
2. how to get rid of it…
3. how not to cause it.
So don”t do that which causes suffering, like indulging in greed, or it will never leave you.
112
In truth, happiness is suffering in disguise but in such a subtle form that you don”t see it. If you cling to happiness, it”s the same as clinging to suffering, but you don”t realize it. When you hold on to happiness, it is impossible to throw away the inherent suffering. They”re inseparable like that. Thus the Buddha taught us to know suffering, see it as the inherent harm in happiness, to see them as equal. So be careful! When happiness arises, don”t be overjoyed, and don”t get carried away. When suffering comes, don”t despair, don”t lose yourself in it. See that they have the same equal value.
113
When suffering arises, understand that there is no one to accept it. If you think suffering is yours, happiness is yours, you will not be able to find peace.
114
People who suffer will accordingly gain wisdom. If we don”t suffer, we don”t contemplate. If we don”t contemplate, no wisdom is born. Without wisdom, we don”t know. Not knowing, we can”t get free of suffering - that”s just the way it is. Therefore we must train and endure in our practice. When we then reflect on the world, we won”t be afraid like before. It isn”t that the Buddha was enlightened outside of the world but within the world itself.
115
Sensual indulgence and self-mortification are two paths the Buddha discouraged. This is just happiness and suffering. We imagine we have freed our…
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