..续本文上一页clear to a sotāpanna not by listening to discourses or by reading scriptures but by direct personal experience. Having pided, dissected, disintegrated, and dissolved the entire physical and mental structure, it becomes clear how the mind and matter interaction is going on constantly, how the illusion of “I” and “mine” is being created.

　　These three qualities become established in a sotāpanna. A cūḷa-sotāpanna develops these very qualities, because unless these qualities are developed, the goal of sotāpanna is far away.

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　　A rare and wonderful opportunity has come in your life. Make full use of this opportunity for your own liberation.

　　Buddhuppādo dullabho lokasmiṃ.

　　One is fortunate to be born in an aeon in which twenty-five centuries back someone became fully enlightened. It is so rare for someone to become fully enlightened, a sammāsambuddha. One has to accumulate and perfect pāramīs for countless kappas (aeons); it takes a very long time. So many kappas are empty; there is no Buddha at all. We are fortunate that in this present kappa, Gotama became sammāsambuddha and even after twenty-five centuries, his sāsana, his teaching, the Dhamma, Vipassana, is still alive.

　　Manussa-bhāvo dullabho.

　　It is so rare to get a human life—such a valuable life. Nature has given such wonderful capability to human beings—to observe the truth within themselves. One observes the mind-matter interaction: how due to this reason, this happens; how if this is not there, this does not happen. The Dhamma becomes so clear to a human being because of the capability to objectively observe the reality within oneself.

　　People say that someone is fortunate if he or she dies as a human being and is born in the celestial world. But the Buddha says somebody in the celestial world who dies and is born as a human being is really fortunate.

　　A human life is a wonderful life. The faculty of a human being to be able to look within is so wonderful. This is the life when one can observe the reality as it is, go beyond the apparent truth and move towards the ultimate truth. We are fortunate, we have got this rare opportunity now; we are human beings.

　　Dullabhaṃ saddhammasavanaṃ.

　　However if a human being does not come across the truth, the law, the Dhamma; if he or she does not even get an opportunity to hear the Dhamma, one does not make any use of human life. One spends the whole life like any other being—an animal, a bird or a reptile. Just to listen to the truth about the Dhamma—this itself is so rare.

　　Dullabhā saddhā sampattiṃ.

　　Even if one has heard about Dhamma, listened to the words of Dhamma, it is so rare to develop confidence, devotion, faith in Dhamma.

　　Pabbajita bhāvo dullabho.

　　Even if one develops faith in Dhamma, it is so difficult to leave all the multifarious responsibilities of the householder”s life and live like a monk or a nun,.

　　All these rare things have been attained. Now what remains is—establish yourself in Dhamma, strengthen yourself in Dhamma.

　　Handadāni, bhikkhave, āmantayāmi vo,

　　The Buddha invites his disciples, just before he passes away to heed his last words.

　　All his words are so wonderful. But his last words are like an invaluable heritage, an invaluable gift:

　　Vaya-dhammā saṅkhārā, appamādena sampādetha.

　　All saṅkhārās are vaya-dhammā, anicca. Whatever gets composed is bound to get decomposed, whatever arises is bound to pass away. This is the truth; this is the reality; this is the law; this is the nature; this is the Dhamma. Keep on realizing this reality diligently, appamādena—remaining alert, remaining attentive.

　　It is a wonderful opportunity to be a human being; to come in contact with the Buddha”s teaching; to hear the beautiful truth of the Dhamma; to develop faith in the Dhamma; and to practise Vipassana, living the life of a monk or a nun.

　　Make use of all these in your day-to-day life. Dhamma is not just for ten days; Dhamma is not just for thirty days; Dhamma is for the whole life. Every moment is so precious. Every moment for a human being who knows about Dhamma, who has realized the truth of Dhamma even a little, who knows how to practise Dhamma, becomes so precious. You can”t afford to lose this opportunity.

　　Make use of it for your own good, for your own benefit, for your own liberation and for the good and benefit of so many others. There is so much suffering all around. There is no other way to come out of suffering.

　　May Dhamma spread for the good of many, for the happiness of many, for the liberation of many.

　　Bhavatu sabba maṅgalaṃ!

《Apply Dhamma in Life》全文阅读结束。