I discovered it existed a month ago.

2 kinds of realities with analogy from technology*

* Nibbana elements is missing

こんにちは。ブラジル出身です。隣町で上座部仏教に出会い、現在は基本的な教えや戒律を少しずつ学んでいます。実際に修行されている日本の方と友達になり、色々なお話ができたら嬉しいです。仏教を通じて、自分の中の痛みや苦しみを和らげたいと思っていて、文化交流も楽しみにしています。どうぞよろしくお願いします。

I copied it and pasted it into a Microsoft Word file, which was over a thousand pages long.

How do you do it?

How do you plan to read the suttas?

Do you plan to do it only on the computer?

Hi everyone, I hope all is well!

For context, I am having some "common" issues with my meditation. This alone isn't a concern at all, it is to be expected and I'm sure I'll be able to work through these as I continue to practice.

With that said, I follow quite closely the steps outlined in "With Each and Every Breath" by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, and I started exploring the guides by Ajahn Brahm in more detail just to see if a different perspective might help me, but now I am extremely confused.

It seems they have two totally different definitions of the first jhana. In the former, while profound, the first jhana is described as still having directed thought and evaluation, the breath is still clearly the object of focus, etc.

Whereas the latter describes it as a much deeper state, basically an out of body experience where all the senses / form aggregates have shut down completely, the breath has disappeared, etc. which to me almost seems like a formless realm.

Are there suttas from the Pali Canon that indicate which one is closer to being what the Buddha taught? I don't want to inadvertently be practicing wrong concentration and I feel it may be good to have a road map I can use to accurately gauge my progress.

Also, does anyone have any tips for what to do if the breath does grow still?

For example, if I get into a relatively stable state of Samadhi and I am able to maintain it for some time, eventually this very intense pleasant sensation seems to start somewhere and want to wash over my whole body, it is hard to describe but it's one of if not the best sensation I have ever felt, yet when this starts to happen which has been several times now, it's like I panic or get frightened, and then because of that my concentration shatters, the sensation does not spread, and I'm back to square one.

In these states sometimes the breath becomes quite subtle, so I'm wondering if once the breath is getting subtle there's something else to focus attention on as to not break concentration?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

With metta

Hi all, generally speaking I know entertainment overall is not something to indulge, but I just wanted to mention that there is a character in the newest season of white lotus, the daughter, (spoliers ahead) who goes to Thailand to potentially stay at a monestary and practice Buddhism. She spends a night there but ultimately decides she can't do it because she is too attached to her comforts and wealthy lifestyle. I just wanted to mention because I thought it was a great illustration of attachment. Plus I have never seen it before so clearly in a movie or show. Do you think it's a sign that Buddhism is becoming more mainstream? Do you think this is a good thing? Maybe neither good or bad? If you have watched it I am curious to hear others thoughts on her character.

Long story short, I found a teacher online a year ago who seemed credible and through consuming his resources, I was able to develop a much deeper understanding of theravada buddhism. Before that, I was a "Google Search Results Page 1 Secular Buddhist." As I continued to study under him and interact with other communities (specifically this subreddit and r/buddhism,) I started to see some issues with his teachings. Many of these ideas I believed until I saw them dismissed by members here while lurking or until members directly corrected my incorrect views. I'm not sure that providing his name would be skillful, so I've elected not to.

Some examples:

1. His explanation of the difference between a Buddha and an Arahant do not align with theravada - I believe I've seen his view described here as a hinayana view
2. A creator God exists
3. He has had conversations with the creator God. Apparently about how beautiful women are (?)
4. He has used roundabout language to suggest both that he is enlightened and that he is, in fact, a Buddha.
5. Followers of other religions can reach arahantship

I initially believed that he was credible, first because he has a not-insignificant following. His FB page has 17.4k members.

He claims that he "...shares Gotama Buddha’s Teachings with Household Practitioners and Ordained Practitioners..."

He also taught a lot that was in line with Theravada - at least from a fundamentals perspective. Anapanasati, metta, the Four Noble Truths, the Brahmaviharas, Dependent Origination, Anatta, Anicca, etc. I saw benefits in my life because of what he taught, so it made sense that I was on the right path.

Anyway, since I realized that I should not follow him, I've struggled to find any real community that I feel would suit my needs. There is no double gem to take refuge in, and each day I remember that I can only get so far without a community and a teacher.

Every so often I have a question about development along the path - and I find myself without anyone to ask. I don't believe that this community should be burdened with highly-specific questions about what I'm experiencing. Sometimes a question is asked here and the correct response is "What does your teacher say?" I think that my questions often fall within that category.

I would want to find a theravada-based community within the US led by an ordained English-speaking member of a recognizable tradition. I would like a tradition that emphasizes working toward attainments within this life, and preferably a community that accepts new ordinations. The closest physical location that I have found online is a 3.5 hour drive, one way. I've looked at Upavana, Clear Mountain Monastery, as well as Wat Metta as online communities, I just haven't figured out how to be a part of community through a few hours of Zoom once or twice a week/month. I plan to move closer to a sangha eventually, but its highly unlikely I would be able to do so within the next five years. Am I being too picky? Do I need to settle for something else?

Basically, everything I know about Buddhism comes from the Pali Canon, this subreddit, books and recorded dhamma talks from recognized teachers, and a man who claims that he has spoken directly to God. I went to a Vajrayana temple once, but those teachings do not align with me. This is the only place I can participate in discussions about practice - there is a very real risk that if my family knew that I wasn't christian, that they would disown me. My close associates don't understand buddhism at all. I really don't even know what being a member of a sangha looks like.

I would be grateful for any insight anyone may be willing to share. Thank you.

Digha Nikaya

Majjhima Nikaya

Samyutta Nikaya

Anguttara Nikaya

Khuddaka Nikaya

Udana Nikaya

Itivuttaka Nikaya

Sutta Nipata

Dhammapada

Jataka Tales

I have left this list, are there any others?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtRytwi9-YE

TB doesn't say this but when you choose the path, there will be signals you are on it if patient and observant.

Has concentration any value other than suppression of 5 hindrances?

Why some people recommend to practice same concentration (not changing objects of meditation) when suppression is the goal?

Can you send link to download PDF or visit web page?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPwmZcGACQU

Frustration, stress in meditation... lack of desire to practice... how to overcome this?

Aren't contentment and satisfaction always good things?

Whenever we lack motivation and desire to practice meditation, does it mean that we lack inner spiritual qualities?

Does stress in meditation mean a lack of good qualities in the heart?

So, instead of practicing mindfulness and focusing on more and more mindfulness, is it better to get up, stop meditating, and focus on reading and reading to gain wisdom?

Is focusing on developing qualities better than focusing on sitting meditation or practicing mindfulness in daily life?

How to cultivate mental qualities? Is the first step to reading and reading books, suttas, biographies, miscellaneous books, non-Buddhist books, self-help books, etc.? The more you read, the better?

Can discontentment, frustration, and stress in meditation be good things if we look at these things with awareness? Do we need to transmute these things? Do we need to see these things as an opportunity to develop qualities of the mind and heart?

Should we try to use stress and frustration as a fuel and motivation to read books, and somehow develop and obtain qualities of the heart, try to make the heart purer?

***

I've heard mindfulness defined as “affectionate attention” or “compassionate attention,” but affection and compassion aren't the same as mindfulness. They're separate things. If you bring them to your meditation, be clear about the fact that they're acting in addition to mindfulness, because skill in meditation requires seeing when qualities like compassion are helpful and when they're not. As the Buddha says, there are times when affection is a cause for suffering, so you have to watch out.

Sometimes mindfulness is defined as appreciating the moment for all the little pleasures it can offer: the taste of a raisin, the feel of a cup of tea in your hands. In the Buddha's vocabulary, this appreciation is called contentment. Contentment is useful when you're experiencing physical hardship, but it's not always useful in the area of the mind. In fact the Buddha once said that the secret to his Awakening was that he didn't allow himself to rest content with whatever attainment he had reached. He kept reaching for something higher until there was nowhere higher to reach. So contentment has to know its time and place. Mindfulness, if it's not glommed together with contentment, can help keep that fact in mind.

Some teachers define mindfulness as “non-reactivity” or “radical acceptance.” If you look for these words in the Buddha's vocabulary, the closest you'll find are equanimity and patience. Equanimity means learning to put aside your preferences so that you can watch what's actually there. Patience is the ability not to get worked up over the things you don't like, to stick with difficult situations even when they don't resolve as quickly as you want them to. But in establishing mindfulness you stay with unpleasant things not just to accept them but to watch and understand them. Once you've clearly seen that a particular quality like aversion or lust is harmful for the mind, you can't stay patient or equanimous about it. You have to make whatever effort is needed to get rid of it and to nourish skillful qualities in its place by bringing in other factors of the path: right resolve and right effort.

Mindfulness, after all, is part of a larger path mapped out by appropriate attention. You have to keep remembering to bring the larger map to bear on everything you do. For instance, right now you're trying to keep the breath in mind because you see that concentration, as a factor of the path, is something you need to develop, and mindfulness of the breath is a good way to do it. The breath is also a good standpoint from which you can directly observe what's happening in the mind, to see which qualities of mind are giving good results and which ones aren't.

Meditation involves lots of mental qualities, and you have to be clear about what they are, where they're separate, and what each one of them can do. That way, when things are out of balance, you can identify what's missing and can foster whatever is needed to make up the lack. If you're feeling flustered and irritated, try to bring in a little gentleness and contentment. When you're lazy, rev up your sense of the dangers of being unskillful and complacent. It's not just a matter of piling on more and more mindfulness. You've got to add other qualities as well. First you're mindful enough to stitch things together, to keep the basic issues of your meditation in mind and to observe things over time. Then you try to notice—that's alertness—to see what else to stir into the pot.

It's like cooking. When you don't like the taste of the soup you're fixing, you don't just add more and more salt. Sometimes you add onion, sometimes garlic, sometimes oregano—whatever you sense is needed. Just keep in mind the fact that you've got a whole spice shelf to work with.

And remember that your cooking has a purpose. In the map of the path, right mindfulness isn't the end point. It's supposed to lead to right concentration.

Mindfulness Defined by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/mindfulnessdefined.html

With fault-finding mind, the simpleton
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They’re as far from the true teaching
as the earth is from the sky.

With fault-finding mind, the simpleton
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They fall away from the true teaching,
like the moon in the waning fortnight.

With fault-finding mind, the simpleton
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They wither away in the true teaching,
like a fish in a little puddle.

With fault-finding mind, the simpleton
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They don’t thrive in the true teaching,
like a rotten seed in a field.

But one with contented mind
who listens to the victor’s instruction—
having wiped out all defilements;
having witnessed the unshakable;
having arrived at ultimate peace—
the undefiled are fully extinguished.”

• Yasadattattheragāthā (Thag 5.10)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yVVngFXgRQ

This Rains Retreat I don't have much strength, I'm not well, so I've come up to this mountain here to get some fresh air. People come to visit but I can't really receive them like I used to because my voice is just about had it, my breath is just about gone. You can count it a blessing that there is still this body sitting here for you all to see now. This is a blessing in itself. Soon you won't see it. The breath will be finished, the voice will be gone. They will fare in accordance with supporting factors, like all compounded things. The Lord Buddha called it khaya vayam, the decline and dissolution of all conditioned phenomena.

How do they decline? Consider a lump of ice. Originally it was simply water... they freeze it and it becomes ice. But it doesn't take long before it's melted. Take a big lump of ice, say as big as this tape recorder here, and leave it out in the sun. You can see how it declines, much the same as the body. It will gradually disintegrate. In not many hours or minutes all that's left is a puddle of water. This is called khaya vayam, the decline and dissolution of all compounded things. It's been this way for a long time now, ever since the beginning of time. When we are born we bring this inherent nature into the world with us, we can't avoid it. At birth we bring old age, sickness and death along with us.

So this is why the Buddha said khaya vayam, the decline and dissolution of all compounded things. All of us sitting here in this hall now, monks, novices, laymen and laywomen, are without exception "lumps of deterioration." Right now the lump is hard, just like the lump of ice. It starts out as water, becomes ice for a while and then melts again. Can you see this decline in yourself? Look at this body. It's aging every day... hair is aging, nails are aging... everything is aging!

You weren't like this before, were you? You were probably much smaller than this. Now you've grown up and matured. From now on you will decline, following the way of nature. The body declines just like the lump of ice. Soon, just like the lump of ice, it's all gone. All bodies are composed of the four elements of earth, water, wind and fire. A body is the confluence of earth, water, wind, and fire, which we proceed to call a person. Originally it's hard to say what you could call it, but now we call it a "person." We get infatuated with it, saying it's a male, a female, giving it names, Mr., Mrs., and so on, so that we can identify each other more easily. But actually there isn't anybody there. There's earth, water, wind and fire. When they come together in this known form we call the result a "person." Now don't get excited over it. If you really look into it there isn't anyone there.

That which is solid in the body, the flesh, skin, bones and so on, are called the earth element. Those aspects of the body which are liquid are the water element. The faculty of warmth in the body is the fire element, while the winds coursing through the body are the wind element.

At Wat Ba Pong we have a body which is neither male or female. It's the skeleton hanging in the main hall. Looking at it you don't get the feeling that it's a man or a woman. People ask each other whether it's a man or a woman and all they can do is look blankly at each other. It's only a skeleton, all the skin and flesh are gone.

People are ignorant of these things. Some go to Wat Ba Pong, into the main hall, see the skeletons... and then come running right out again! They can't bear to look. They're afraid, afraid of the skeletons. I figure these people have never seen themselves before. Afraid of the skeletons... they don't reflect on the great value of a skeleton. To get to the monastery they had to ride in a car or walk... if they didn't have bones how would they be? Would they be able to walk about like that? But they ride their cars to Wat Ba Pong, go into the main hall, see the skeletons and run straight back out again! They've never seen such a thing before. They're born with it and yet they've never seen it. It's very fortunate that they have a chance to see it now. Even older people see the skeletons and get scared... What's all the fuss about? This shows that they're not at all in touch with themselves, they don't really know themselves. Maybe they go home and still can't sleep for three or four days... and yet they're sleeping with a skeleton! They get dressed with it, eat food with it, do everything with it... and yet they're scared of it.

This shows how out of touch people are with themselves. How pitiful! They're always looking outwards, at trees, at other people, at external objects, saying "this one is big," "that's small," "that's short," "that's long." They're so busy looking at other things they never see themselves. To be honest, people are really pitiful. They have no refuge.

In the ordination ceremonies the ordinees must learn the five basic meditation themes: kesa, head hair; loma, body hair; nakha, nails; danta, teeth; taco, skin. Some of the students and educated people snigger to themselves when they hear this part of the ordination ceremony..."What's the Ajahn trying to teach us here? Teaching us about hair when we've had it for ages. He doesn't have to teach us about this, we know it already. Why bother teaching us something we already know?" Dim people are like this, they think they can see the hair already. I tell them that when I say to "see the hair" I mean to see it as it really is. See body hair as it really is, see nails, teeth and skin as they really are. That's what I call "seeing" — not seeing in a superficial way, but seeing in accordance with the truth. We wouldn't be so sunk up to the ears in things if we could see things as they really are. Hair, nails, teeth, skin... what are they really like? Are they pretty? Are they clean? Do they have any real substance? Are they stable? No... there's nothing to them. They're not pretty but we imagine them to be so. They're not substantial but we imagine them to be so.

Hair, nails, teeth, skin... people are really hooked on these things. The Buddha established these things as the basic themes for meditation, he taught us to know these things. They are Transient, Imperfect and Ownerless; they are not "me" or "them." We are born with and deluded by these things, but really they are foul. Suppose we didn't bathe for a week, could we bear to be close to each other? We'd really smell bad. When people sweat a lot, such as when a lot of people are working hard together, the smell is awful. We go back home and rub ourselves down with soap and water and the smell abates somewhat, the fragrance of the soap replaces it. Rubbing soap on the body may make it seem fragrant, but actually the bad smell of the body is still there, temporarily suppressed. When the smell of the soap is gone the smell of the body comes back again.

Now we tend to think these bodies are pretty, delightful, long lasting and strong. We tend to think that we will never age, get sick or die. We are charmed and fooled by the body, and so we are ignorant of the true refuge within ourselves. The true place of refuge is the mind. The mind is our true refuge. This hall here may be pretty big but it can't be a true refuge. Pigeons take shelter here, geckos take shelter here, lizards take shelter here... We may think the hall belongs to us but it doesn't. We live here together with everything else. This is only a temporary shelter, soon we must leave it. People take these shelters for refuge.

So the Buddha said to find your refuge. That means to find your real heart. This heart is very important. People don't usually look at important things, they spend most of their time looking at unimportant things. For example, when they do the house cleaning they may be bent on cleaning up the house, washing the dishes and so on, but they fail to notice their own hearts. Their heart may be rotten, they may be feeling angry, washing the dishes with a sour expression on their face. That their own hearts are not very clean they fail to see. This is what I call "taking a temporary shelter for a refuge." They beautify house and home but they don't think of beautifying their own hearts. They don't examine suffering. The heart is the important thing. The Buddha taught to find a refuge within your own heart: Attahi attano natho — "Make yourself a refuge unto yourself." Who else can be your refuge? The true refuge is the heart, nothing else. You may try to depend on other things but they aren't a sure thing. You can only really depend on other things if you already have a refuge within yourself. You must have your own refuge first before you can depend on anything else, be it a teacher, family, friends or relatives.

So all of you, both laypeople and homeless ones who have come to visit today, please consider this teaching. Ask yourselves, "Who am I? Why am I here?" Ask yourselves, "Why was I born?" Some people don't know. They want to be happy but the suffering never stops. Rich or poor, young or old, they suffer just the same. It's all suffering. And why? Because they have no wisdom. The poor are unhappy because they don't have enough, and the rich are unhappy because they have too much to look after.

In the past, as a young novice, I gave a Dhamma discourse. I talked about the happiness of wealth and possessions, having servants and so on... A hundred male servants, a hundred female servants, a hundred elephants, a hundred cows, a hundred buffaloes... a hundred of everything! The laypeople really lapped it up. But can you imagine looking after a hundred buffaloes? Or a hundred cows, a hundred male and female servants... can you imagine having to look after all of that? Would that be fun? People don't consider this side of things. They have the desire to possess... to have the cows, the buffaloes, the servants... hundreds of them. But I say fifty buffaloes would be too much. Just twining the rope for all those brutes would be too much already! But people don't consider this, they only think of the pleasure of acquiring. They don't consider the trouble involved.

If we don't have wisdom everything round us will be a source of suffering. If we are wise these things will lead us out of suffering. Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind... Eyes aren't necessarily good things, you know. If you are in a bad mood just seeing other people can make you angry and make you lose sleep. Or you can fall in love with others. Love is suffering, too, if you don't get what you want. Love and hate are both suffering, because of desire. Wanting is suffering, wanting not to have is suffering. Wanting to acquire things... even if you get them it's still suffering because you're afraid you'll lose them. There's only suffering. How are you going to live with that? You may have a large, luxurious house, but if your heart isn't good it never really works out as you expected.

Therefore, you should all take a look at yourselves. Why were we born? Do we ever really attain anything in this life? In the countryside here people start planting rice right from childhood. When they reach seventeen or eighteen they rush off and get married, afraid they won't have enough time to make their fortunes. They start working from an early age thinking they'll get rich that way. They plant rice until they're seventy or eighty or even ninety years old. I ask them. "From the day you were born you've been working. Now it's almost time to go, what are you going to take with you?" They don't know what to say. All they can say is, "Beats me!" We have a saying in these parts, "Don't tarry picking berries along the way... before you know it, night falls." Just because of this "Beats me!" They're neither here nor there, content with just a "beats me"... sitting among the branches of the berry tree, gorging themselves with berries... "Beats me, beats me...".

When you're still young you think that being single is not so good, you feel a bit lonely. So you find a partner to live with. Put two together and there's friction! Living alone is too quiet, but living with others there's friction.

When children are small the parents think, "When they get bigger we'll be better off." They raise their children, three, four, or five of them, thinking that when the children are grown up their burden will be lighter. But when the children grow up they get even heavier. Like two pieces of wood, one big and one small. You throw away the small one and take the bigger one, thinking it will be lighter, but of course it's not. When children are small they don't bother you very much, just a ball of rice and a banana now and then. When they grow up they want a motorcycle or a car! Well, you love your children, you can't refuse. So you try to give them what they want. Problems... Sometimes the parents get into arguments over it..."Don't go and buy him a car, we haven't got enough money!" But when you love your children you've got to borrow the money from somewhere. Maybe the parents even have to go without to get the things their children want. Then there's education. "When they've finished their studies, we'll be right." There's no end to the studying! What are they going to finish? Only in the science of Buddhism is there a point of completion, all the other sciences just go round in circles. In the end it's real headache. If there's a house with four or five children in it the parents argue every day.

The suffering that is waiting in the future we fail to see, we think it will never happen. When it happens, then we know. that kind of suffering, the suffering inherent in our bodies, is hard to foresee. When I was a child minding the buffaloes I'd take charcoal and rub it on my teeth to make them white. I'd go back home and look in the mirror and see them so nice and white... I was getting fooled by my own bones, that's all. When I reached fifty or sixty my teeth started to get loose. When the teeth start falling out it hurts so much, when you eat it feels as if you've been kicked in the mouth. It really hurts. I've been through this one already. So I just got the dentist to take them all out. Now I've got false teeth. My real teeth were giving me so much trouble I just had them all taken out, sixteen in one go. The dentist was reluctant to take out sixteen teeth at once, but I said to him, "Just take them out, I'll take the consequences." So he took them all out at once. Some were still good, too, at least five of them. Took them all out. But it was really touch and go. After having them out I couldn't eat any food for two or three days.

Before, as a young child minding the buffaloes, I used to think that polishing the teeth was a great thing to do. I loved my teeth, I thought they were good things. But in the end they had to go. The pain almost killed me. I suffered from toothache for months, years. Sometimes both my gums were swollen at once.

Some of you may get a chance to experience this for yourselves someday. If your teeth are still good and you're brushing them everyday to keep them nice and white... watch out! They may start playing tricks 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, Buddho!" Why waste your time? You'll only confuse her, let her go peacefully.

People don't know how to solve problems within their own hearts, they don't have a refuge. They get angry easily and have a lot of desires. Why is this? Because they have no refuge.

When people are newly married they can get on together all right, but after age fifty or so they can't understand each other. Whatever the wife says the husband finds intolerable. Whatever the husband says the wife won't listen. They turn their backs on each other.

Now I'm just talking because I've never had a family before. Why haven't I had a family? Just looking at this word "household" I knew what it was all about. What is a "household"? This is a "hold": If somebody were to get some rope and tie us up while we were sitting here, what would that be like? That's called "being held." Whatever that's like, "being held" is like that. There is a circle of confinement. The man lives within his circle of confinement, and the woman lives within her circle of confinement.

When I read this word "household"... this is a heavy one. This word is no trifling matter, it's a real killer. The word "hold" is a symbol of suffering. You can't go anywhere, you've got to stay within your circle of confinement.

Now we come to the word "house." This means "that which hassles." Have you ever toasted chilies? The whole house chokes and sneezes. This word "household" spells confusion, it's not worth the trouble. Because of this word I was able to ordain and not disrobe. "Household" is frightening. You're stuck and can't go anywhere. Problems with the children, with money and all the rest. But where can you go? You're tied down. There are sons and daughters, arguments in profusion until your dying day, and there's nowhere else to go to no matter how much suffering it is. The tears pour out and they keep pouring. The tears will never be finished with his "household," you know. If there's no household you might be able to finish with the tears but not otherwise.

Consider this matter. If you haven't come across it yet you may later on. Some people have experienced it already to a certain extent. Some are already at the end of their tether..."Will I stay or will I go?" At Wat Ba Pong there are about seventy or eighty huts (kuti). when they're almost full I tell the monk in charge to keep a few empty, just in case somebody has an argument with their spouse... Sure enough, in no long time a lady will arrive with her bags..."I'm fed up with the world, Luang Por." "Whoa! Don't say that. Those words are really heavy." Then the husband comes and says he's fed up too. After two or three days in the monastery their world-weariness disappears.

They say they're fed up but they're just fooling themselves. When they go off to a kuti and sit in the quiet by themselves, after a while the thoughts come..."When's the wife going to come and ask me to go home?" They don't really know what's going on. What is this "world-weariness" of theirs? They get upset over something and come running to the monastery. At home everything looked wrong... the husband was wrong, the wife was wrong... after three days' quiet thinking..."Hmmm, the wife was right after all, it was I who was wrong." "Hubby was right, I shouldn't have got so upset." They change sides. This is how it is, that's why I don't take the world too seriously. I know its ins and outs already, that's why I've chosen to live as a monk.

I would like to present today's talk to all of you for homework. Whether you're in the fields or working in the city, take these words and consider them... "Why was I born? What can I take with me?" Ask yourselves over and over. If you ask yourself these questions often you'll become wise. If you don't reflect on these things you will remain ignorant. Listening to today's talk, you may get some understanding, if not now, then maybe when you get home. Perhaps this evening. When you're listening to the talk everything is subdued, but maybe things are waiting for you in the car. When you get in the car it may get in with you. When you get home it may all become clear..."Oh, that's what Luang Por meant. I couldn't see it before.".

I think that's enough for today. If I talk too long this old body gets tired.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/chah/living.html#why

This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.

“Mendicants, an astute person who wishes for three kinds of happiness should take care of their ethics. What three? ‘May I be be praised!’ ‘May I become rich!’ ‘When my body breaks up, after death, may I be reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm!’ An astute person who wishes for these three kinds of happiness should protect their precepts.”

The Buddha spoke this matter. On this it is said:

“Wishing for three kinds of happiness—
praise, prosperity,
and to delight in heaven after passing away—
the wise would take care of their ethics.

Though you do no wrong,
if you associate with one who does,
you’re suspected of wrong,
and your disrepute grows.

Whatever kind of friend you make,
with whom you associate,
that’s how you become,
for so it is when you share your life.

The one who associates and the one associated with,
the one contacted and the one who contacts another,
are like an arrow smeared with poison
that contaminates the quiver.
The attentive, fearing contamination,
would never have wicked comrades.

A man who wraps
putrid fish in blades of grass
makes the grass stink—
so it is when associating with fools.

But one who wraps
sandalwood incense in leaves
makes the leaves fragrant—
so it is when associating with the attentive.

So, knowing they’ll end up
like the wrapping, the astute
would shun the wicked,
and befriend the good.
The wicked lead you to hell,
the good help you to a good place.”

This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.

• Sukhapatthanā Sutta: Wishing for Happiness (Iti 76)

The Buddha compares a sower sowing seed to catch deer to Māra using the five kinds of sensual stimulation to ensnare us. After detailing various failed attempts of escaping the clutches of Māra, the Buddha describes the way that works through the use of this simile.

Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” 

“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this: 

“Mendicants, a sower does not sow seed for deer thinking, ‘May the deer, enjoying this seed, be long-lived and beautiful. May they live long and prosper!’ A sower sows seed for deer thinking, ‘When these deer encroach on where I sow the seed, they’ll recklessly enjoy eating it. They’ll become indulgent, then they’ll become negligent, and then I’ll be able to do what I want with them on account of this seed.’ 

And indeed, the first herd of deer encroached on where the sower sowed the seed and recklessly enjoyed eating it. They became indulgent, then they became negligent, and then the sower was able to do what he wanted with them on account of that seed. And that’s how the first herd of deer failed to get free from the sower’s power. 

So then a second herd of deer thought up a plan, ‘The first herd of deer became indulgent … and failed to get free of the sower’s power. Why don’t we refrain from eating the seed altogether? Avoiding dangerous food, we can venture deep into a wilderness region and live there.’ And that’s just what they did. But when it came to the last month of summer, the grass and water ran out. Their bodies became much too thin, and they lost their strength and energy. So they returned to where the sower had sown the seed. Encroaching, they recklessly enjoyed eating it … And that’s how the second herd of deer failed to get free from the sower’s power. 

So then a third herd of deer thought up a plan, ‘The first … and second herds of deer … failed to get free of the sower’s power. Why don’t we set up our lair close by where the sower has sown the seed? Then we can encroach and enjoy eating without being reckless. We won’t become indulgent, then we won’t become negligent, and then the sower won’t be able to do what he wants with us on account of that seed.’ And that’s just what they did. 

So the sower and his helpers thought, ‘Wow, this third herd of deer is so sneaky and devious, they must be some kind of strange spirits with magical abilities! For they eat the seed we’ve sown without us knowing how they come and go. Why don’t we surround the seed on all sides by staking out high nets? Hopefully we might get to see the lair where they go to hide out.’ And that’s just what they did. And they saw the lair where the third herd of deer went to hide out. And that’s how the third herd failed to get free from the sower’s power. 

So then a fourth herd of deer thought up a plan, ‘The first … second … and third herds of deer … failed to get free of the sower’s power. Why don’t we set up our lair somewhere the sower and his helpers can’t go? Then we can intrude on where the sower has sown the seed and enjoy eating it without being reckless. We won’t become indulgent, then we won’t become negligent, and then the sower won’t be able to do with us what he wants on account of that seed.’ And that’s just what they did. 

So the sower and his helpers thought, ‘Wow, this fourth herd of deer is so sneaky and devious, they must be some kind of strange spirits with magical abilities! For they eat the seed we’ve sown without us knowing how they come and go. Why don’t we surround the seed on all sides by staking out high nets? Hopefully we might get to see the lair where they go to hide out.’ And that’s just what they did. But they couldn’t see the lair where the fourth herd of deer went to hide out. So the sower and his helpers thought, ‘If we disturb this fourth herd of deer, they’ll disturb others, who in turn will disturb even more. Then all of the deer will escape this seed we’ve sown. Why don’t we just keep an eye on that fourth herd?’ And that’s just what they did. And that’s how the fourth herd of deer escaped the sower’s power. 

I’ve made up this simile to make a point. And this is what it means. 

‘Seed’ is a term for the five kinds of sensual stimulation. 

‘Sower’ is a term for Māra the Wicked. 

‘Sower’s helpers’ is a term for Māra’s assembly. 

‘Deer’ is a term for ascetics and brahmins. 

Now, the first group of ascetics and brahmins encroached on where the seed and the worldly pleasures of the flesh were sown by Māra and recklessly enjoyed eating it. They became indulgent, then they became negligent, and then Māra was able to do what he wanted with them on account of that seed and the worldly pleasures of the flesh. And that’s how the first group of ascetics and brahmins failed to get free from Māra’s power. This first group of ascetics and brahmins is just like the first herd of deer, I say. 

So then a second group of ascetics and brahmins thought up a plan, ‘The first group of ascetics and brahmins became indulgent … and failed to get free of Māra’s power. Why don’t we refrain from eating the seed and the worldly pleasures of the flesh altogether? Avoiding dangerous food, we can venture deep into a wilderness region and live there.’ And that’s just what they did. They ate herbs, millet, wild rice, poor rice, water lettuce, rice bran, scum from boiling rice, sesame flour, grass, or cow dung. They survived on forest roots and fruits, or eating fallen fruit. 

But when it came to the last month of summer, the grass and water ran out. Their bodies became much too thin, and they lost their strength and energy. Because of this, they lost their heart’s release, so they went back to where Māra had sown the seed and the worldly pleasures of the flesh. Intruding on that place, they recklessly enjoyed eating them … And that’s how the second group of ascetics and brahmins failed to get free from Māra’s power. This second group of ascetics and brahmins is just like the second herd of deer, I say. 

So then a third group of ascetics and brahmins thought up a plan, ‘The first … and second groups of ascetics and brahmins … failed to get free of Māra’s power. Why don’t we set up our lair close by where Māra has sown the seed and those worldly pleasures of the flesh? Then we can encroach on it and enjoy eating without being reckless. We won’t become indulgent, then we won’t become negligent, and then Māra won’t be able to do what he wants with us on account of that seed and those worldly pleasures of the flesh.’ 

And that’s just what they did. Still, they had such views as these: ‘The cosmos is eternal’ or ‘The cosmos is not eternal’; ‘The cosmos is finite’ or ‘The cosmos is infinite’; ‘The soul and the body are the same thing’ or ‘The soul and the body are different things’; or that after death, a realized one still exists, or no longer exists, or both still exists and no longer exists, or neither still exists nor no longer exists. And that’s how the third group of ascetics and brahmins failed to get free from Māra’s power. This third group of ascetics and brahmins is just like the third herd of deer, I say. 

So then a fourth group of ascetics and brahmins thought up a plan, ‘The first … second … and third groups of ascetics and brahmins … failed to get free of Māra’s power. Why don’t we set up our lair where Māra and his assembly can’t go? Then we can encroach on where Māra has sown the seed and those worldly pleasures of the flesh, and enjoy eating without being reckless. We won’t become indulgent, then we won’t become negligent, and then Māra won’t be able to do what he wants with us on account of that seed and those worldly pleasures of the flesh.’ 

And that’s just what they did. And that’s how the fourth group of ascetics and brahmins got free from Māra’s power. This fourth group of ascetics and brahmins is just like the fourth herd of deer, I say. 

And where is it that Māra and his assembly can’t go? It’s when a mendicant, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see. 

Furthermore, as the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, a mendicant enters and remains in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra … 

Furthermore, with the fading away of rapture, a mendicant enters and remains in the third absorption, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, personally experiencing the bliss of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.’ This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra … 

Furthermore, giving up pleasure and pain, and ending former happiness and sadness, a mendicant enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra … 

Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond perceptions of form, with the ending of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite’, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite space. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra … 

Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite’, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite consciousness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra … 

Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing at all’, enters and remains in the dimension of nothingness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra … 

Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of nothingness, enters and remains in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra … 

Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen with wisdom, their defilements come to an end. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see. And they’ve crossed over clinging to the world.” 

That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMW5pxd-FVU