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A spark of Buddhist wisdom for the 14th day of this month. Remove the arrow of your blind passions
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A spark of Buddhist wisdom for the 14th day of this month. Remove the arrow of your blind passions
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| As a simple approach to the very basics of the Buddha's teachings, BDK America has provided 31 short lessons and will display a new one each day of the month. We do this so busy people can spend one or two minutes each day and learn a little more about Buddhism. All 31 lessons are collected in a small booklet called A Teaching a Day, and each lesson is edited from our small hardcover book, The Teaching of Buddha. In most cases we can send a free print copy of one or both publications to individuals in the continental United States. Learn more about these publications here. |
The Teaching of Buddha - Day 14
Behind the desires and worldly passions which the mind entertains, there abides clear and undefiled, the fundamental and true essence of mind.
Water is round in a round receptacle and square in a square one, but water of itself has no particular shape. Most people remain unaware ofthis fact.
People are caught in the entanglements of discriminating between good and bad; choosing between things they like and dislike; find agreeable and disagreeable; and thinking whether things exist or do not exist. People become attached with this way of thinking and as a result, suffer.
If it were only possible for them to sever the attachments to these imaginary and false discriminations and restore the original purity of their minds, then both their minds and bodies would become free of suffering and they would know the peacefulness that comes with that freedom.
| The Pali Dhammapada is an anthology of Buddhist ethical thoughts and precepts consisting of over 400 short verses. With its simplicity of expression and poetic beauty, the Dhammapada is widely popular. In ordinary terms, here dhamma means discipline, or virtuous living, and pada the path; thus, the Dhammapada is the "Path of Virtuous Living." The translation here is from Book VI, Chapter 1, Section 5 of the voluminous Buddha-Dharma, Revised Second Edition (Berkeley CA: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2003) 829 pp. Copyright © 1984, 2003, all rights reserved. |
The Wise ...
98. Be it a village, a forest, a valley, or a hill, where sages live is delightful.
99. In the forest that should give delight, an ordinary person does not find pleasure; but one who has discarded greed and does not seek lust will find happiness in it.