é™æ€è¯ Readings For Silent Reflection
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... What Is Suffering?
Suffering was the Buddha’s first teaching
From “Buddha’s Four Noble Truths” by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche :
The Buddha’s first teaching was on the Four Noble Truths… “Oh Bhikshus, there are four noble truths. They are the noble truths of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering and the path to the cessation of suffering.”
According to Buddhism, we living beings are trapped in the cycle of existence known as samsara. In samsara, we wander aimlessly and experience unbearable suffering—day and night, year after year, life after life—because of the tight grip of our grasping at self. In order to heal this disease-like condition, first we have to find its cause, and then we apply the medicine-like path of training to restore our original good health, which is enlightenment. -
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FOLLOWING THE PATH
When asked to explain why his disciples always looked cheerful, the Buddha commented:
“They have no regret over the past, nor do they brood over the future. They live in the present; therefore they are radiant.
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"Don't think that the Dhamma lies far away from you. It lies right with you; it's about you. Take a look. One minute happy, the next minute sad, satisfied, then angry at this person, hating that person: It's all Dhamma..."
-Ajahn Chah
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THE WISDOM of Ajahn Chah :
- No Match for an Ox...
An ox that's been pulling a loaded wagon a long way — the closer the sun lowers to the horizon and evening comes on, the faster it walks, because it wants to reach its destination quickly. It misses its home.
We human beings, the older we get, the sicker we get, the closer we are to dying: That's the time when you have to practice. You can't make old age and illness an excuse not to practice, or else you'll just be worse than an ox.
~ Ajhan Chah -
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