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Main Index
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| | | Book Name: The Dhammapada - The Way of the Buddha, Vol 2 | Previous Next | |
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come across Mahavira, he would have understood. Just watching, seeing, and there is understanding.
KNOW THAT THE BODY IS A FRAGILE JAR,
AND MAKE A CASTLE OF YOUR MIND.
By 'mind' Buddha means consciousness. By 'mind' Buddha means Mind with a capital M -- not this ordinary mind that you have but the Mind which happens when all thoughts have disappeared, when the mind is utterly empty of thoughts. Make a castle of your Mind because this body is going to die -- don't depend on it.
IN EVERY TRIAL
LET UNDERSTANDING FIGHT FOR YOU
TO DEFEND WHAT YOU HAVE WON.
And remember continuously, because the struggle is long, and the journey is arduous. Many times you will fall and forget, many times you will start judging. Many times you will start getting identified with this or that, many times the ego will assert itself again and again. Whenever the ego asserts itself, whenever identification happens, whenever judgment arises, immediately remember: watch, simply watch, and there will be understanding.
And understanding is the secret of transformation. If you can understand anger, immediately you will be showered with compassion. If you can understand sex, immediately you will attain to samadhi. 'Understanding' is the most important word to remember.
FOR SOON THE BODY IS DISCARDED.
THEN WHAT DOES IT FEEL?
A USELESS LOG OF WOOD, IT LIES ON THE GROUND.
THEN WHAT DOES IT KNOW?
Don't depend on the body and don't remain confined to the body. Use it, respect it, love it, care for it, but remember: you have to leave it one day. It is only a cage, it will be left behind, and the bird will be gone. Before that happens, take care of the bird too. Cleanse your consciousness, because that will be going with you. Your understanding will go with you, not your body.
So don't waste too much time in decorating it with cosmetics, with clothes, with ornaments -- don't waste too much time with the body, because the body belongs to the earth and the earth will claim it back. Dust unto dust. You don't belong to the earth, you belong to some beyond, to some unknown. Your home is in the unknown, here you
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