All Dhamma friends, may
I have this opportunity to give a Dhamma Talk and
welcome everybody. I have the intention to retreat and
keep silent, to say "good-bye" to the old year and
"welcome" to the New Year. I have said "silence is the
greatest sound in the universe."
All sounds occur when
two things touch each other. No matter how much that
vibration is, loud or soft, and the sound, high or low,
finally it will go back to silence again. Nothing is
also the same, it is the beginning, it is the mother of
all things. I am talking about the heart of Buddhism and
this is the highest practice which I would like to give
to you as my blessing for the New Year. Listen
carefully, you will receive good things.
"Sutta Susang Lapatae
Pannyang" (A person who is a good listener, wisdom will
arise.) "Pannya Parie-sut-cha-ti" (Our mind will be
clear, bright and without defilement, only when we have
wisdom.) The highest wisdom we call Supra-mundane
wisdom. It means we realize all things in this world are
inherently empty. We realize the end condition of all
things. It is very difficult to realize this. Not even
to realize but only to understand is very difficult.
Everything that occurs is rising illusion and falling
illusion. I would like to ask, 'is there anything in
this world that can stay forever?' The world, the
universe, the mountains in this world, such as the
Himalayas, are all impermanent. There is nothing in this
world that is permanent. The sun in time will disappear.
The universe also changes and finally it will be gone.
The Buddha found this Noble Truth a long time ago, that
all things finally come to an end (or return to
emptiness). When we talk about ending nobody wants to
hear because when it ends there is nothing to have,
there is nothing to be: we feel lonely, adrift. We are
used to having something to cling or attach to. The
truth is; all things are emptiness. For Example: The
sound of a bell. Before we ring the bell there is no
sound. After we ring the bell, the sound which at first
may be loud, gets quieter, quieter and quieter until it
disappears: returning to silence. Silence is the
beginning. Because of the emptiness of the glass we can
put orange juice in it. We use emptiness for holding
things. If this glass did not have the empty space we
could not put anything in it. It could only be used as a
paperweight. It is the empty space in the glass that
makes it useful.
The emptiness is very
useful for everything. Our mind is the same. The more
the mind is free from defilements, the more energy it
possesses. The more confused or restless the mind; the
more we suffer. We must free our minds, like the Buddha,
and the Arahants, who have reached the emptiness. The
one who knows the truth, and is awaken to the truth, is
free and filled with delight. The Arahat's accumulate
their perfection differently but their emptiness is the
same. The Arahat's mind reaches to the one pure which is
Buddhahood. Here, the Buddha we are referring to is not
a person but Emptiness itself. We respect Buddha because
of his great compassion love and wisdom: to know the
truth, to awaken to the truth and to live in freedom and
delight. I give the name to my Monasteries, Sunnataram
(Place of Emptiness) to remind me of the emptiness, to
remind myself that: whatever we gain...we gain what?
Whatever we have...we have what? Whatever we are...we
are what?
A wise man said:
When you gain you must
know what you gain: be without attachment so you do not
suffer:
Whoever you are or
whatever you do: do not attach to it, live in the right
way (emptiness).
You must learn how to
die from all defilements, before the body dies;
If you are aware of
this, you will be happy forever.
Whatever we gain; do not
attach to it. Whatever we are; do not cling to it.
Whatever we have; do not attach to it. There is no one
who makes us suffer, except ourselves. We suffer due to
our foolishness. We suffer because we have self. We have
self because we have ignorance. When our mind is free
from defilement, there is no self. We have things by the
natural way. I wrote a poem:
Since we were born, what
did we do with our life?
Were we born only to
think of and live for worldly desires?
Were we born only for
fame, corruption or cheating?
Despite these
defilements, we consider ourselves wise human beings.
We must train and
develop ourselves. Learn to get up early. All day long
we restlessly obsess about our desires. We cannot take
anything with us when death comes. We must learn to
train our mind and control ourselves. We all should
learn to have more virtue, which will become our noble
treasure forever. To become a Buddha, one needs the
virtues of loving kindness and wisdom. No matter how big
the ocean is; it cannot be bigger than the Buddha's
loving kindness. His loving kindness is always flowing.
The light of his wisdom is brighter than the sunlight.
The light we see with our eyes, leads us to the way: but
the light of Dhamma shines inside our mind, making it
clear, so we do not suffer. With the light of Dhamma in
our mind, even when others blame us, curse us or worldly
conditions happen to us, our mind remains neutral. Even
things that bring satisfaction are not clung to; and
things which are dissatisfying are not opposed.
We still do our duty and
help others. Whatever we do, we do with pure love and
enjoyment. It does not mean that Arahats, who are free
from defilements, get bored. No! They work hard. The
Buddha does not get bored. He dedicated his life to
helping others. He has loving kindness. It is the
highest love. It is love without attachment, without
ignorance. The Buddha teaches us not to exploit others.
Whatever we gain, whatever we have, we should learn to
give. We should not take things from others which are
not offered. We should be generous. Whatever we gain,
whatever we have and whatever we are, we must know and
understand their true nature. Otherwise we will suffer a
lot, when we lose them.
When we fully realize
that everything is impermanent and finally it will
return to emptiness then we will not suffer. If we do
not contemplate and do not understand, we will continue
to suffer. But if we contemplate, we will have less
problems and less sufferings. It is wise and beneficial
to contemplate with an awakened, delighted mind, at all
times.
Before we have, we have
not before. Before we are, we are not before. Whatever
we gain. Whatever we have. Whatever we are. It came
afterward. Even who we love, things we like, finally
they all will be gone. If things were ever permanent
then philosophers would disagree with the Buddha. But
there are none who disagrees because the noble truth is
the truth forever. The truth is always there. The Buddha
found it and taught us so that we will not suffer. I
contemplate the Dhamma condition which the Buddha has
said: "Suppo Dhammo Jasunnyatoe" (Everything is
emptiness). Emptiness is the end condition of all
things. Some things are returned to emptiness quickly
while others more slowly. But everything must cease. It
is very rare that one lives more than one hundred years.
Some of us are already middle age. Some people die as
early as thirty years old or even younger.
The gift for today is:
Try to realize the end condition of everything. Stop all
bad deeds and keep doing good deeds. Make the resolution
that: "I will stop doing all bad deeds. May I be
inspired to cultivate good deeds. May my wisdom arise.
May I have loving kindness and finally develop
equanimity." The merit we obtain belongs to us.
Materials do not belong to us. We may lose them at any
time. When death comes, all things we have, our
children, our wife, our husband and the people we love,
we must leave them behind. The only thing which will be
with us is our good deeds. No one can steal them from
us. We must accumulate the noble treasure within our
mind. I believe:
All good or bad which we
have done,
Will always be there; it
never disappears.
All good or bad deeds
originate in our mind,
And remain within our
mind.
If we do good and have
loving kindness,
It will lead us to be
free from suffering,
We will be happy whether
we live or die.
If we continuously
cultivate wholesomeness,
We will be happy and
free from suffering.
I rejoice with your wholesomeness and
your good deeds. May the power of the Triple Gem, your
wholesomeness, all your good deeds that you have done or
intend to do from today on, bless you. May you be
inspired to cultivate good deeds until you reach your
goal. While you are still alive, may you overcome
obstacles and may you be blessed with good complexion
(of inner radiance and peace), long life, happiness,
energy, wisdom and wealth.
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