The
Mother taking
Class in playground
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If
renouncing the slightest happiness enables him to
realise a greater one,, the intelligent man should
renounce the lesser for the sake of the greater.
If
he seeks his own happiness by harming others, bound
by hate, he remains the slave of 'hatred.
To
neglect what should be done and to do what should
be neglected, is to in crease in arrogance and negligence.
To
be constantly mindful of the true nature of the body,
not to seek what is evil, to pursue with perseverance
what is good, is to have right understanding thus,
all one impurity disappears.
Having
killed his father (ego), his mother (desire) and the
two warrior kings (wrong views), having destroyed
the kingdom (of 'the senses) and all its dependencies,
the Brahmin lives free from evil.
Having
killed father, mother, the two warrior kings and the
tiger (mental hindrances), the Brahmin lives free
from evil.
The
disciples of Gautama are alert and truly awakened,
for day and night, their attention is turned to the
Buddha, the Dhamma 1 and
the Sangha. 1
The
disciples of Gautama are alert and truly awakened,
for, day and night, their attention remains fixed
on the Doctrine.
The
disciples of Gautama are alert and truly awakened
for day and night, their attention remains fixed on
the Sangha.
The
disciples of Gautama are alert and truly awakened
for, day and night, they remain aware of the true
nature of the body.
The
disciples of Gautama are alert and truly awakened
for, day and night, they delight in compassion.
The
disciples of Gautama are alert and truly awakened
for, day and night, they take pleasure in meditation.
it
is hard to renounce the. world; it is equally hard
to enjoy the world. Difficult and sorrowful is household
life. It is painful to, be with those who are not
our equals and it is painful to wander in the cycle
of births. Therefore, do not follow after sorrow,
nor be a wanderer without a goal.
The
man who is full of faith and goodness, who possesses
glory and wealth, is revered wherever he goes.
Men
of goodness shine afar like the snowy peaks of the
Himalayas. Whereas wicked men are no more visible
than arrows shot in the night.
The
man who eats alone, sleeps alone, walks alone untiring
in his self-mastery, will delight in the solitary
life of the forests.
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Still
you should not be mistaken. For I believe all these are
images rather than material facts, because it is quite certain
that eating alone, sleeping alone, living in the forest
all alone is not enough to give you freedom of spirit.
It has been noticed that most people who live alone
in the forest become friendly with all the animals and plants
around them; but it is not at all the fact of being all
alone that gives you the power of entering into an inner
contemplation and living in communion with the Supreme Truth.
Perhaps it is easier, when by force of circumstance you
have nothing else to do, but I am not convinced of it. One
can always invent occupations and it seems to me, according
to my experience of life, that if one succeeds in subduing
one's nature in the midst of difficulties, if one endeavours
to be all alone within oneself with the eternal Presence,
while keeping the same surroundings which the Grace has
given us, the realisation which one obtains then is infinitely
more true, more profound, more lasting.
To run away from difficulties in order to conquer them
is not a solution. It is very attractive. In those who seek
the spiritual life, there is something that says, "Oh! to
sit down under a tree, all alone, to remain in meditation,
not to have the temptation to speak or act, how fine it
must be !" It is because there is a very strong formation
in this direction, but it is very illusory.
The best meditations are those that one has all of
a sudden, because they take possession of you as an imperative
necessity. You have no choice but to concentrate, to meditate,
to look beyond the appearances. And it is not necessarily
in the solitude of the forest that it seizes you, it happens
when something in you is ready, when the time has come,
when' the true need is there, when the Grace is with you.
It seems to me that-humanity has made some progress
and the true victory must be won in life itself.
You must know how to live alone with the Eternal and
Infinite in the midst of all circumstances. You must know
how to be free, with the Supreme as your companion, in the
midst of all occupations. That is indeed the true victory.
1 The Law; the Teaching.
14
July 1958
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