Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
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– AN 1.331<br />
Rare are the people who understand that we can’t live like<br />
this, that we can’t be negligent. It is far more common for<br />
people to live under the assumption that nothing will go<br />
wrong in our lives, that bad things will not happen to us, that<br />
when we die we will go to a good place, or be extinguished<br />
forever.<br />
Actually, a human being is like a person walking a tightrope;<br />
any moment we could slip off and fall into death or suffering<br />
or whatever lies in wait below. If you were up here<br />
meditating during the lightning storm two nights ago you can<br />
understand this. It’s quite an experience really, realizing<br />
how thin is the rope on which we are walking. At any<br />
moment, something could knock you off and if you haven’t<br />
prepared yourself or learned anything useful in your life, how<br />
could you be ready for it? You would die without any clarity<br />
of mind, without any presence, without any awareness. You<br />
would die with a muddled, confused mind, and be reborn in a<br />
corresponding state. Many people have no concept of how<br />
precarious our situation really is, and yet we are able to see<br />
this.<br />
Not only are we able to see this, but we have acted on it,<br />
which is a rare achievement as well, as the Buddha taught:<br />
“appakā te sattā ye saṃviggā yoniso padahanti; atha kho<br />
eteva sattā bahutarā ye saṃviggā yoniso na padahanti.”<br />
“Few are those beings who, disturbed, put out wise effort;<br />
those beings who, though disturbed, do not put out wise<br />
effort are far more.”<br />
– AN 1.332<br />
Some people see the danger of being negligent, but do<br />
nothing about it. They think, “yeah, that would be great if I<br />
could do some meditation or something spiritual,” but they<br />
don’t do it. Seeing this, the Buddha taught that as rare are<br />
the people who have understanding of danger, far more rare<br />
are the people who actually do something about it.<br />
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