old-path-white-clouds-thich-nhat-hanh

ise at any moment to submerge one. Rahula’s advice was well worth heeding—he should not rest on any laurels. The Buddha’s teaching
should be practiced continuously.
One afternoon, as he sat outside his hut at Jetavana monastery, the Buddha told the younger bhikkhus a story to remind them to observe
and master their six senses and not allow themselves to be lost in forgetfulness. The Buddha recounted, “One day a falcon swooped down
and caught a young quail in her talons. As she flew back into the sky, the quail began to cry. He chastised himself for wandering away from
where his parents had told him to stay—‘If only I had listened to my parents, I would not be in this predicament.’
“The falcon asked, ‘And where did your parents tell you to stay, you runt?’ The quail answered, ‘In the newly plowed field.’
“To the quail’s surprise, the falcon said, ‘I can catch any quail I want anytime I want. I will return you to that field and offer you one
more hour of life. I will be looking for you, and in just an hour I will catch you, break your little neck, and eat you at once.’ And the falcon
swooped down again and released the quail in the newly plowed field.
“Surprisingly, the young quail immediately climbed up on a mound of newly plowed earth and began to taunt the falcon. ‘Hey, falcon,
why wait an hour? Why don’t you fly back down and try to catch me right now?’
“Angered, the falcon tucked her wings close to her sides and shot down at full speed. But the quail quickly ducked for cover in the
furrow beneath the mound of earth, and the falcon missed the quail and landed with such force that she broke her breastbone and was
killed instantly.
“Bhikkhus, you must dwell in mindfulness at all times and master your six senses. When you leave mindfulness, you enter the domain of
Mara, and danger is unavoidable.”
Svasti was encouraged by the number of sincere and talented young bhikkhus in the Buddha’s sangha. One day he was invited with
several other monks to the home of a layperson named Citta, who lived in the village Macchikasanda. It was on this outing that Svasti
learned how bright one of these young bhikkhus was. Lay disciple Citta was well known for his devotion to the teaching. Because of his
large and generous heart, he was deeply loved by the people just as lay devotee Anathapindika was loved. Citta enjoyed inviting senior
disciples to his home in order to offer them food and ask them questions on the Dharma. On this particular day, he had invited ten senior
monks and two young monks, Svasti and Isidatta. After the monks were finished eating, Citta bowed to them respectfully and then asked if
he could sit before them on a low stool.
He asked them the following question, “Respected Venerables, I have heard the Brahmajala Sutra in which the Buddha discusses the
sixty-two false views of contemporary sects. I have also heard the questions raised by members of other sects concerning life, death, and
the soul, such as: is the world finite or infinite, temporal or everlasting, are body and mind one or two, will the Tathagata still exist after his
death or cease to exist, will he both exist and cease to exist, or will he neither exist nor cease to exist. Venerables, what gives rise to these
esoteric kinds of views and questions?”
Not one of the bhikkhus ventured to answer Citta’s question, even after he repeated it three times. Svasti was embarrassed, and felt his
ears turning warm. Suddenly Isidatta spoke. He turned towards the senior bhikkhus and asked, “Respected elders, may I respond to lay
disciple Citta’s question?”
The senior monks answered, “Bhikkhu, you may answer his question if you wish.”
Turning back towards Citta, Isidatta said, “Sir, such views and questions arise because people still cling to a false view of the self. If the
idea of a separate self were abandoned, people would no longer have a need to cling to such views or ask such questions.”
Citta was visibly impressed by the young bhikkhu’s response. He said, “Please, Venerable, could you explain this more clearly.”
“People without a chance to be exposed to and to study the Way of Awakening generally think of the body as being the same as one’s
self, or they think that the self is contained in the body and the body is contained in the self. Likewise, they consider feelings to be the same
as the self, or they think that feelings are contained in the self and the self is contained in feelings. Such people hold the same views as
regards their perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. They are caught in a false view of self. It is precisely because they are
caught in a false view of self that they become entrapped by the sixty-two false views discussed in the Brahmajala Sutra and by questions
about the finite and infinite, temporal and everlasting, one and two, existing and ceasing to exist. Lay disciple Citta, such questions and
views are rendered meaningless when, through dedicated study and practice, one breaks through the false view of self.”
Increasingly impressed by the young bhikkhu, Citta respectfully asked Isidatta, “Venerable, where are you from?”
“I come from Avanti.”
“Venerable, I have heard about a young man from Avanti named Isidatta who became a bhikkhu. It is said that he is remarkably bright
and able. Though I have heard his name, I have never seen him. Have you ever met him?”
“Yes, Citta, I have met him.”
“Then, Venerable, can you tell me where this talented young monk is at present?”