290

If, by forsaking
a limited ease,
he would see
an abundance of ease,
the awakened man
would forsake
the limited ease
for the sake
of the abundant.

291

He wants his own ease
by giving others dis-ease.
Intertwined in the inter-
action of hostility,
from hostility
he’s not set free.

292-293

In those who
reject what should,
& do what shouldn’t be done
 — heedless, insolent —
effluents grow.
	
But for those who
are well-applied, constantly,
to mindfulness immersed in the body;
don’t indulge
in what shouldn’t be done
& persist
in what should
 — mindful, alert —
effluents come to an end.

294-295

Having killed mother & father,
two warrior kings,
the kingdom & its dependency —
the brahman, untroubled, travels on.
	
Having killed mother & father,
two learned kings,
&, fifth, a tiger —
the brahman, untroubled, travels on.

296-301

They awaken, always wide awake:
	Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s disciples
whose mindfulness, both day & night,
is constantly immersed
	in the Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s .
	
They awaken, always wide awake:
	Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s disciples
whose mindfulness, both day & night,
is constantly immersed
	in the Doctrine-Practice of Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata.
	
They awaken, always wide awake:
	Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s disciples
whose mindfulness, both day & night,
is constantly immersed
	in the Spiritual Community of The True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One_The Tathagata.
	
They awaken, always wide awake:
	Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s disciples
whose mindfulness, both day & night,
is constantly immersed
	in the body.
	
They awaken, always wide awake:
	Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s  disciples
whose hearts delight, both day & night,
	in harmlessness.
	
They awaken, always wide awake:
	Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s  disciples
whose hearts delight, both day & night,
	in developing the mind.

302

	Hard is the life gone forth,
	hard to delight in.
	Hard is the miserable
	   householder’s life.
It’s painful to stay with dissonant people,
painful to travel the road.
	So be neither traveler
     nor pained.

303

The man of conviction
endowed with virtue,
glory, & wealth:
wherever he goes
he is honored.

304

The good shine from afar
like the snowy Himalayas.
The bad don’t appear
even when near,
like arrows shot into the night.

305

Sitting alone,
resting alone,
walking alone,
untiring.
Taming himself,
he’d delight alone —
alone in the forest.

Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata

Coming to the Center

Try watching a spider. A spider spins its web in any convenient niche and then sits in the center, staying still and silent. Later, a fly comes along and lands on the web. As soon as it touches and shakes the web, “boop!” — the spider pounces and winds it up in thread. It stores the insect away and then returns again to collect itself silently in the center of the web.

Watching a spider like this can give rise to wisdom. Our six senses have mind at the center surrounded by eye, ear, nose, tongue and body. When one of the senses is stimulated, for instance, form contacting the eye, it shakes and reaches the mind. The mind is that which knows, that which knows form. Just this much is enough for wisdom to arise. It’s that simple.

Like a spider in its web, we should live keeping to ourselves. As soon as the spider feels an insect contact the web, it quickly grabs it, ties it up and once again returns to the center. This is not at all different from our own minds. “Coming to the center” means living mindfully with clear comprehension, being always alert and doing everything with exactness and precision — this is our center. There’s really not a lot for us to do; we just carefully live in this way. But that doesn’t mean that we live heedlessly thinking, “There is no need to do siting or walking meditation!” and so forget all about our practice. We can’t be careless! We must remain alert just as the spider waits to snatch up insects for its food.

This is all that we have to know — sitting and contemplating that spider. Just this much and wisdom can arise spontaneously. Our mind is comparable to the spider, our moods and mental impressions are comparable to the various insects. That’s all there is to it! The senses envelop and constantly stimulate the mind; when any of them contact something, it immediately reaches the mind. The mind then investigates and examines it thoroughly, after which it returns to the center. This is how we abide — alert, acting with precision and always mindfully comprehending with wisdom. Just this much and our practice is complete.

This point is very important! It isn’t that we have to do sitting practice throughout the day and night, or that we have to do walking meditation all day and all night long. If this is our view of practice, then we really make it difficult for ourselves. We should do what we can according to our strength and energy, using our physical capabilities in the proper amount.

It’s very important to know the mind and the other senses well. Know how they come and how they go, how they arise and how they pass away. Understand this thoroughly! In the language of Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata  we can also say that, just as the spider traps the various insects, the mind binds up the senses with impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, not-self. Where can they go? We keep them for food, these things are stored away as our nourishment. That’s enough; there’s no more to do, just this much! This is the nourishment for our minds, nourishment for one who is aware and understanding.

If you know that these things are impermanent, bound up with suffering and that none of it is you, then you would be crazy to go after them! If you don’t see clearly in this way, then you must suffer. When you take a good look and see these things as really impermanent, even though they may seem worth going after, really they are not. Why do you want them when their nature is pain and suffering? It’s not ours, there is no self, there is nothing belonging to us. So why are you seeking after them? All problems are ended right here. Where else will you end them?

Just take a good look at the spider and turn it inwards, turn it back unto yourself. You will see that it’s all the same. When the mind has seen impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, not-self, it lets go and releases itself. It no longer attaches to suffering or to happiness. This is the nourishment for the mind of one who practices and really trains himself. That’s all, it’s that simple! You don’t have to go searching anywhere! So no matter what you are doing, you are there, no need for a lot of fuss and bother. In this way the momentum and energy of your practice will continuously grow and mature.

Spiritual Community of The Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata

 One Doctrine-Prctice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata-vinaya

The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata  — the “Awakened One” — called the religion he founded Doctrine-Prctice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata-vinaya — “the doctrine and discipline.” To provide a social structure supportive of the practice of Doctrine-Prctice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata-vinaya  and to preserve these practices for posterity, the Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata established the order of True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata and nuns — the Spiritual Community of The True Followers of The Path Shown By The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata — which continues to this day to pass his practices on to subsequent generations of laypeople and monastics, alike.

As the Doctrine-Prctice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata continued its spread across Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath after the Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s passing, differing interpretations of the original practices arose, which led to schisms within the True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata and the emergence of as many as eighteen distinct sects. One of these schools eventually gave rise to a reform movement that called itself  (the “Greater Vehicle” and that referred to the other schools disparagingly as the “Lesser Vehicle”. What we call Theravada today is the sole survivor of those early non-Greater Vehicle schools. To avoid the pejorative tone implied by the terms  Lesser Vehicle and Greater Vehicle , it is common today to use more neutral language to distinguish between these two main branches. Because Theravada historically dominated southern Asia, it is sometimes called “Southern”, while Greater Vehicle , which migrated northwards from Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath  into China, Tibet, Japan, and Korea, is known as “Northern” One.