THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 The ...

THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 211
But that’s how our minds function. Even when the minds are gone, even when the snake is no more, it leaves
its trace on the sand. People become more interested in what is happening to others. Rather than receiving that
which is happening to them they start becoming interested in what is happening to others; they start striving for
those things.
Remember, that which is happening to you is yours and that which is not happening to you, you are not yet
ripe for; and it cannot happen before its time, so don’t hanker for it. Wait. Keep yourself as patient as possible.
Receive whatsoever comes and don’t hanker for that which does not come on your way; it will come.
... LEST YOU DISTURB YOUR QUIETNESS.
You can disturb your quietness in two ways. One: by refusing that which comes to you, out of fear. And two:
by asking for that which has not come to you, out of ambition.
GIVE THANKS....
For all that comes to you, be grateful.
... FOR WHAT HAS BEEN GIVEN YOU, HOWEVER LITTLE. BE PURE, NEVER FALTER.
Whenever Buddha uses the word ’pure’ he always means innocent. Don’t become knowledgeable. Even if you
have come to know yourself, don’t become knowledgeable. Even if you have encountered God, don’t become
knowledgeable. Whatsoever you have known, forget all about it. Become again innocent. Remain always in the
state of not-knowing, then much more will go on happening to you.
What ordinarily happens when you move into meditation is that something happens, but you don’t feel grateful;
on the contrary, you feel this is your due in fact it should have happened long ago. You are such a worthy person,
so virtuous, so holy, and you have done so much; why should you be grateful?
That is a wrong approach; that means you are stopping the process. In gratefulness much more will come to
you. So even if a little glimpse comes to you, feel grateful. Just a ray of light and feel grateful, as if the whole sun
has come to you. And the whole sun will be coming, following the ray. But if you are not grateful you become
closed; even the ray will disappear and you will again be in your darkness, back in your darkness.
And remember to remain always in the state of not-knowing. Don’t start becoming knowledgeable, don’t
start philosophizing, don’t start creating systems of thought. This happens; that’s why Buddha is making his
Bodhisattvas alert.
I would like you to remember these sutras because many of you at least fifty percent of you are going to
become Bodhisattvas sooner or later. So remember these sutras they are for you. I am not interested in The
Dhammapada, I am interested in you! I am speaking for you! The Dhammapada is just an excuse. I would like
to say the same things to you, but Buddha has said them so beautifully, so poetically that I don’t see any need
to say them on my own; I can just comment on him because the truth is eternal and it remains the same forever.
Avoid philosophizing when you enter into the world of meditation. It arises, it arises inevitably the itch to
philosophize because so many beautiful things are happening and you would like to create systems of thought
around them. All these philosophies in the world have arisen in this way. Something, just a little, had happened,
and they started creating a big palace out of that. Just a brick was there and they made a big house, a palace,
just an imaginary palace, out of it. Even the brick is lost in that imaginary palace.
Three small mice were sitting in front of their holes in a field. They were in a sad mood, as they silently watched
the birds flying from one tree to another. After a while one mouse said, ”It must be wonderful to be a bird and
to fly in the sky.”
All three mice pondered about it for a long time and became more sad.
Eventually the second mouse said, ”It would be very nice to be one bird, but it would be even nicer to be two
birds. If you were two birds you could fly behind yourself.”
The mice thought about this even longer and they became even sadder than before.
After a long time the third mouse said, ”The most beautiful feeling must be to be three birds, because then
you could watch yourself fly behind yourself!”
This is what philosophy is. People just go on thinking things which are nowhere. But you can enjoy it.
Philosophy is enjoyed by many people for the simple reason that everybody can afford it. If these three mice can
afford it, what about man? Every man is a philosopher.
Buddha is very much against philosophy. He says philosophy corrupts, it makes you knowledgeable without
making you a knower it makes you knowledgeable. It brings impurity; it pollutes your inner being. Be pure and
never falter from your purity.
If you want to help people, these sutras have to be remembered constantly. Meditate over them, make them
your own, live them. They will always sustain you; they are a great nourishment.
Enough for today.