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

26 THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12
Reverend Johnson, an old black preacher, was warning his parishioners about sin.
”Sin,” he said, ”is like a big dog. There is the big dog of pride, and the big dog of envy, and the big dog of
gluttony, and finally there is the big dog of sex. Now, folks, you gotta kill those big dogs before you are ever gonna
get to heaven. It can be done I know because I’ve done it. I killed the big dog of envy, and the big dog of pride,
and the big dog of gluttony and yes, brethren, I killed the big dog of sex!”
”Brother!” came a voice from the back of the church, ”Are you sure that last dog didn’t die a natural death?”
You cannot kill these dogs. Either they die a natural death but that does not bring any transformation to
you or you have to become masters. There is no need to kill... Buddha will not suggest you kill anything. Why
kill anything? If you kill anger you will never be compassionate in your life, because it is anger, and the energy
involved in anger, which becomes compassion. If you kill sex you will be simply impotent, that’s all; you will not
attain to love. It is sex transformed that creates love energy. Love energy is confined to sex. When you bring
awareness to it, sex disappears but love energy is released. Anger disappears but compassion is released. Greed
disappears and sharing comes in its place.
It is not a question of killing; these are energies. Don’t be such a fool as to kill anything, because if you kill it
you will miss something very essential in your life. Transform. Religion has to be the real alchemy, the science of
transformation. It is not murderous.
But the stupid religious people go on murdering, destroying. They are destructive, self-destructive. Hence even
if they drop their anger they don’t become graceful, they don’t attain to creativity, they don’t contribute to the
world and its beauty. They are burdensome, they are not in any way a help. They are a hindrance in the progress
of humanity. Buddha will not suggest to you to kill anything. He says: Just be awake. BE THE WITNESS OF
YOUR THOUGHTS.
Anger is a thought, sex is a thought. Just watch, be alert, let them move on the screen anger, greed, lust
and you remain aloof, cool, just a witness. In the beginning it is very difficult, but only in the beginning. If you
persist then within three to nine months you will be able to do the impossible.
One day it happens that your witness has become so perfect that the screen remains empty, nothing passes no
thought, no desire. That day you have attained to the first state of samadhi, the first satori. And the first satori
is the beginning; it triggers many satoris in you, culminating ultimately into samadhi, into nirvana.
When the mind becomes just a pure mechanism... when you want to use it, you use it, when you don’t want
to use it, it remains silent.
THE ELEPHANT HAULS HIMSELF FROM THE MUD. IN THE SAME WAY DRAG YOURSELF OUT
OF YOUR SLOTH.
Buddha insists again: nobody can pull you out of your mud, nobody can help you. So don’t believe that Jesus
will come and everything will be solved. Jesus has been before and nothing has been solved. Don’t believe in
salvation through somebody; no messiah can help you. Buddhas only point the way. You have to do everything
on your own. Nobody can do it for you. I cannot see for you, I cannot hear for you; you have to do it on your
own.
There are a few things which cannot be done by anybody else for you, on your behalf, and those are the most
precious things which only you can do. Awareness is one of those most precious things.
Buddha says: THE ELEPHANT HAULS HIMSELF FROM THE MUD. Just like that, IN THE SAME WAY
DRAG YOURSELF OUT OF YOUR SLOTH.
By awareness Buddha does not mean presence of mind. Many people misunderstand. Whenever Buddha uses
the words ’awake’, ’awareness’, people think he is talking about presence of mind. Presence of mind is presence
of mind; awareness has nothing to do with the mind. Awareness is something beyond the mind.
Presence of mind is very ordinary. In any danger it comes to you. If somebody is going to shoot you, you will
have presence of mind in that moment. If a tiger suddenly jumps in front of you, you will have presence of mind;
you will do something which you have never done before.
Frank and Gene were tossing down a few brews at the neighborhood pub.
”Boy, did I have a close call with Angie last night,” said Frank.
”What happened?” asked Gene.
”Well, I got home real late, so I took off my shoes, climbed the stairs, opened the door of the bedroom, tiptoed
in, and closed the door without making any noise. Just as I am about to get into bed, the wife wakes up and says,
’Is that you, Toto?’”
”What did you do?”
”For once in my life I really used my head,” said Frank. ”I licked her hand.”