2004/06/22(tue)   <<BACK>>
Talks by Buddha
―Going to the other side of the river―

 As I wrote in the latest diary, 'The world after death' mentioned in Sutta-nipata doesn't mean 'the other world'. Sutta-nipata has been handed down orally throughout its history, so some parts of it are not clear for us to understand. While other parts are too simple to get their exact meanings. This may be the main factor that gives rise to some misunderstandings.
  As for the expression, 'the other side of the river' for instance, which I'm trying to talk about, #803 says as follows.

#803
  As they don't have to accept various dhammas, they have nothing to carry out or no one to respect. A Brahman, who has gone over to the other side of the river and will never return, has no commandments to be guided by.

 This description that 'having gone to the other side of the river, never returning' doesn't mean the situation that 'he's gone over to the other world and his figure doesn't exist in this world.' Instead, it suggests 'his <thought> has completely faded away, so he's free from all troubles and cares in this world. A man's specific existence tends to be recognized through his figure just like you recognize a person in the picture. But it is rather through the words he utters and the look on his face that make you feel his existence. Those words and the expression come from his <thought> that flows out inside him. You can say <thought> provides the very basis for existence. The idea that 'when his thought has gone, his existence has also gone' is described as 'he has gone to the other side of the river and will never return.'
  Cf. Brahman ; Buddha refers to a Brahman as a model of monks.

→ At the end of June, students are looking forward to their summer holidays counting the days to come on their way to and from school.

 



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