THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS [This talk was given at the Manjushri Institute at Cumbria, U.K., in

                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                        THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS 
 
 [This talk was given at the Manjushri Institute at Cumbria, U.K., in 
 1977]
    
    
    Today I have been invited by the abbot to give you a teaching, so 
 I ask you all to sit quietly and compose your minds. Due to the 
 language barrier we must make use of a translator, so if you do not 
 pay proper attention you may not understand.
    
    My stay here has been very pleasant. Both the Master and you, his 
 followers, have been very kind, all friendly and smiling, as befits 
 those who are practicing the true Dhamma. Your property, too, is 
 very inspiring, but so big! I admire your dedication in renovating 
 it to establish a place for practicing the Dhamma.
    
    Having been a teacher for many years now, I've been through my 
 share of difficulties. At present there are altogether about forty 
 branch monasteries [*] of my monastery, Wat Nong Ba Pong, but even 
 these days I have followers who are hard to teach. Some know but 
 don't bother to practice, some don't know and don't try to find out. 
 I don't know what to do with them. Why do human beings have minds 
 like this? Being ignorant is not so good, but even when I tell them, 
 they still don't listen. I don't know what more I can do. People are 
 so full of doubts in their practice, they're always doubting. They 
 all want to go to //nibbana//, but they don't want to walk the path. 
 It's baffling. When I tell them to meditate they're afraid, or if 
 not afraid then just plain sleepy. Mostly they like to do the things 
 I don't teach. When I met the Venerable Abbot here I asked him what 
 his followers were like. He said they're the same. This is the pain 
 of being a teacher.
    
 * [At the time of printing this book (1992), there are about one 
 hundred branch monasteries, big and small, of Wat Nong Ba Pong.]
 
 
    The teaching I will present to you today is a way to solve 
 problems in the present moment, in this present life. Some people 
 say that they have so much work to do they have no time to practice 
 the Dhamma. "What can we do?" they ask. I ask them, "Don't you 
 breathe while you're working?" "Yes, of course we breathe!" "So how 
 come you have time to breathe when you're so busy?" They don't know 
 what to answer. "If you simply have //sati// while working you will 
 have plenty of time to practice."
    
    Practicing meditation is just like breathing. While working we 
 breathe, while sleeping we breathe, while sitting down we breathe... 
 Why do we have time to breathe? Because we see the importance of the 
 breath, we can always find time to breathe. In the same way, if we 
 see the importance of meditation practice we will find the time to 
 practice.
    
    Have any of you ever suffered? ... have you ever been happy?... 
 Right here is the truth, this is where you must practice the Dhamma. 
 Who is it who is happy? The mind is happy. who suffers? The mind 
 suffers. Wherever these things arise, that's where they cease. Have 
 you experienced happiness? ... Have you experienced suffering? ... 
 this is our problem. If we know suffering, [*] the cause of 
 suffering, the end of suffering and the way leading to the end of 
 suffering we can solve the problem.
    
 * [Dukkha: "Suffering" is a most inadequate translation, but it is 
 the one most commonly found. "Dukkha" literally means "intolerable," 
 "unsustainable," "difficult to endure", and can also mean 
 "imperfect," "unsatisfying," or "incapable of providing perfect 
 happiness."]
    
    
    There are two kinds of suffering: ordinary suffering and the 
 extraordinary kind. Ordinary suffering is the suffering which is the 
 inherent nature of conditions: standing is suffering, sitting is 
 suffering, lying down is suffering. This is the suffering that is 
 inherent in all conditioned phenomena. Even the Buddha experienced 
 these things, he experienced comfort and pain, but he recognized 
 them as conditions in nature. He knew how to overcome these 
 ordinary, natural feelings of comfort and pain through understanding 
 their true nature. Because he understood this "natural suffering" 
 those feelings didn't upset him.
    
    The important kind of suffering is the second kind, the suffering 
 that creeps in from the outside, the "extraordinary suffering". If 
 we are sick we may have to get an injection from the doctor. When 
 the needle pierces the skin there is some pain which is only 
 natural. When the needle is withdrawn that pain disappears. This is 
 like the ordinary kind of suffering, it's no problem, everybody 
 experiences it. The extraordinary suffering is the suffering that 
 arises from what we call //upadana//, grasping onto things. This is 
 like having an injection with a syringe filled with poison. This is 
 no longer an ordinary kind of pain, it is the pain which ends in 
 death. This is similar to the suffering which arises from grasping.
    
    Wrong view, not knowing the impermanent nature of all conditioned 
 things, is another kind of problem. Conditioned things are the realm 
 of //samsara//. [*] Not wanting things to change -- if we think like 
 this we must suffer. When we think that the body is ourselves or 
 belonging to us, we are afraid when we see it change. Consider the 
 breath: once it comes in it must go out, having gone out it must 
 come in again. This is its nature, this is how we manage to live. 
 Things don't function in that way. This is how conditions are but we 
 don't realize it.
    
 *[ //Samsara//: The world of delusion.]
    
    
    Suppose we lost something. if we thought that object was really 
 ours, we would brood over it. If we couldn't see it as a conditioned 
 thing faring according to the laws of nature we would experience 
 suffering. But if you breathe in, can you live? Conditioned things 
 must naturally change in this way. To see this is to see the Dhamma, 
 to see //aniccam//, change. We live dependent on this change. When 
 we know how things are then we can let go of them.
    
    The practice of Dhamma is to develop an understanding of the way 
 of things so that suffering doesn't arise. If we think wrongly we 
 are at odds with the world, at odds with the Dhamma and with the 
 truth. Suppose you were sick and had to go into hospital. Most 
 people think, "Please don't let me die, I want to get better." This 
 is wrong thinking, it will lead to suffering. You have to think to 
 yourself, "If I recover I recover, if I die I die." this is right 
 thinking, because you can't ultimately control conditions. If you 
 think like this, whether you die or recover, you can't go wrong, you 
 don't have to worry. Wanting to get better at all costs and afraid 
 of the thought of dying...this is the mind which doesn't understand 
 conditions. You should think, "If I get better that's fine, if I 
 don't get better that's fine." This way we can't go wrong, we don't 
 have to be afraid or cry, because we have tuned ourselves in to the 
 way things are.
    
    The Buddha saw clearly. His teaching is always relevant, never 
 out-dated. It never changes. In the present day it's still the way 
 they are, they haven't changed. By taking this teaching to heart we 
 can gain the reward of peace and well-being.
    
    In the teachings there is the reflection of "not-self": "this is 
 to listen to this kind of teaching because they are attached to the 
 idea of self. This is the cause of suffering. You should take note 
 of this.
    
    Today a woman asked about how to deal with anger. I told her that 
 the next time she gets angry, to wind up her alarm clock and put it 
 in front of her. Then to give herself two hours for the anger to go 
 away. If it was really her anger she could probably tell it to go 
 away like this: "In two hours be gone!" But it isn't really ours to 
 command. Sometimes in two hours it's still not gone, at other times 
 in one hour it's gone already. Holding onto anger as a personal 
 possession will cause suffering. If it really belonged to us it 
 would have to obey us. If it doesn't obey us that means it's only a 
 deception. Don't fall for it. Whether the mind is happy or sad, 
 don't fall for it. Whether the mind loves or hates, don't fall for 
 it, it's all a deception.
    
    Have any of you ever been angry? When you are angry does it feel 
 good or bad? If it feels bad then why don't you throw that feeling 
 away, why bother to keep it? How can you say that you are wise and 
 intelligent when you hold on to such things? Since the day you were 
 born, how many times has the mind tricked you into anger? Some days 
 the mind can even cause a whole family to quarrel, or cause you to 
 cry all night. And yet we still continue to get angry, we still hold 
 onto things and suffer. If you don't see suffering you will have to 
 keep suffering indefinitely, with no chance for respite. The world 
 of //samsara// is like this. If we know the way it is we can solve 
 the problem.
    
    The Buddha's teaching states that there is no better means to 
 overcome suffering than to see that "this is not my self", "this is 
 not mine". This is the greatest method. But we don't usually pay 
 attention to this. When suffering arises we simply cry over it 
 without learning from it. Why is that so? We must take a good hard 
 look at these things, to develop the Buddho, the one who knows.
    
    Take note, some of you may not be aware that this is Dhamma 
 teaching. I'm going to give you some Dhamma that's outside the 
 scriptures. Most people read the scriptures but don't see the 
 Dhamma. Today I am going to give you a teaching that's outside the 
 scriptures. Some people may miss the point or not understand it.
    
    Suppose two people are walking together and see a duck and a 
 chicken. One of them says, "Why isn't that chicken like the duck, 
 why isn't the duck like the chicken?" He wants the chicken to be a 
 duck and the duck to be a chicken. It's impossible. If it's 
 impossible, then even if that person were to wish for the duck to be 
 a chicken and the chicken to be a duck for the rest of his life it 
 would not come to pass, because the chicken is a chicken and the 
 duck is a duck. As long as that person thought like that he would 
 suffer. The other person might see that the chicken is a chicken and 
 the duck is a duck, and that's all there is to it. There is no 
 problem. He sees rightly. If you want the duck to be a chicken and 
 the chicken to be a duck you are really going to suffer. 
    
    In the same way, the law of //aniccam// states that all things 
 are impermanent. If you want things to be permanent you're going to 
 suffer. Whenever impermanence shows itself you're going to be 
 disappointed. One who sees that things are naturally impermanent 
 will be at ease, there will be no conflict. The one who wants things 
 to be permanent is going to have conflict, maybe even losing sleep 
 over it. This is to be ignorant of //aniccam//, impermanence, the 
 teaching if the Buddha.
    
    If you want to know the Dhamma where should you look? You must 
 look within the body and the mind. You won't find it in the shelves 
 of a bookcase. To really see the Dhamma you have to look within your 
 own body and mind. There are only these two things. The mind is not 
 visible to the physical eye, it must be seen with the "mind's eye". 
 Before the Dhamma can be realized you must know where to look. The 
 Dhamma that is in the body must be seen in the body. And with what 
 do we look at the body? We look at the body with the mind. You won't 
 find the Dhamma looking anywhere else, because both happiness and 
 suffering arise right here. Or have you seen happiness arising in 
 the trees? Or from the rivers, or the weather? Happiness and 
 suffering are feelings which arise in our own bodies and minds.
    
    Therefore the Buddha tells us to know the Dhamma right here. The 
 Dhamma is right here, we must look right here. The Master may tell 
 you to look at the Dhamma in the books, but if you think that this 
 is where the Dhamma really is, you'll never see it. Having looked at 
 the books you must reflect on those teachings inwardly. Then you can 
 understand the Dhamma. Where does the real Dhamma exist? It exists 
 right here in this body and mind of ours. This is the essence of 
 contemplation practice.
    
    When we do this, wisdom will arise in our minds. When there is 
 wisdom in our minds, then no matter where we look there is Dhamma, 
 we will see //aniccam//, //dukkham//, and //anatta// at all times. 
 //Aniccam// means transient. //Dukkham// -- if we cling to the 
 things that are transient we must suffer, because they are not us or 
 ours (//anatta//). But we don't see this, we always see them as 
 being our self and belonging to us.
    
    This means that you don't see the truth of convention. You should 
 understand conventions. For example, all of us sitting here have 
 names. Are our names born with us or are they assigned to us 
 afterwards? Do you understand? This is convention. Is convention 
 useful? Of course it's useful. For example, suppose there are four 
 men, A, B, C, and D. They all must have their individual names for 
 convenience in communicating and working together. If we wanted to 
 speak to Mr. A we could call Mr. A and he would come, not the 
 others. This is the convenience of convention. But when we look 
 deeply into the matter we will see that really there isn't anybody 
 there. We will see transcendence. There is only earth, water, wind 
 and fire, the four elements. This is all there is to this body of 
 ours.
    
    But we don't see it in this way because of the clinging power of 
 //Attavadupadana//. [*] If we were to look clearly we would see that 
 there isn't really much to what we call a person. The solid part is 
 the earth element, the fluid part is the water element, the part 
 which provides heat is called the fire element. When we break things 
 down we see that there is only earth, water, wind and fire. Where is 
 the person to be found? There isn't one.
    
 * [One of the Four Bases of Clinging: //Kamupadana//, clinging to 
 sense objects; //silabbatupadana//: clinging to rites and rituals; 
 //ditthupadana//: clinging to views, and //attavadupadana//, 
 clinging to the idea of self.]
    
    
    That's why the Buddha taught that there is no higher practice 
 than to see that "this is not my self and does not belong to me" 
 They are simply conventions. If we understand everything clearly in 
 this way we will be at peace. If we realize in the present moment 
 the truth of impermanence, that things are not our self or belonging 
 to us, then when they disintegrate we are at peace with them, 
 because they don't belong to anybody anyway. They are merely the 
 elements of earth, water, wind and fire.
    
    It's difficult for people to see this, but even so it's not 
 beyond our ability. If we can see this we will find contentment, we 
 will not have so much anger, greed or delusion. There will always be 
 Dhamma in our hearts. There will be no need for jealousy and spite, 
 because everybody is simply earth, water, wind and fire. There's 
 nothing more to them than this. When we accept this truth we will 
 see the truth of the Buddha's teaching.
    
    If we could see the truth of the Buddha's teaching we wouldn't 
 have to use up so many teachers! It wouldn't be necessary to listen 
 to teachings everyday. When we understand then we simply do what's 
 required of us. But what makes people so difficult to teach is that 
 they don't accept the teaching and argue with the teachers and the 
 teaching. In front of the teacher they behave a little better, but 
 behind his back they become thieves! People are really difficult to 
 teach. The people in Thailand are like this, that's why they have to 
 have so many teachers.
    
    Be careful, if you're not careful you won't see the Dhamma. You 
 must be circumspect, taking the teaching and considering it well. Is 
 this flower pretty?...Do you see the ugliness within this 
 flower?...For how many days will it be pretty?...What will it be 
 like from now on?...Why does it change so?...In three or four days 
 you have to take it and throw it away, right? It loses all its 
 beauty. People are attached to beauty, attached to goodness. If 
 anything is good they just fall for it completely. The Buddha tells 
 us to look at pretty things as just pretty, we shouldn't become 
 attached to them. If there is a pleasant feeling we shouldn't fall 
 for it. Goodness is not a sure thing, beauty is not a sure thing. 
 Nothing is certain. There is nothing in this world that is a 
 certainty. This is the truth. The things that aren't true are the 
 things that change, such as beauty. The only truth it has is in its 
 constant changing. If we believe that things are beautiful, when 
 their beauty fades our mind loses its beauty too. When things are no 
 longer good our mind loses its goodness too. When they are destroyed 
 or damaged we suffer because we have clung to them as being our own. 
 The Buddha tells us to see that these things are simply constructs 
 of nature. Beauty appears and in not many days it fades. To see this 
 is to have wisdom.
    
    Therefore we should see impermanence. If we think something is 
 pretty we should tell ourselves it isn't, if we think something is 
 ugly we should tell ourselves it isn't. Try to see things in this 
 way, constantly reflect in this way. We will see the truth within 
 untrue things, see the certainty within the things that are 
 uncertain.
    
    Today I have been explaining the way to understand suffering, 
 what causes suffering, the cessation of suffering and the way 
 leading to the cessation of suffering. When you know suffering you 
 should throw it out. Knowing the cause of suffering you should throw 
 it out. Practice to see the cessation of suffering. See //aniccam, 
 dukkham and anatta// and suffering will cease.
    
    When suffering ceases where do we go? What are we practicing for? 
 We are practicing to relinquish, not in order to gain anything. 
 There was a woman this afternoon who told me that she is suffering. 
 I asked her what she wants to be, and she said she wants to be 
 enlightened. I said, "As long as you want to be enlightened you will 
 never become enlightened. Don't want anything."
    
    When we know the truth of suffering we throw out suffering. When 
 we know the cause of suffering then we don't create those causes, 
 but instead practice to bring suffering to its cessation. The 
 practice leading to the cessation of suffering is to see that "this 
 is not a self", "this is not me or them". Seeing in this way enables 
 suffering to cease. It's like reaching our destination and stopping. 
 That's cessation. That's getting close to //nibbana//. To put it 
 another way, going forward is suffering, retreating is suffering and 
 stopping is suffering. Not going forward, not retreating and not 
 stopping...is anything left? Body and mind cease here. This is the 
 cessation of suffering. Hard to understand, isn't it? If we 
 diligently and consistently study this teaching we will transcend 
 things and reach understanding, there will be cessation. This is the 
 ultimate teaching of the Buddha, it's the finishing point. The 
 Buddha's teaching finishes at the point of total relinquishment.
    
    Today I offer this teaching to you all and to the Venerable 
 Master also. If there is anything wrong in it I ask your 
 forgiveness. But don't be in a hurry to judge whether it is right or 
 wrong, just listen to it first. If I were to give you all a fruit 
 and tell you it's delicious, you should take note of my words, but 
 don't believe me offhand, because you haven't tasted it yet. The 
 teaching I give you today is the same. If you want to know whether 
 the "fruit" is sweet or sour you have to slice a piece off and taste 
 it. Then you will know its sweetness or sourness. Then you could 
 believe me, because then you'd have seen for yourself. So please 
 don't throw this "fruit" away, keep it and taste it, know its taste 
 for yourself.
    
    The Buddha didn't have a teacher, you know. An ascetic once asked 
 him who his teacher was, and the Buddha answered that he didn't have 
 one. [*] The ascetic just walked off shaking his head. The Buddha 
 was being too honest. He was speaking to one who couldn't know or 
 accept the truth. That's why I tell you not to believe me. The 
 Buddha said that to simply believe others is foolish, because there 
 is no clear knowing within. That's why the Buddha said "I have no 
 teacher." This is the truth. But you should look at this is the 
 right way. If you misunderstand it you won't respect your teacher. 
 Don't go saying "I have no teacher". You must rely on your teacher 
 to tell you what is right and wrong, and then you must practice 
 accordingly.
    
 * [Soon after his enlightenment, the Buddha was walking on his way 
 to Benares and was approached by a wandering ascetic, who said, 
 "Your features are clear, friend, your bearing serene ... who is 
 your teacher?" The Buddha answered that there was no-one in this 
 world who could claim to be his teacher, because he was completely 
 self-enlightened. The Brahmin could not understand his answer, and 
 walked off, muttering, "Well, good for you, friend, good for you."]
    
    
    Today is a fortunate day for all of us. I have had a chance to 
 meet with all of you and the venerable teacher. You wouldn't think 
 that we could meet like this because we live so far apart. I think 
 there must be some special reason that we have been able to meet in 
 this way. The Buddha taught that everything that arises must have a 
 cause. Don't forget this. There must be some cause. Perhaps in a 
 previous existence we were brothers and sisters in the same family. 
 It's possible. Another teacher didn't come, but I did. Why is that? 
 Perhaps we are creating the causes in the present moment itself. 
 This is also possible. 
    
    I leave you all with this teaching. May you be diligent and 
 arduous in the practice. There is nothing better than the practice 
 of Dhamma, Dhamma is the supporter of the whole world. People are 
 confused these days because they do not know the Dhamma. If we have 
 the Dhamma with us we will be content. I am happy to have had this 
 opportunity to help you and the venerable teacher in developing the 
 practice of Dhamma. I leave you with my heartfelt good wishes. 
 Tomorrow I will be leaving, I'm not sure where for. This is only 
 natural. When there is coming there must be going, when there is 
 going there must be coming. This is how the world is. We shouldn't 
 be overjoyed or upset by the changes in the world. There is 
 happiness and then there is suffering; there is suffering and then 
 there is happiness; there is gain and then there is loss; there is 
 loss and then there is gain. This is the way things are.
    
    In the Buddha's time there were disciples of the Buddha who 
 didn't like him, because the Buddha exhorted them to be diligent, to 
 be heedful. those who were lazy were afraid of the Buddha and 
 resented him. When he died, one group of disciples cried and were 
 distressed that they would no longer have the Buddha to guide them. 
 These ones were still not clever. Another group of disciples were 
 pleased and relieved that they would no longer have the Buddha on 
 their backs telling them what to do. A third group of disciples were 
 equanimous. They reflected that what arises passes away as a natural 
 consequence. There were these three groups. Which group do you 
 identify with? Do you want to be one of the pleased ones or what? 
 The group of disciples who cried when the Buddha passed away had not 
 yet realized the Dhamma. The second group were those who resented 
 the Buddha. He was always forbidding them from doing the things they 
 wanted to do. They lived in fear of the Buddha's scorn and 
 reprimands, so when he passed away they were relieved.
    
    These days things aren't much different. It's possible that the 
 teacher here has some followers who are resentful towards him. They 
 might not show it outwardly but it's there in the mind. It's normal 
 for people who still have defilements to feel this way. Even the 
 Buddha had people hating him. I myself have followers who resent me 
 also. I tell them to give up evil actions but they cherish their 
 evil actions. So they hate me. There are plenty like this. May all 
 of you who are intelligent make yourselves firm in the practice of 
 Dhamma.
    
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