The Buddha,
I have heard,
said in the following Sutta;
"You're overjoyed if you get what you want.
If you don't, you writhe,
a hunter pierced
by your own arrow,
born of desire, engendering desire, desire driven.
No matter what you long for: a house, land, livestock, gold, serfs, servants, slaves,
men, women, family, (innocent things of themselves) the longing overwhelms you till troubles bear down
and suffering follows like water rushing into a leaky boat.
But if you're mindful,
you evade desire
as easily as side-
stepping a snake.
You're free of the world's sticky traps.
Be mindful.
Abandon desire.
Bale out the boat
& reach the further shore.
Sutta Nipata
................
I was recently asked by a young man;
"Why do I feel so guilty?"
My answer;
"Why are you so fearful of your future?"
He felt guilty, he said, because his parents had struggled for years,
to save, to pay for his tuition overseas.
"Would I find a job,
after graduation.
Would I be able to pay them back?"
"Would my work pay enough?"
"Would I have enough money to get married?"
In his mind it wasn't enough to be an A grade student.
It wasn't enough he was about to leave on an adventure of a lifetime.
All he thought about was future failure and the consequences.
So the outcome, in his mind, must be failure, remorse and loss.
Fortunately, he asked the question as to why he feels the way he does.
Help is always only a question away..
It is the questions we ask that are important.
We know the answers
but look for confirmation as most of us don't trust our own perceptions.
We don't believe we are capable or good enough.
What will people say?
What will happen should I fail?
So now, how do we help this young man with his question?
Will his thoughts be at peace with our answers?
Our answer starts with the statement that we can only react to a picture, or a scenario, that we create in our mind.
We then add to the fact of what we now believe is true, as it comes from our own imagination.
Should the thought creation be a positive one then it will have a positive outcome.
A negative thought process brings a negative result.
It is therefore crucial to only allow good thoughts, good speech, and good behavior, to be our way of life.
Just like
The Buddha
said it should be.....
Metta
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
