Bite-Sized Dhamma

Therefore, the body is like a deer or a muntjac being chased all day by a pack of hunting dogs, relentlessly biting and pursuing it. The deer keeps running, trying to escape until it becomes too injured to continue and eventually collapses and dies. In the same way, this body is constantly attacked by suffering. We attempt to fix and alleviate the pain in various ways. When sitting for too long becomes uncomfortable, we change our posture. When it gets too hot, causing discomfort, we go take a bath. We keep making adjustments to ensure the body’s survival, just like the deer trying to outrun the hunting dogs.
Suffering constantly bites at us, and no matter how hard we try, we cannot escape it. Over time, the body accumulates more and more wounds. As we grow older, the injuries become overwhelming, covering us entirely.

Our faces also bear the marks of these wounds—crow’s feet, wrinkles, and sagging skin. The flesh is drained away, leaving the entire body shriveled and worn. These are the traces, the scars, inflicted by the relentless hounds of time. Observing closely, we see that this body is void of any true essence. It is impermanent and constantly pressed by suffering. One day, when we can no longer flee, death will come, just like a deer hunted and bitten repeatedly by dogs, collapsing when it can no longer run, only to be devoured in the end. This body is no different. It is ceaselessly gnawed at by suffering. With mindfulness, when we observe the body, we realize that it is not something special or sacred. It is merely a burden, filled with suffering, requiring constant care and upkeep.

Once the mind is stable and equanimous, wisdom arises, seeing the truth of the body and the mind. When we clearly see the truth of the body and the mind, we will realize that the five aggregates (khandhas) are nothing but suffering. There’s nothing in the body and mind, in form and mental phenomena, but suffering. Once the mind accepts this truth, craving doesn’t arise. When craving doesn’t arise, there is no grasping, no mental struggle, and no fabrication, so mental suffering doesn’t arise. The mind becomes free. It is free from suffering because it is free from fabrication.

To live in the world, one must know it, one must understand it. If we live in the world with a peaceful mind, content with our circumstances, then when we take up moral precepts and meditation, there will be no worry. Some are in debt from soccer betting, with loan sharks threatening their lives. They flee to practice in monasteries, hiding within the grounds. Can their minds be at peace? Their minds cannot be at peace. They live in fear of when they will be killed. Therefore, living a clean and blameless life is essential. It brings happiness. When we reflect and see no faults, no breaches of morality, or even when we may not see ourselves clearly but good friends or teachers affirm our goodness, then our minds become peaceful and content.

Therefore, the key point is that we must train the mind to be stable. Once the mind is stable and mindfulness recognizes the body, it will see that the body is being known and being seen. It is not us. When the mind is stable and mindfulness recognizes Vedana or feelings of pleasure and pain, it will see that these feelings of happiness and suffering are not us. When the mind is stable and becomes aware of wholesome or unwholesome states such as greed, anger, or delusion, it will realize that these wholesome and unwholesome states, be it anger, delusion or others are not us either.

This is essential; without it, we cannot preserve Buddhism. Some worry other religions will destroy Buddhism, but the Buddha taught otherwise. He said that Buddhism could only be undermined by the Buddhist community itself—the male monks, female monks, laymen, and laywomen. They are capable of undermining Buddhism by failing to truly understand Dhamma and by holding and spreading misguided beliefs. When people misunderstand, misrepresent, or misteach Dhamma, it causes serious harm, gradually eroding Buddhism from within. This transgression may not be a criminal offense, but it causes damage

Start practicing. You can start by observing the body, feelings, or mental fabrications. Eventually, everyone’s practice converges to seeing dependent origination, which is the Noble Truths. This is because without thoroughly knowing the Noble Truths, the practice is still not complete; the apprentice still doesn’t thoroughly know suffering. So, you can start by observing the body, and then you will see suffering. You can accomplish the same thing by observing the feelings or mental fabrications. Seeing suffering is the same as seeing Dhamma. Once you thoroughly know the truth, you’ll see that the body, feelings, mental fabrications, and intricate workings of phenomena are nothing but suffering. They are all impermanent, in conflict and decay, and uncontrollable. Once the mind thoroughly sees this, the mind will let go. Once you thoroughly know suffering, the cause of suffering will be eradicated, and Nibbana (the cessation of suffering) will become apparent.

If we follow this path as taught by the Buddha, we should do so without seeking personal gain. We walk this path with deep reverence and unwavering faith in the Buddha. We uphold the precepts (Sila) as an offering to the Buddha. We cultivate samadhi to calm the mind, unentangling it from worldly desires, as an offering to the Buddha. We strive to stabilize the mind as an offering to the Buddha. We discern and separate physical and abstract forms, elements and khandas, as an offering to the Buddha. When we develop wisdom and perceive the Three Characteristics (Tilakkhana) in all physical and abstract forms, including the knower mind itself, consider it a practice to honor the Buddha.

Practicing in homage to the Buddha (patipatti-puja) offers greater benefits than material offerings (amisa-puja). There are two types of homage. Amisa-puja involves offering flowers and praying through incense, and candles to monks, which are indeed virtuous. However, offering food to monks for their sustenance can be considered either amisa-puja or patipatti-puja depending on our wisdom. If our wisdom is limited, then material offering to monks remains akin to amisa-puja. However, if our wisdom is profound and we understand that material offerings serve to diminish and abandon our own defilements (kilesa), then this is considered patipatti-puja.

The Buddha taught simply: “O, Bikkhus! When the mind is filled with lust, know so; when the mind is without lust, know so.” You see? These teachings are straightforward, nothing unusual at all. When our mind is filled with lust, know that it is filled with lust; when our mind is without lust, know that it is without lust. “O, Bikkhus! When the mind is filled with anger, know so; when the mind is without anger, know so.” There’s nothing complicated here, such simple things. Dhamma is simple, plain, open, and straightforward; our mental defilements are what make us think that Dhamma is unusual and out-of-the-ordinary.