The Four Noble Truths¹

The Buddha saw clearly. His teaching is always relevant, never out-dated. It never changes. In the present day it's still the way it is, it hasn'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 not my self, this does not belong to me.'' But people don't like 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 samsāra 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.

Footnotes

...¹

This talk was given at the Manjushri Institute in Cumbria, U.K., in 1977

... monasteries²

At the time of printing this book (1992), there are about one hundred branch monasteries, big and small, of Wat Nong Pah Pong.

... suffering³

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.''

...samsāra⁴

Samsāra: The world of delusion.

...Attavādupādāna⁵

One of the Four Bases of Clinging: Kāmupādāna, clinging to sense objects; sīlabbatupādāna: clinging to rites and rituals; ditthupādāna: clinging to views, and attavādupādāna, clinging to the idea of self.

... one⁶

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 ascetic could not understand his answer, and walked off, muttering, ''Well, good for you, friend, good for you.''