ate time he bid farewell to his khandhas, which were the tools he
relied on to develop virtue to perfection; and then passed away –
sugato, as befits a world teacher who is absolutely beyond reproach.
Before departing his physical body, which had reached the end of
its natural life, he bequeathed the Dhamma to the world, intend-
ing that it represent him and fulfill the role of teacher in his stead.
Such a gift is worthy of our complete faith, and worthy of any
sacrifice.
“As you know, we are born as human beings because we possess
sufficient inherent goodness to make it possible. But we shouldn’t
take ourselves and our inherent goodness for granted by neglecting
to develop virtuous qualities in this life to enhance our future lives.
Otherwise, the human status we enjoy may disappear to be irrev-
ocably eclipsed by a low, undesirable birth. Be it high status or low
status – with happiness of every possible degree up to the Ultimate
Happiness, or pain and suffering of every possible degree down to
the most excruciating – we ourselves are responsible for our own
life circumstances. Don’t think that only those presently affected
by adverse circumstances experience such things. As potential life
situations, they are shared in common by everyone, becoming our
own personal heritage if and when we create the conditions for
them. For this reason, the Buddha taught that we should never
look down on other people, holding them in contempt. Seeing
someone living in misery or abject poverty, we should reflect on
the possibility that one day we could also find ourselves in such a
position, or one even worse. At the moment of reckoning, none of
us has the power to avoid the consequences of our actions. All of
us share the same capacity to make good and bad kamma, so it’s
possible that some day we will be in their position and they will be
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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