suffer. Don’t imagine this or that realm of existence will be a
pleasant, joyful place to be reborn in when you die. Such thoughts
are merely an indication that craving and dissatisfaction are dis-
turbing your hearts before you’ve even died. Which means you are
still unwilling to view the kilesas as enemies that constantly stir
up trouble in your hearts. With that attitude, where will you ever
find happiness and contentment? If you cannot rid yourselves of
the desire to be reborn in the future, then I am at a loss as to how
I can help you.
“Monks who have yet to develop the calm and concentra-
tion of samãdhi within themselves should not expect to find peace
and contentment in the world; instead, they will encounter only
the frustration that is hidden inside their agitated hearts. You
must hurry to remedy this situation now by developing an effec-
tive means to counter such agitation. By being diligent, coura-
geous, and persevering in your struggle with the kilesas – which
are always antagonistic to Dhamma – you will soon discover the
peaceful nature of genuine tranquillity arising in your hearts.
With persistence, results will come quickly; especially when com-
pared with the endless amount of time you have spent wandering
through saÿsãra from one type of existence to another.
“The teachings of the Lord Buddha are all designed for the
purpose of helping those who believe what he taught to gradually
transcend dukkha, step by step, until they finally reach the stage
where they will never again return to this world of repeated birth
and death. Those who desire not to return to birth must analyze
every aspect of existence in the entire universe, from the gross-
est to the most subtle, in terms of the three basic characteristics
of all existence – anicca, dukkha, and anattã – and use wisdom
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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