Lesson Eight: Sow Good Seeds and Reap The Harvest

Evil actions cannot be performed because their
roots have withered away. The good actions do
not have results since they are not motivated by
desire. In the end there is no craving force to
produce another birth: everything has been
swallowed by the aspiration and attainment of
Nibbana. The person then becomes an Arahat

• the Pure One.

Therefore the Buddha said:

"For the final cessation of suffering, all
Kammas, wholesome and unwholesome, must
be transcended, must be abandoned. Putting
aside good and evil, one attains Nibbana.
There is no other way."

The Arahat lives the remaining of his lifespan
and when the end has come, the aggregates of
his personality comes to an end also, never to
be reconstructed or replaced. Before Nibbana,
there was suffering, now there is release.
Before there was illusion, now there is Reality
beyond conception.

A Mind Filled With Compassion

A follower of Buddha was reciting sutras one

evening when a thief, armedwith a sharp sword,

entered his house and demanded either his

money or his life.

Without turningto see him, the follower told

him: "Don't disturb me. You can find the money

in that drawer." Then he resumed his recitation.

A little while later, he stopped for a moment

and called: "Don't take all of it. I need some to

pay taxes tomorrow."

When theintruder had gathered up most of the

money and started to leave, the follower added:

"Thank a person when you receive a gift." The

man thanked him and left.

A few days later the fellow was caught and

confessed. among others, theoffence against

the follower. When the follower was called as a

witness, he said: "This man is no thief as far as I

am concerned. I gave him the money and he

thanked me for it."

After the thief had finished his prison term, he

went to the follower to become his disciple.

A follower of the Buddha's teachings treats

others for what they are and then tries to make

them fit for Enlightenment. He has a mind that

is compassionate and a humble attitude to

serve everyone.

If a man looks upon others with defiled eyes

dimmed by ignorance, he will see others as

being filled with error and sin; but if he looks

upon others with clear wisdom, he will see

others as being essentially pure.

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