if one does not live accordingly -
like a cowherd who covets another's cattle - one experiences none of the benefits of walking the Way.
Dhammapada v. 19
Though we may own the latest, high-speed, high-definition computer, if we don’t learn how to use that computer, it is of little value to us.
The message of this teaching is that, while it matters what we think and believe, it matters more how we live out the teachings in our actions of body, speech and mind i.e. how we practise. If we’ve been educated in the skill of using our minds to think, we are fortunate.
Our task now is how to develop this ability to think ‘about’ things until it leads us to ‘know’ things. The Buddha didn’t want us simply to settle for being able to recite scriptures and work our prayer beads, he wanted us to be able to let go of wrong thinking and really ‘know’ abiding peace. This, surely, should be our goal.
With Metta,
Bhikkhu Munindo
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