FULL MOON - Asalha Puja - Thursday 2nd August 2012

"All realities are devoid of an abiding self"; when we see this with insight we will tire of this life of suffering.

This is the Way to purification.

Dhammapada 279

When we feel down we might look for some ‘thing’ to pick ourselves up with: an ice-cream, a movie, a memory, a book. Dhamma teaches us to go in the opposite direction: to be truly happy we need less, not more.

What we need is to let go of ‘me’ and ‘mine’. Contrary to the popular belief in the supremacy of ‘self’, Dhamma says nothing can give this ‘I’ contentment. The assumption that this ‘I’ and its desires will ever be satisfied, is a false assumption. Which of my ‘selves’ has turned out to be reliable and lasting: the happy me, the hopeless me, the serious me, the sloppy me, the wise me, the foolish me? Insight into the nature of ‘self’ can relieve us of the burden of this false belief, and dispel the myth of self-importance, leading to purification.

With Metta,

 Bhikkhu Munindo