Water Buffalo Our thinking follows sense objects and pursues them wherever they go. Yet not any one of the sense objects is substantial. They are all impermanent, unsatisfactory, and empty. When they arise, observe them and see what happens. It is like looking after a buffalo in a rice paddy. When someone looks after a buffalo, he lets it walk around freely, but he keeps an eye on it. If the buffalo goes near the rice plants, he yells at it and the buffalo backs off. If it doesnt obey, it gets to feel the hard end of a stick. The person watching the buffalo cant doze off either, or hell get up finding the rice plants all eaten away. The mind is like the buffalo, and the rice plants are like the sense objects. The one who knows is the owner. When observing the mind, the one who knows notices everything. It sees how the mind is when it follows sense objects, and how it is when it doesnt follow them. When the one who knows observes the mind like this, wisdom will arise. When the mind meets an object, itll grab hold, just like the buffalo will bite on a rice plant when it sees one. So wherever the mind goes, you must watch it. When it goes near the rice plants, shout at it. If it will not obey you, just give it the stick. A Tree in a Forest Ven. Ajahn Chah
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 15:27:40 +0000
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