Subject: Re: Fw: Looking for a good text
Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2001 10:32:40 +0800
Re: Looking for a good text
Hi Piya,
How's life. Below is a text in look for help in USA of a text for a seminar.
Regards,
newington
----- Original Message -----
From: Ben Matlock (bmatlock@episdivschool.org)
To: buddhabuddies@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2001 11:10 PM
Subject: Looking for a good text
A good friend of mine is participating in a community multi-faith service about AIDS. She has been asked to share a Buddhist or Buddhist-inspired text (a few paragraphs, I would immagine) at the event. Can anyone suggest anything that would fit the bill?
PIYA'S RESPONSE
Newington,
Ben Matlock was the central character in a popular TV detective series years back. The questioner is from the Episcopalian Divinity School. I hope we could know his real name :) Anyway, I am giving the benefit of the doubt, since someone knocks on the door, we shall open it.
The best quote I can think of in this connection is:
A very old and sick man, once approached the Buddha, requesting for a simple teaching. In responds, the Buddha taught him this powerful spiritual statement:
"Even though my body is sick, let not my mind be sick." (Samyutta 3:1)
Later on, the old man met the Buddha's chief disciple who explained to him the meaning of this short statement:
Now, householder, how is one sick in body and sick in mind? Here an ignorant person would regard that the body as a permanent unchanging self, thinking "I am the body, this body is mine". And when the body changes and suffers, he too suffers.
And, householder, how is one sick in body but not sick in mind? Here a wise disciple does not regard the body as being permanent, nor does he live obsessed with the idea "I am the body, this body is mine". As a result, when the body changes and suffers, his mind does not suffer.
(Abridged by Piya.)
For full text, please see THE CONNECTED DISCOURSES OF THE BUDDHA (Samyutta Nikaya translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi, Boston: Wisdom Publications. 2000 vol 1 page 853-856).
