Essence of Buddhist Teaching Jayadeva de Silva

1. 1
Essence of
Budddha’s
Teachings

2. 2
Tell me simply what are you
preaching? A man told Buddha
Man: The Buddha. Don't preach me
serious sermons. Tell me simply
what are you preaching?
The Supreme Buddha: Good. I will
explain it to you simply. You have
a son, right?
Man: Yes, there is.
The Supreme Buddha: Does your
brother also have a son?
Man: Yes. There is.
The Supreme Buddha: Does your
neighbor have a son?
Man: There is a monk.
The Supreme Buddha: Even those you
do not know have sons, right?

3. 3
Man: Yes, Venerable.
The Supreme Buddha: Your son is
dying. What kind of grief do you
have?
Man: Lord, I am suffering
unbearably. My whole world is
falling apart. I do not know what
will happen.
The Supreme Buddha: Your brother's
son is dying. What kind of grief do
you have?
Man: Lord, there is some sorrow.
But It is not so much sad as in the
case of my own son’s death.
The Supreme Buddha: Your neighbor's
son is dying. What kind of grief do
you have?
Man: Lord, there is very little
sorrow.

4. 4
The Supreme Buddha: The son of
someone you do not know dies. What
kind of grief do you have?
Man: Lord, there will be no sorrow
The Supreme Buddha: So what is your
grief relative to?
(The man who thought for a while
and answers:)
Man: Lord, sorrow is relative to
the level at which It captures my
heart.
The Supreme Buddha: Very good.
Didn't your son go to the beach
when he was a child and build sand
castles and play?
Human: Yes sir. we did that.
The Supreme Buddha- Did your son
cry when when waves washed away his
sand castle

5. 5
Man- Yes lord he did cry
The Supreme Buddha-Did you also
cry?
Man –No Lord,I did not cry
The Supreme Buddha: Why did you not
cry?
Human: Lord, the child cries
because he thinks the sand castles
are permanent and sees their beauty
and clings to it. When I build a
sand castle I know it is not
permanent. So I do not cry when it
is destroyed.
You understand now ... if you do
not see the truth .. you and the
child who is on this long
pilgrimage, would be building sand
castles on the beach
There is no difference between that
experience and others...
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much as possible.Jayadeva de Silva
(SriLanka)