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2003-06-19 l 9:04 a.m.
There Is No Happiness Like Freedom

There is no fire like greed and no crime like hatred. There is no sorrow like being bound to this world; there is no happiness like freedom. ~Dhammapada

Truer words have never been spoken. I noticed in my past when I subsided to greed or hatred, I could feel all the spirituality within me dissipate. I may not have realized it immediately, but once the fire within me was quinched a bit, I then realize what effects greed or hatred had on me spiritually. Thankfully I have learned to notice that more quickly the older I get, and I no longer allow that fire to consume me. I am immediately drawn to the Buddha and to mindfulness. And the joy! sweet joy I feel when I am unbound and free from this world! Such happiness, rejoiceful happiness!

More Buddhist Wisdom

Having slain anger, one sleeps soundly;
Having slain anger, one does not sorrow;
The killing of anger,
With its poisoned root and honeyed tip:
This is the killing the noble ones praise,
For having slain that, one does not sorrow.

~Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"

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Without hope of reward
Provide help to others.
Bear suffering alone,
And share your pleasures with beggars.

~Nagarjuna, "Precious Garland"

This is why my husband and I help others selflessly. We do it not for praise or reward, but for the shear pleasure of knowing that we have uplifted someone's spirit. That is all we need. I've noticed that when I have helped someone, a white glow encircles them as if all burdens for the moment have been lifted from them. There is no greater joy than to witness that remarkable moment.

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Not up in the air,
nor in the middle of the sea,
nor going into a cleft in the mountains
�nowhere on earth�
is a spot to be found
where you could stay and not succumb to death.

~Dhammapada 128, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Since death will find me no matter where I am, I live for this moment, this day, and allow death a safe journey towards me, unhindered. I do not fear death and will welcome her when she arrives as though she were a long lost friend. That knowledge gives me freedom.

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Your own practice can show you the truth. Your own experience is all that counts.

~Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English"

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Compassion is characterized as promoting the aspect of allaying suffering. Its function resides in not [enduring] others' suffering. It is manifested as non-cruelty. Its proximate cause is to see helplessness in those overwhelmed by suffering. It succeeds when it makes cruelty subside, and it fails when it produces sorrow.

~Buddhaghosa, "Visuddhimagga"

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Subhuti asked: "How should an ordinary person be taught the truth?"

The Buddha answered: "By asking the person this: 'How can that which existed in the past become non-existent now?' This inquiry will lead to the realization that there is nothing that ever existed that is a permanent entity or an eternal self. Then the questioner will see that there is both existence and nonexistence."

~Prajnaparamita

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