Conquer Oneself not Others

Good morning!

 

We had a warm, windy autumn day yesterday, so we can wade into a sea of fallen leaves and watch the flora and fauna intimately. Without watching, we cannot know the exact situations of the actual realm.

 

The Buddha said that we can not reach the limit of the world. Our existential world is that of the six senses of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind – essentially mental. Our world is dependent upon our senses and vice versa, interdependently originated.

 

Yajñavalkya said that we cannot catch all the sounds of a lute, but we can arrest all of its sounds by catching the lute player. We cannot catch all the radiation contamination in the world, but can catch it by catching its producers and the producers’ minds.

 

No one can arrest minds with money, jails, or laws. No one can make a horse drink water, even if one can take it to a pool. Thus, one must conquer oneself, not conquering or being conquered by others. This is the true conqueror and conquering.

 

10/26/11

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