Fear and terror

The thought would occur to me: ‘Is this that fear & terror coming?’ Then the thought occurred to me: ‘Why do I just keep waiting for fear? What if I were to subdue fear & terror in whatever state they come?’ So when fear & terror came while I was walking back & forth, I would not stand or sit or lie down. I would keep walking back & forth until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came while I was standing, I would not walk or sit or lie down. I would keep standing until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came while I was sitting, I would not lie down or stand up or walk. I would keep sitting until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came while I was lying down, I would not sit up or stand or walk. I would keep lying down until I had subdued that fear & terror. Bhaya-bherava Sutta

Endurance

Then 700 devatas from the Satullapa retinue, in the far extreme of the night, their extreme radiance lighting up the entirety of Maddakucchi, went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to him, they stood to one side.

As she was standing there, one of the devatas exclaimed in the Blessed One’s presence, “What a naga is Gotama the contemplative! And like a naga, when bodily feelings have arisen — painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable — he endures them mindful, alert, & unperturbed!” Sakalika Sutta

Aged

As if sent by a curse,
it drops on us —
aging.
The body seems other,
though it’s still the same one.
I’m still here
& have never been absent from it,
but I remember myself
as if somebody else’s.
Kimbila Sutta

Purity

I have heard that on one occasion Ven. Anuruddha was staying near Savatthi in the Dark Forest — diseased, in pain, severely ill. Then a large number of monks went to Ven. Anuruddha and on arrival said to him, “What dwelling are you dwelling in so that the pains that have arisen in the body do not invade or remain in the mind?”

“When I dwell with my mind well-established in the four frames of reference, the pains that have arisen in the body do not invade or remain in the mind. Which four? There is the case where I remain focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. I remain focused on feelings in & of themselves… mind in & of itself… mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. When I dwell with my mind well-established in these four frames of reference, the pains that have arisen in the body do not invade or remain in the mind.”

Gilana Sutta

Breathe in, long

[1] Breathing in long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in long’; or breathing out long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out long’. Dipa Sutta

The chain

From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications. From fabrications as a requisite condition comes consciousness. From consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-&-form. From name-&-form as a requisite condition come the six sense media. From the six sense media as a requisite condition comes contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair come into play. Such is the origination of this entire mass of stress & suffering. Vera Sutta

Clear-cut

What do you think, brahman: Do friends & colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to you as guests?

Yes, Master Gotama, sometimes friends & colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to me as guests.

And what do you think: Do you serve them with staple & non-staple foods & delicacies?

Yes, sometimes I serve them with staple & non-staple foods & delicacies.

And if they don’t accept them, to whom do those foods belong?

Akkosa Sutta

Rebirth

Steered by the elephant trainer, the elephant to be tamed runs in only one direction: east, west, north, or south. But steered by the Tathagata — worthy and rightly self-awakened — the person to be tamed fans out in eight directions. Salayatana-vibhanga Sutta

Facets of life

As a water-vessel is
variously perceived by beings:

Nectar to celestials,
is for a man plain drinking-water,

While to the hungry ghost it seems
a putrid ooze of pus and blood,

Is for the water serpent-spirits
and the fish a place to live in,

While it is space to gods who dwell
in the sphere of infinite space.

So any object, live or dead,
within the person or without —

Differently is seen by beings
according to their fruits of kamma.

The Wheel of Birth and Death

Heritage

When seized by death as you abandon the human state

what’s truly your own?

what do you take along when you go?

What follows behind you like a shadow that never leaves?

Piya Sutta, Samyutta