Thought of the Day
January 1st, 2003 11:03 pm

A student asked: “For all the different people who have come to listen to your words, please tell us about the way you have found and known.”

The Buddha answered: “When you take things it is because of a thirst, a clinging, and a grasping. You should lose that and lose it altogether, above, below, around, and within. It makes no difference what it is you are grasping. When you grasp, you are losing your freedom. Realize this and grasp at nothing. Then you will cease being a creature of attachment, tied to the powers of death.”

-Sutta Nipata

Posted in Thought of the Day by Mark
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whaaaa?
January 20th, 2003 11:44 am

Um… did the Buddha have children?

I ask only because I tried to run through the things I might grasp at and could envision letting go of all of them… except my children. I’m sorry, but the Buddha would have to pry them out of my hands, and frankly I think it’s good for them to have parents who feel protective toward them. No, it’s not good to have OVERprotective parents, but if I were willing to let go of them entirely, pay no attention, merely so that I could be a creature of freedom? Sounds like the 70’s Personal Growth movement at its worst. To have a child IS to be tied to the powers of death, no real way around it. (Also to the powers of life, but that goes without saying…)

How does Buddhism deal with that relationship, I wonder? Hm…

(By the way, gotta find a new pseudonym: all those a’s are getting a little silly.)