Primary Source Readings 3 Table of Contents Buddha The Word 219 Book of Job 256 Gospel of John 268 Holy Koran Opening and The Cow 303 337 Rumi Love Poems and Discourses 324 358 218 BUDDHA THE WORD The Eightfold Path http www sacred texts com bud buddha2 htm THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS THUS has it been said by the Buddha the Enlightened One It is through not understanding not realizing four things that I Disciples as well as you had to wander so long through this round of rebirths And what are these four things They are the Noble Truth of Suffering the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering the Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering the Noble Truth of the Path that leads to the Extinction of Suffering As long as the absolutely true knowledge and insight as regards these Four Noble Truths was not quite clear in me so long was I not sure whether I had won that supreme Enlightenment which is unsurpassed in all the world with its heavenly beings evil spirits and gods amongst all the hosts of ascetics and priests heavenly beings and men But as soon as the absolutely true knowledge and insight as regards these Four Noble Truths had become perfectly clear in me there arose in me the assurance that I had won that supreme Enlightenment unsurpassed And I discovered that profound truth so difficult to perceive difficult to understand tranquilizing and sublime which is not to be gained by mere reasoning and is visible only to the wise The world however is given to pleasure delighted with pleasure enchanted with pleasure Verily such beings will hardly understand the law of conditionality the Dependent Origination of every thing incomprehensible to them will also be the end of all formations the forsaking of every substratum of rebirth the fading away of craving detachment extinction Nirvana Yet there are beings whose eyes are only a little covered with dust they will understand the truth FIRST TRUTH THE NOBLE TRUTH OF SUFFERING WHAT now is the Noble Truth of Suffering Birth is suffering Decay is suffering Death is suffering Sorrow Lamentation Pain Grief and Despair are suffering not to get what one desires is suffering in short the Five Groups of Existence are suffering 219 What now is Birth The birth of beings belonging to this or that order of beings their being born their conception and springing into existence the manifestation of the groups of existence the arising of sense activity this is called Birth And what is Decay The decay of beings belonging to this or that order of beings their getting aged frail grey and wrinkled the failing of their vital force the wearing out of the senses this is called Decay And what is Death The parting and vanishing of beings out of this or that order of beings their destruction disappearance death the completion of their life period dissolution of the groups of existence the discarding of the body this is called Death And what is Sorrow The sorrow arising through this or that loss or misfortune which one encounters the worrying oneself the state of being alarmed inward sorrow inward woe this is called Sorrow And what is Lamentation Whatsoever through this or that loss or misfortune which befalls one is wail and lament wailing and lamenting the state of woe and lamentation this is called Lamentation And what is Pain The bodily pain and unpleasantness the painful and unpleasant feeling produced by bodily contact this is called Pain And what is Grief The mental pain and unpleasantness the painful and unpleasant feeling produced by mental contact this is called Grief And what is Despair Distress and despair arising through this or that loss or misfortune which one encounters distressfulness and desperation this is called Despair And what is the suffering of not getting what one desires To beings subject to birth there comes the desire O that we were not subject to birth O that no new birth was before us Subject to decay disease death sorrow lamentation pain grief and despair the desire comes to them O that we were not subject to these things O that these things were not before us But this cannot be got by mere desiring and not to get what one desires is suffering THE FIVE GROUPS OF EXISTENCE And what in brief are the Five Groups of Existence They are Corporeality Feeling Perception mental Formations and Consciousness Any corporeal phenomenon whether one s own or external gross or subtle lofty or low far or near belongs to the Group of Corporeality any feeling belongs to the Group of Feeling any perception belongs to the Group of Perception any mental formation belongs to the Group of Formations all consciousness belongs to the Group of Consciousness Our so called individual existence is in reality nothing but a mere process of these bodily and mental phenomena which since immemorial times was going on before 220 one s apparent birth and which also after death will continue for immemorial periods of time In the following we shall see that these five Groups or Khandhas either taken separately or combined in no way constitute any real Ego entity and that no Egoentity exists apart from them and hence that the belief in an Ego entity is merely an illusion Just as that which we designate by the name of chariot has no existence apart from axle wheels shaft and so forth or as the word house is merely a convenient designation for various materials put together after a certain fashion so as to enclose a portion of space and there is no separate house entity in existence in exactly the same way that which we call a being or an individual or a person or by the name is nothing but a changing combination of physical and psychical phenomena and has no real existence in itself THE CORPOREALITY GROUP OF FOUR ELEMENTS What now is the Group of Corporeality It is the four primary elements and Corporeality derived from them And what are the four primary elements They are the Solid Element the Fluid Element the Heating Element the Vibrating Element The four elements or to speak more correctly the four elementary qualities of matter may be rendered in English as Inertia Cohesion Radiation and Vibration The twenty four corporeal phenomena which depend upon them are according to the Abhidharma eye ear nose tongue body visible form sound odor taste masculinity femininity vitality organ of thinking gesture speech space cavities of ear nose etc agility elasticity adaptability growth duration decay variability change of substance 1 What now is the Solid Element The solid element may be