SN 22.87 wrote:‘Form is impermanent: I have no perplexity about this, venerable sir...
If only he could have a teacher, one who "dispels perplexity in many kinds of perplexing things"...
SN 22.87 wrote:‘Form is impermanent: I have no perplexity about this, venerable sir...
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html"Monks, an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person might grow disenchanted with this body composed of the four great elements, might grow dispassionate toward it, might gain release from it. Why is that? Because the growth & decline, the taking up & putting down of this body composed of the four great elements are apparent. Thus the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person might grow disenchanted, might grow dispassionate, might gain release there.
"But as for what's called 'mind,' 'intellect,' or 'consciousness,' the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person is unable to grow disenchanted with it, unable to grow dispassionate toward it, unable to gain release from it. Why is that? For a long time this has been relished, appropriated, and grasped by the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person as, 'This is me, this is my self, this is what I am.' Thus the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person is unable to grow disenchanted with it, unable to grow dispassionate toward it, unable to gain release from it.
"It would be better for the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person to hold to the body composed of the four great elements, rather than the mind, as the self. Why is that? Because this body composed of the four great elements is seen standing for a year, two years, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred years or more. But what's called 'mind,' 'intellect,' or 'consciousness' by day and by night arises as one thing and ceases as another. Just as a monkey, swinging through a forest wilderness, grabs a branch. Letting go of it, it grabs another branch. Letting go of that, it grabs another one. Letting go of that, it grabs another one. In the same way, what's called 'mind,' 'intellect,' or 'consciousness' by day and by night arises as one thing and ceases as another.
It seems this insect can reach high levels of insect attainment while the monkey can't see pass conventional monkey reality or the danger in playing with sensual monkey objects...
Good monkey story . (Still I don't get the full meaning why it is worse to hold the mind as the self rather than the body but I guess that could be a different thread to not get off-monkey topic. )
“You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
monkeys lack teachings
So the more you teach, the wiser you become?cappuccino wrote: ↑Fri Jun 04, 2021 6:40 pmmonkeys lack teachings
such as the teaching of the afterlife