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Peace is a Simple Step

Last week at Plantation Villa we had the opportunity to listen to a ‘Dhamma talk’, talks that are by Buddhist monks, where they present the teachings on the realities of life according to Buddhism. They explained how the key to a happy life is in contentment. The constant pursuit for more or for some kind of ‘salvation’ through obtainment of material objects, experiences or people is bound to bring unsatisfaction, which eventually leads to suffering. The un-fulfilment impinges us from actually enjoying what is already here. 

But what about our hopes and dreams? They taught that we should enjoy life and pursuit our goals. But this has to be made without attachment. Attachment is like a fishing hook: it might enter quickly, but once it enters its really painful to remove. So we have for us a reflection on a subtle balance: aiming without being caught in attachment, while being content with what we have at the moment.
Traditionally in Sri Lanka, to capture monkeys, hunters would put sweets inside coconut shells with a small hole at the top, big enough to fit a monkey’s hand. The monkey would put its hand to grab the sweets, but then when the hand is grabbing the sweets, it is too big to be removed from the shell. The desire for the sweet is so big that even as the hunter approaches, the monkey would not drop it to free himself. Our mind can be similar: by attaching so much that there is neither enjoyment nor freedom. And by imagining that only the ‘promised’ sweet would bring fulfilment, we loose contact with the instant reality, trapped by our attaching mind.

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