Now is the Knowing Ven. Ajahn Sumedho BO S B e DHANET ' UD O K LIB R A R Y E-mail:
[email protected] Web site: www.buddhanet.net Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc. For FREE Distribution Publications from Amaravati are for free distribution. In most cases this is made possible through offerings from individuals or groups, given specifically for the publication of Buddhist teachings. Further information is available from the address below. Sabbadānaü dhammadānaü jināti ‘The gift of Dhamma surpasses all other gifts.’ Several editions of Now is the Knowing have already been published, under the direction of the Sangha of the forest monastery Wat Pah Nanachat in North-East Thailand. This edition was retypeset and reprinted in Britain in I989. Published by Amaravati Publications Amaravati Buddhist Centre Great Gaddesden Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire HP1 3BZ England © Amaravati Publications I989 ISBN I 870205 05 7 Print management by Personalised Print, Basingstoke, England Tel. (0256) 52434 CONTENTS Buddha Dhamma Sangha 4 Anapanasati 18 Happiness, Unhappiness and Nibbana 32 1 FOREWORD The Buddha said that the greatest gift is the gift of Dhamma. This small book represents the wish of some of those fortunate enough to have received Dhamma teachings from Venerable Ajahn Sumedho to share them with others. A certain amount of editing of the talks was felt necessary so as to translate the free form of direct speech into a more ordered printed record. This was always done judiciously and with great respect. The second section, ‘Anapanasati’, is in fact composed of passages from three or four different talks on the subject of mindfulness of breathing. It seemed very useful to have so much pertinent advice gathered in a single place. It is by sincerely using the Ajahn’s teachings as ‘tools to reflect on the way things are’ that we can begin to repay our great debt of gratitude to him. May we all constantly do so. The Sangha, Wat Pah Nanachat 2 Yesterday is a memory. Tomorrow is the unknown. Now is the knowing. 3 BUDDHA DHAMMA SANGHA When people ask, ‘What do you have to do to become a Buddhist?’, we say that we take refuge in Buddha Dhamma Sangha. And to take refuge we recite a formula in the Pali language: Buddham saranam gacchami I go to the Buddha for refuge Dhammam saranam gacchami I go to the Dhamma for refuge Sangham saranam gacchami I go to the Sangha for refuge. As we practise more and more and begin to realize the profundity of the Buddhist Teachings, it becomes a real joy to take these refuges, and even just their recitation inspires the mind. After twenty-two years as a monk, I still like to chant ‘Buddham saranam gacchami’ — in fact I like it more than I did twenty-one years ago — because then it didn’t really mean anything to me, I just chanted it because I had to, because it was part of the tradition. Merely taking refuge verbally in the Buddha doesn’t mean you take refuge in anything: a parrot could be trained to say ‘Buddham saranam gacchami’, and it would probably be as meaningful to a parrot as it is to many Buddhists. These words are for reflection, looking at them and actually investigating what they mean: what ‘refuge’ means, 4 what ‘Buddha’ means. When we say, ‘I take refuge in the Buddha,’ what do we mean by that? How can we use that so it is not just a repetition of nonsense syllables, but something that really helps to remind us, gives us direction and increases our devotion, our dedication to the path of the Buddha? The word ‘Buddha’ is a lovely word — it means ‘The one who knows’— and the first refuge is