The Discipline of Transcendence Vol 4 ~ 03
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| event type | discourse |
| date & time | 2 Nov 1976 am |
| location | Chuang Tzu Auditorium, Poona |
| language | English |
| audio | Available, duration 1h 30min. Quality: good. |
| online audio | |
| video | Not available |
| online video | |
| see also |
|
| online text | find the PDF of this discourse |
| shorttitle | TRANS403 |
- notes
- synopsis
- Reader of the sutras: Sw Ananda Teertha.
- The sutra
- One night a monk was reciting a sutra bequeathed by Kashyapabuddha. His tone was so mournful and his voice so fainting, as if he were going out of existence. The Buddha asked the monk, "What was your occupation before you became a homeless monk?"
- Said the monk, "I was very fond of playing the guitar."
- The buddha said, "How did you find it when the strings were too loose?"
- Said the monk, "No sound is possible."
- "How when the strings were too tight?"
- "They crack."
- "How when they were neither too tight nor too loose?"
- "Every note sounds in its proper tone."
- The Buddha then said to the monk: Religious discipline is also like unto playing the guitar. When the mind is properly adjusted and quietly applied, the way is attainable; but when you are too fervently bent on it, your body grows tired; and when your body is tired, your spirit becomes weary; when your spirit is weary, your discipline will relax; and with the relaxation of discipline there follows many an evil. Therefore, be calm and pure, and the way will be gained.
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