In a nutshell, the point of the teaching of the Buddha is to transform one's view.
It is possible to change it. It only requires looking at things and then it happens. Having been born we will experience ageing, illness, death and separation. These things are right here.
We don't need to look up at the sky or down at the earth. The Dhamma that we need to see and to know can be seen right here within us, every moment of every day.
When there is birth, we are filled with joy. When there is death, we grieve. That's how we spend our lives. These are the things we need to know about, but we still have not really looked into them and seen the truth. We are stuck deep in this ignorance. We ask, 'When will we see the Dhamma?' - but it is right here to be seen in the present.
This is the Dhamma we should learn about and see. This is what the Buddha taught about.
He did not teach about gods and demons and naga, protective deities, jealous demigods, nature spirits and the like. He taught the things that one should know and see. These are truths that we really should be able to realize.
External phenomena are like this, exhibiting the three characteristics - impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and not-self.
If we really take an interest in all of this and contemplate seriously we can gain genuine knowledge. If this were something that could not be done, the Buddha would not have bothered to talk about it. How many tens and hundreds of thousands of his followers have come to realization?
If one is really keen on looking at things, one can come to know. The Dhamma is like that. We are living in this world, we gain our knowledge from the world.
The Buddha is said to be lokavidu, one who knows the world clearly. It means living in the world but not being stuck in the ways of the world, living among attraction and aversion but not stuck in attraction and aversion. This can be spoken about and explained in ordinary language.
This is how the Buddha taught.
Dhamma Talk by Ajahn Chah
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