Another Kind of Birth
Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
- Birth is perpetual suffering.
True happiness consists in eliminating the false idea of “I”.
- Mankind’s problems reduce to the problem of suffering, whether inflicted by another or by oneself.
- Everyday language—Dharma language:
In everyday language the term birth refers simply to physical birth from a mother’s body; in Dharma language birth refers to a mental event arising out of ignorance, craving, and clinging.
- Whenever there arises the mistaken idea “I”, the “I” has been born; its parents are ignorance and craving.
- The kind of birth that constitutes a problem for us is mental
- Anyone who fails to grasp this point will never succeed in understanding anything of the Buddha’s teaching.
Lecture delivered by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu on 16 July 2512 (1969) at Phatthalung, Thailand
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