Suppose a hen has eight, ten, or twelve eggs. If she doesn't cover them rightly, warm them rightly, or incubate them rightly, then even though this wish may occur to her... "My chicks might break through the egg shells and hatch out safely!" still it is not possible that the chicks will break through the egg shells and hatch out safely. Why is that? Because the hen has not covered them rightly, warmed them rightly, or incubated them rightly. Suppose a hen has eight, ten, or twelve eggs that she covers rightly, warms rightly, and incubates rightly: Even though this wish may not occur to her... "My chicks might break through the egg shells and hatch out safely!" still it is possible that the chicks will break through the egg shells and hatch out safely. Why is that? Because the hen has covered them rightly, warmed them rightly, and incubated them rightly. Suppose a carpenter or carpenter's apprentice sees the marks of his fingers or thumb on the handle of his adze but does not know, "Today my adze handle wore down this much, or yesterday it wore down that much, or the day before yesterday it wore down this much," still he knows it is worn through when it is worn through. Suppose your friends and colleagues, relatives and kinsmen come to you as guests, and you serve them with foods, drinks, and delicacies. If they don't accept them, to whom do those foods and drinks belong? It's all yours. In the same way, that with which you have insulted me, who is not insulting; that with which you have taunted me, who is not taunting; that with which you have berated me, who is not berating: that I don't accept from you. It's all yours. You make things worse when you flare up at someone who's angry. Whoever doesn't flare up at someone who's angry wins a battle hard to win. You live for the good of both your own and the other's when, knowing the other's provoked, you mindfully grow calm. When you work the cure of both your own and the other's those who think you a fool know nothing of the truth. For him, living thus heedlessly, there is no joy. There being no joy, there is no rapture. There being no rapture, there is no serenity. There being no serenity, he dwells in pain. When pained, the mind does not become centered. When the mind is not centered, phenomena do not become manifest. When phenomena are not manifest, he is reckoned simply as one who dwells heedlessly. For him, living thus heedfully, joy arises. In one who has joy, rapture arises. In one who has rapture, the body becomes serene. When the body is serene, one feels pleasure. Feeling pleasure, the mind becomes centered. When the mind is centered, phenomena become manifest. When phenomena are manifest, he is reckoned as one who dwells heedfully. Suppose that a large crowd of people comes thronging together, saying, "The beauty queen! The beauty queen!" And suppose that the beauty queen is highly accomplished at singing and dancing, so that an even greater crowd comes thronging, saying, "The beauty queen is singing! The beauty queen is dancing!" Then a man comes along, desiring life and shrinking from death, desiring pleasure and abhorring pain. They say to him, "Now look here, mister. You must take this bowl filled to the brim with oil and carry it on your head in between the great crowd and the beauty queen. A man with a raised sword will follow right behind you, and wherever you spill even a drop of oil, right there will he cut off your head." Now what do you think: Will that man, not paying attention to the bowl of oil, let himself get distracted outside? The bowl filled to the brim with oil stands for mindfulness immersed in the body. You should train yourselves: "We will develop mindfulness immersed in the body. We will pursue it, hand it the reins and take it as a basis, give it a grounding, steady it, consolidate it, and undertake it well." That is how you should train yourselves. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; They toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Looking after oneself, one looks after others. Looking after others, one looks after oneself.Birth sign: Gemini
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