“Buddhism is like salt. Salt is always salty. Whoever eats it will find that it’s always salty. Whoever doesn’t eat it won’t taste the saltiness. In the same way, Buddhism can’t degenerate. People degenerate. Buddhism doesn’t degenerate. Some people see…
“Generosity and virtue are like meat. Meditation is like salt. For the meat to keep without spoiling, you have to salt it. Meditation is what makes your generosity correct, makes your virtue correct. That’s why meditation is something of very…
“The teachings of the Buddha get rid of people and give rise to venerables. In other words, they get rid of what’s wrong in the mind. Only then can what’s right arise. They get rid of what’s evil so that…
“This knife placed here: It has the edge of its blade, it has the back of its blade, it has its handle—all of its parts. When you lift it up, can you lift just the edge of the blade? Can…
“So we should always keep on practicing in this way. Tranquility is right in here; insight is right in here. You can’t separate them out. We can separate them in our speech, but we can’t separate them in reality. It’s…
“This mango is first small, then it’s half-ripe, then it’s ripe. When it’s ripe, is it the same mango as the small one? When it comes out as a flower, it’s this mango. When it’s small, it’s this mango. When…
“The fruit that you offered to the monks: I don’t know its name, but I know that its flavor is sweet and delicious. That much I know, but I don’t know what it’s called—and it’s not really necessary. All that’s…
“You have to look for concentration, discernment, and virtue all together at the same time. When they develop, they develop together. When your perfections reach fullness, they’re full together. Your right views: When your discernment sees rightly, every factor in…
“All languages come together in the language of the Dhamma. I’ll give you a simple example. When we boil water for tea so that it’s hot, the word “hot” in Thai is rawn. In Isaan it’s hawn. In English, they…
“Stillness of mind without discernment is like a leaf that flutters when stirred by a breeze. In other words, stillness of mind without discernment is dark and then bright, back and forth. It’s like a person who eats meat and…