Conclusion
This is part 26 of a course going through the similes and metaphors of the Buddha.
Illustration by Ayya Vimalayani aka "Ven Yodha"
That's enough, venerable sir — what you have done, what you have offered. ~ SN 41.4
Sutta
In this final sutta, we see the Princess Sumedhā pull out all the stops: reviewing many of the Buddha’s greatest similes and showing us all how to put them to good use!
Final Reflections
Thinking back to all the similes we read in this class: What similes do you remember most vividly? Did they have anything in common? Do you remember any similes involving water? Fire? Animals? Crafts?
What do these similes say about Indian society at the time of the Buddha? Can you come up with any similes that might speak to a more modern audience?
As you leave this course and continue your life, I hope that you will take some of the wisdom and attentiveness of this course with you and stay on the lookout for situations and images that remind you of the Buddha’s wisdom. In this way, we can begin to transform our everyday world into a “pure land” where every tree, fish and stream teaches us the precious Dharma.
Gasho!
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Further Reading
Books
Canonical Works
A long and entertaining debate with a skeptic who went to extravagant lengths to prove that there is no such thing as an afterlife.
‘What the hell, Kāḷī!’
And how is a mendicant not skilled in characteristics? It’s when a mendicant doesn’t understand that a fool is characterized by their deeds
So this holy life, bhikkhus, does not have gain, honour, and renown for its benefit, or the attainment of virtue for its benefit, or the attainment of concentration for its benefit, or knowledge and vision for its benefit. But it is this unshakeable deliverance of mind that is the goal of this holy life, its heartwood, and its end.
you should ignore that person’s impure behavior
I say it’s not possible to know, see or reach the end of the world by traveling. But I also say there’s no making an end of suffering without reaching the end of the world.
Insofar as it disintegrates, it is called the ‘world.’
Move in your own resort, bhikkhus, in your own ancestral domain. Mara will not gain access to those who move in their own resort.
Coming out from my day’s abiding
on Vulture Peak Mountain…
Documents
Buddhist literature offers us the only narratives from this period that feature to any great extent the nautical or maritime traveller as hero.
Audio/Video
On how Buddhist narratives of pregnancy deconstruct the traditional feminine and open a space for female renunciation.
An incredible music video, perfectly capturing the world-weary feeling of saṃvega.